🎊Here's 3 quick suggestions on how to spend your New Year's Eve in Japan!🎊

The Club Method

Many clubs in Japan have their own countdown events. Tickets may be sold in advance, but walk-ins are always welcome (at least in Osaka they are, not sure about Tokyo). I would suggest pre-gaming, especially if it's cold and especially if you're on a budget. Most clubs will be charging a premium to get in, with only a drink ticket or two included in the entry price.

Clubs in Osaka with NYE Events

(all of these events are on iflyer.tv)

WORLDOUT -Countdown Party-

Hilton Osaka

1-8-8 Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi
Tickets: 5,500 yen (presale tickets available for 4,500 yen)
Hours 8:00 PM (first act at 9:00 PM) until 4:00 AM
https://iflyer.tv/en/worldout/


This seems to be a fairly big party. The event page says there will be about 2000 people there, and they'll have a lot of famous DJs like ☆Taku Takahashi (M-Flo). The cost is quite high, compared to smaller club events, but I think you're more or less guaranteed a good time.

TRIANGLE COUNTDOWN 2016-2017

Triangle
3F-5F Ribia Bldg 2-18-5 Nishishinsaibashi, Chuo-Ku, Osaka
Tickets: 2,500 yen(+1 drink) / 2,000 yen (+1D) in adv.
Hours: 8:00 PM (first act at 9:00 PM) until 4:00 AM
https://iflyer.tv/en/event/278918/ 


I wandered into club Triangle's Halloween event (mostly because non-Japanese got in free and we were cold), and they were playing some solid dance tunes on the the 5th floor. I would recommend this event for people that actually want to dance. According to the event page, they'll be spinning drum & bass, as well as hip hop, plus there will be food for sale inside.

The people here are really chill and they don't mind throwing a little extra in your drink. One of clubs I visit quite often throughout the calendar year.

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN

2-1-33 Sakurajima, Konohan-ku, Osaka-shi
Tickets: 12,800 yen (Party Pass)
Hours: 7:00 PM until 2:00 AM (park open until 9:00 PM January 1st)
https://iflyer.tv/en/event/278516/


Universal Studios will be having its own countdown party within the park. I've never been to this event, but according to the event page, you're invited to hang out inside the park from 7:00 PM on the 31st until 9:00 PM on the 1st. Season pass holders are allowed to stay in the park until 5:00 PM on the 31st, after which only party pass holders will be allowed in. I'm not sure of the crowd sizes involved with this event, but with music guests like M-Flo and Daishi Dance, I imagine that it will be pretty packed. The music portion of the event will run until 2:00 AM.

JOULE COUNTDOWN 2016 - 2017

Club Joule
2F,3F Minami Sumiyamachi Bld, Nishi-Shinsaibashi Chuo-Ku Osaka-shi
Tickets: 2,500 yen (2,500 yen in adv.) +600 yen drink at the door
Hours: 10:00 PM until 5:00 AM
https://iflyer.tv/en/event/278777/



I had a Club Joule countdown a few years back when my bestie visited me in Japan. I wouldn't say it was the best countdown party, but I wasn't disappointed or bored, so that's a win? This event is nice because it's fairly cheap (compared to the other events listed, quite cheap), but they will make you wait outside, even if it doesn't look busy. I wouldn't advise trying to get in right before the countdown begins, but at least they don't raise the price after the new year.

Tickets:
9:00 PM - 11:00 PM       MEN 4,000 YEN ｜ LADIES 2,000 YEN
11:00 PM - 1:00 AM      MEN 5,000 YEN ｜ LADIES 3,000 YEN
1:00 AM - LAST            MEN 3,500 YEN ｜ LADIES 1,500 YEN
Hours: 9:00 PM until LATE (around 4/5:00 AM)
https://iflyer.tv/en/event/276602/

★★★

While hanging out with some friends, I was informed that Music Circus, an annual EDM festival, was letting non-Japanese attendees in for free. Not one to pass up a little free, I snatched up a ticket for myself, a few for my friends, and set out to have a rather intoxicated afternoon.

About

Music Circus is a dance music festival that takes place in Tokyo and Osaka every year. This event features famous DJs from all over the world (this year's headliners were AFROJACK and Nicky Romero) as well as famous Japanese DJs and producers (Nakata Yasutaka played a set this year!).

