Iwasa Misaki Mini-Live at Yo-Ro-Do Asakusa (2024/03/24)

A month ago I was trying to decide which event I would participate in, the Limista Online CD-sign event or this one. I figured I would do one or the other. But at the end of the day I decided to do both. I didsort of promise her I would come when she signed my CD online. In any case, I am on vacation, and I had nothing else to do that weekend, so off to Tokyo I went.

I arrived a few hours early. I figured I would head over to the shop and get an entrance ticket, then go enjoy festival food around Senso-ji for a while. However, when I got to Yoro-do the shop was gone! It was now a drug store. What the heck? What happened? I had been there at least a dozen times before. There was no way I was in the wrong place.

I double checked Wasamin’s website, and then Google maps. I noticed that while the shop shows up in the vicinity of where I was standing, the marker was showing about 50 meters down the alley…

I had no idea they had moved. Even stranger, Wasamin did an event there in the beginning of the year, and I’m sure it was in their original location. When I went inside they asked if I had been to their new location before, and if I had any trouble finding it. I must admit it felt weird. The old location was so iconic and old-fashioned. This felt like less of an enka music shop and more like a warehouse since Yoro-do does a lot of their sales at live events around Kanto. But it also may have been that they had just moved and were not fully set up in their new space. Anyway…

I got my CD, ticket, and set out to find festival grub. As expected, Asakusa was a total clusterf**k of tourists, but I did manage to find my way to my favorite senbei shop (they carry hot chili senbei and wasabi senbei) When I got to the temple I couldn’t find any festival stalls. Maybe it was because the cherry blossoms are blooming so late this year? I instead ducked into KFC for lunch. It was after I ate that I discovered that the hanami booths were on the other side of the shrine. I wasn’t very hungry, but I still got a salt-grilled ayu. By then it was getting close to showtime.

It turns out that they also have a new event space. It is much smaller, less cozy, and accessed via a steep and narrow staircase. That said, I was still excited for an intimate Wasa-performance. And of course she didn’t disappoint. But first the shop staff came upstairs to pass out stickers they forgot to give us when we bought the CDs. There was a second surprise as well, which Wasamin told us about a little later.

Setlist
1. Koi no Owari Sangenjaya
2. Saba Kaido
3. Mayonaka no Door/Stay With Me
4. Akira

I was hoping she would sing Ai Sansan, but Mayonaka no Door is nice too. Misaki kept remarking that we all sounded very genki. I think it is because it was so long that we weren’t allowed to cheer at her events (Covid) that it just feels good to be able to do it again. She also asked how many of us were planning on coming on her bus tour in May. I would say about half raised their hand. The problem is that 1) it is mid-week, and 2) her most expensive bus trip ever. Not to mention it involves bungee jumping, which I have no interest in. Plus, I would be nervous as hell just watching her do it. Oh yeah, the second surprise was signboards they made for the album. They aren’t as big, and on lighter paper, but it’s still cool.

We met with Wasamin in seat order. I was in the 6th row, which meant I would be around 30th. She handed us our signboard, so it was perfect for the pose. She asked how long it had been since we had met. Really Misaki-chan? Your birthday party!! I also reminded her that I had promised to come during her online event a couple weeks prior. She laughed, although I didn’t get a chance to say anything I had planned. I do enjoy when she controls the direction of our conversation. That was my only ticket. So after gathering my things, I bid my farewell to the other Wasafans. I had originally planned to get dinner in Tokyo, but after KFC and the fish I wasn’t the least bit hungry, so I headed home.

I have no idea when I will see her next. I need to do a better job of monitoring her schedule. Hopefully something pops up soon. And hopefully she will have Saitama events again this year.

CK in Japan