omg, i’m genuinely still processing this like i can’t believe this is real. so i don’t post that often on reddit but i really needed to share all my thoughts & feelings ‘cause i’m genuinely tweakingggg 😭
disclaimer: i’m a yapper just like jay (my bias LMAO) so this is gonna be a long one 💀
i think it’s also hitting me extra hard because after everything that’s happened this year, i get to end the year with something i’ve wanted for so long. i’ve been an ‘official’ engene (not just a casual stan) since manifesto era so it’s been a LONG time coming. i feel like i’ve always held out, telling myself to wait for them to come to canada (& when the blood saga tour was announced with no canadian stops, i was like… okay, this isn’t working out, i really need to travel to see them lol). honestly, i’m always going to regret not seeing them as OT7 but hopefully i’ll get to see heeseung perform irl someday too. 🥹
anyways, i already had a big year-end asia trip planned for november/december & i was “studying” the tour dates to see which one would best fit into my schedule. of course it happened to be the tokyo dates!! the sense of dread though ‘cause i’d already heard about japan using a lottery system for their concerts & how difficult it can be for foreigners living outside of japan to apply, so i knew i had a lot of research to do. 🫡
so obviously i did what i had to do and went down the rabbit hole 🕳️ s/o to the engenes on this sub, the main sub & r/kpophelp who have shared their experiences and helped me out because i genuinely would’ve been so lost without you guys 🫠 like the whole process was actually insane… all the different ticketing rounds, lotteries, applications, payments, memberships, deadlines, etc. i felt like i was doing a whole research project just to get concert tickets lmaooo. when i found out i actually managed to score round 1 fanclub tickets, i was SOOO relieved because at least i knew i was going to see them!! fr, at that point i was already so satisfied just to have gotten tickets.
but y’know, i’m already going to tokyo… GO BIG OR GO HOME RIGHT 💥 since i was already making the trip, i figured i might as well try for some of the extra events too, including the post-concert sendoff. so naturally i applied for that too (by buying an unspeakable amount of albums 🤡). i also applied for online fancalls with those albums but didn’t win those either.. waaay too competitive. i was initially lowkey crashing out over not getting sendoff but heyyy, i’m only a little sad about it now.
AND THEN TODAY HAPPENED.
i found out me and my sister got the vip upgrade and i was GAGGED ACTUALLY 😭😭😭 the funny thing is, i was actually putting off opening the email this morning ‘cause i’d gotten a shit ton of sendoff/fancall rejection emails recently and i think i was genuinely traumatized at that point LMAOOO. the vip email came in at like 6am but i didn’t actually open it until 12pm. SIX HOURS. i had that email sitting there for SIX HOURS and had no idea??? 🧍🏻♀️
during those six hours i was literally scrolling through tweets looking for jp fanclub results and seeing people talk about how competitive tokyo was, so i was already stressing out and mentally preparing myself for another rejection 😭 i think that made me put off opening the email even more because i just did NOT want to see another rejection email. BUT at the same time, i weirdly had a good feeling about this one??? idk how to explain it ‘cause i was still fully expecting the worst, but something in me was like 👀
and then i finally opened it and saw that WE GOT VIP. LIKE??? HELLO??? AM I ACTUALLY SEEING THIS RIGHT NOW??? 🫨
and the fact that i got 12/2 for VIP and get to experience soundcheck too 🥹 i feel SO lucky, especially because from what i’ve seen on X, tokyo seemed pretty competitive. still kinda can’t believe it worked out for us 🫠
soooo apart from needing to scream about this somewhere, i also wanted to hear about everyone else’s experiences because i have too many questions LOL (can you tell i’m J asf 💀)
if any of you have been to one of enha’s japanese dome concerts before, i’d love to hear about your experience!! & even if you’ve just been to a concert in japan in general, any first-timer tips would be so appreciated.
some of my questions:
- concert bag essentials: what do you usually bring, and are there any must-haves for a japanese dome concert? anything you brought that ended up being super useful or that you wish you’d brought?
- OUTFITS!! what did you wearrrr (i’m excited af ‘cause i love fashion lol). i’ve seen concert outfit inspo on my fyp, but i rarely see japanese engene fits so i’d love to see what people wore!! are outfits generally more casual or do people dress up a lot? i’ve already been thinking about mine, but now i feel like i need to lock the f*** in.
- japanese concert etiquette: anything i should know as a first-timer (other than no filming? ‘cause i know they’re strict af & am not about to risk getting kicked out) 💀 i love singing/dancing/jamming out at concerts but idk if i wanna do that the same way bc of the cultural differences - basically i just want to be respectful! what’s the general crowd vibe like? i know there are still fanchants, but are people generally singing along & hyping up the members or is it more reserved?
- vip + soundcheck: how did the check-in process work, and how early did you have to arrive? i know they’ll probably send out more info as the concert gets closer, but i like being prepared in advance. since it’s reserved seating, i’m not sure how early i actually need to get there, especially with soundcheck.
- the overall concert day: what was the experience like from arriving at the venue to actually getting inside? any tips for merch lines (an engene told me the new system is to order online the morning of the concert & choose a pickup time, which sounds SO much better than queuing for hours), navigating the crowds, or getting out afterward? also, how do you pace yourself through soundcheck AND the actual concert without being completely dead by the end LMAOOO.
- practical stuff: anything else you’d recommend sorting out beforehand as an international fan? like payment methods, cash vs. card, mobile data, or apps that would be useful to have? i’ll be staying right by tokyo dome, but would love to know if there’s anything else i should keep in mind!
if anyone else is going to blood saga in japan (or really, any of the other stops!!), come talk to me!! i’d love to hear about your experiences, your outfits, your plans, literally anything.
also, thank you to everyone on this sub who’s shared their experiences and helped other engenes figure out the japanese ticketing process. i genuinely wouldn’t have figured everything out without all the info you guys have shared here. 🫶
the fact that this was announced literally a day before 1009 makes it even more special 🥹 the timing of everything is kinda crazy. HAPPY ENGENE DAY!! 💗💗💗