Official Site Here (JPN Only)

 Access

大阪泉南・タルイサザンビーチ
Osaka Sennan Tarui Southern Beach
Nankai Tarui Station


[From Osaka City]
Board the Semi-Express Nankai Train bound for Wakayama City or the Rapid to Nankai Izumisano Station, then change to to the local or Semi-Express for Nankai Tarui Station. The rapid route is only 10 minutes faster.

Though the venue is 1.5 hrs outside of Osaka City, it's fairly easy to find if you follow the young people dressed for a music festival. Also, you'll have to walk 10-15 minutes to the venue, so wear comfortable shoes!

Main Stage

Tickets

1 Day Ticket - 10,000 yen
2 Day Ticket - 18,000 yen
Music Circus '16 International Invitation - FREE (1,000 yen drink ticket purchase required)

Food and drinks are served with tickets and cash. You do get a set of tickets with your 1000 yen drink fee (separate from the ticket fee), but once those run out, using cash is fine. If you want to drink alcohol, be sure to bring your ID so you can get a wristband. Also, this year, non-Japanese attendees were able to enter the event for free except for the 1,000 yen drink purchase. That's a pretty good deal to see some of the biggest DJs in Japan.

Nakata Yasutaka Set

Impression

The only other music festival I've ever been to is Summer Sonic ('11 and '12), so trying to compare the rock vibe of SS to the dance music scene at EDM would really be an exercise in futility, but I can say that the people at this fest seem more laid back. At SS, it's a bit of a rush trying to see bands as there are a LOT of stages and good international acts tend to overlap (while Japanese acts seem to get better timetables).

At MC, it was easy to bounce between the two main stages and even the food and drinking areas. The bathrooms aren't the cleanest and the line the ladies fluctuates like crazy. If you think you gotta go, and the line is short, GO.

Area closer to the beach

Overall

This fest was a lot of fun, though my opinion of it may be skewed for quite a few reasons (limited dance fest exp, free tickets, good compny, etc.), but if a ticket happens to fall into your hands, I would definitely recommend that you check it out. Don't forget to bring your towel (always bring a towel), a little sunscreen, and maybe a little liquor if you can sneak it in. ;)

Check out more event photos here!

★ Peaces★

Hellooo..!
What's this? Another post? Less than a month apart?
I know, it's crazy. But I was going through my photos and I realized I had.. well, nothing really important to share. But a few notables from my summer this year.

For one, my cousin was recently married to her Brazilian beau! A lovely wedding ceremony for close family ensued, and I got to see my nephew dressed like a real dapper gentleman. :)

And theeeeen, I went to NY with Shota and his parents!!
Where I had one of theeese!! It was amazing. And my mother-in-law loved it.

We did some other NY stuff like sightseeing and watching musicals on Broadway (we saw Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, quite entertaining!) and eating copious amounts of American foods (ohh BBQ, how I miss yoou), but the real icing on the cake...




THE DAILY SHOW!! A couple of friends and I went out for margaritas and political satire, a great way to begin any summer really. This was, of course, after John Oliver had taken over for Stewart, but either Jo(h)n is fine with me.
But no seriously, he was funny. And the crowd smart. Almost too smart..



We also had lunch at Ellen's Stardust Diner, which was awesome! Singing wait staff are the best, and our guy was extremely nice/adorable and a great singer. I hope he lands a starring role on Broadway someday. :)







And then I came back to Japan and learned that a bunch of my friends had moved to Osaka, so this happened, an outing at BarONE, which was actually pretty chill. I enjoyed the crowd more than usual. The free champagne was a nice bonus.










Then we went to the movies (...I think we saw Iron Man 3), and I saw this poster. And I wept for cinema.
Did anyone actually see this flick?? I can't really imagine anyone spending theater cash on this one.













Then I made friends with Yana! I love meeting new people! :)
On the day we took this purikura, we went to check out a FRUiTS Snap event being held in Shinsaibashi. I don't think I made it into the FRUiTS book, but it was nice meeting the owner of SPINNS and some of the designers. Over all, a cool a$$ day.












Meeting the owner of SPINNS, God-san ------>
I can now say I've stared into the face of God, and he was hairy. And very funny.

I'll post more photos from that one my tumblr! :)







The rest of the summer was filled a bunch of events, some put together by friends, and one featuring my band! And we were lucky to have a ton of awesome support (thanks again Maha!! >w<) which really is priceless (though it cost everyone there 500 yen.. ;o; ). But I'm so glad they showed!! :D

At a friend's event in Kyobashi! It was.. interesting..

My band's, SecondLady's, event in Nagahori! X3

All-you-can-drink at Giraffe in Dotonbori~

There were colorful drag queens.

Then we went to the Don Quixote around the corner and found this..! O_O

And I also went to outdoor yoga with some friends I hadn't seen in almost 2 years!! Good times :)

Then I went to Kosho's reggae even in ..somewhere. Near Toyonaka. A bunch of cool people~

Also, I went to my niece's ballet recital. Not really in that order, but relevant nonetheless.
I was quite impressed with her level of determination. She barely has a firm hold on the whole walking business, and she's already tackling new forms of expression. AND she wants to learn English. Quite the go-getter. :)

And that's most of my summer in a series of randomly arranged photos. I have to admit that I spent a majority of it hiding from the heatwave in my house. I got bored enough to start Final Fantasy XIII, which I hadn't opened since I bought it back in 2011.

My favorite character so far is the chocobo that lives in Sazh's hair. Yeah... I think that says a great deal about the story this time (and subsequently, the characters). But really, I just needed an RPG to pass the time. I get my real good-times from Borderlands (STILL. 2nd playthrough).

OHH, almost forgot. My friend opened up a new skateboard shop in kita horie with one of his friends! So there was an opening party, but I made a video for that. :)

When the risen sun sets, the daytime, sightseeing filled Japan we know transforms into an electric playland sights and sounds. Some good, some bad, and some really ugly. But overall, somewhat tough to navigate.

I don't know about anyone else, but I've had quite a time finding a suitable place for a little night time fun. I've done overnight karaoke too many times to count, and most of the game centers are shut down by 2am. That still lives me 3 or 4 more hours before daylight, signaling the ruling populous that it's safe to come out.

Last year, I spent most of my holiday in some drunken dance spree with my cousin, sometimes with Shota (he's not much of a dancer D:), but we always ended up at the same club, Club Pure, located in Shinsaibashi (right next to Ebisubashi, off of Souemoncho), because of the all-you-can-drink discounted price for ladies. The music was decent, and the crowd wasn't bad. But recently, it started to suck. The last straw was the night when my friend had an entire drink spilled down her back. What the hell happened to club etiquette?? I actually spent an entire night just wandering between Namba and Shinsaibashi looking for a better place because I refused to put anymore money into that place.

And you would think finding clubs would be easy to find right?! No, no it's not D:. Even with flyers from a nearby restaurant, we only ever ended up in one club (Club Life) which had the tiniest crowd I've ever seen at any place titled as a club. Maybe Korean Night is not as popular as one would think in Japan (that, or the fact that the DJ running her playlist off of the itunes on MAC :< not very DJ-like).

Anyway, it's too cold to be caught in that situation anymore. So luckily, I stumbled upon this wonderful site..!
(Check out that awesome Beatles theme on my Firefox. Love ;)

iflyer.tv is a navi for clubs and live houses throughout Japan. Even now, I'm not exactly sure how I found it, but I'm so glad I did..!!

The main page usually puts you at events in your region. In my case, the Kansai area page, with the most popular events (based on star rating I think) scrolling through a display at the top. There's also a calendar so that you can display events by the day. Also, you might have noticed that a lot of the tabs are in English. Or maybe you even noticed the language function up top. If so, you get super sleuth points..! Unfortunately, the English capabilities only go so far as the tabs. Most of the information under events is still in Japanese. There is a translate button, but it just gives you one of those quick babelfish translations. The English tab is there, so maybe they're actually start translating information soon. Til then, you might have to deal with a little more of this "to 0... all admission free!
※ Man 2 drink separately!
※ Women 1 drink ﾌﾟﾚｾﾞﾝﾄ from the free addition!"

Scrolling down a little further, you'll get information from their Twitter feed, your social networking links, and links for event tickets you can buy through the site. I think that's quite a handy feature since usually you have to buy tickets at your local 7andI or Family Mart. The e-ticket services works through mobile e-mails, but there is an option for other e-mail types as well.



If you start an account on the site, you can star events and artists you like, which will then be stored on your personal page. I just opened mine so it's pretty bare :<







Here's an example of an event page. The thing I really like about this site is that it can give you all the information you need about a venue or event. Prices, time sales (girls getting in before a certain time, drink buffets, etc.). The only problem is that sometimes the information in the top display doesn't match the information written in the details tab.
The map function is from Google Maps, so no worries there. As long as the information is accurate, you should be able to find the venue easily :)