Fourth Day in Hawaii

First we stopped by Shirokiya to grab something to eat for lunch later and I ended up buying more Arashi goods at the Arashi shop and Book Off.

Next we visited the Blowhole (It didn't do the thing.) and Makapu'u.

Blowhole

Makapu'u

Also, Spam.

Apparently Arashi was a hot topic with the locals. I carried my jumbo uchiwa all the way home because I didn't want it to get messed up in the suitcase and so many people at the airport including the staff who helped us check in, the TSA, flight attendants, and other passengers asked us about Arashi and/or the concert.

I'm fairly shy, introverted etc. and my mother was amazed because she'd never seen me talk so openly with a stranger before. Arashi brings people together. OωOb

Flight attendant, "So, that's them, huh? Which one's your favorite? Which ones the cutest?"

Me: *points to Nino*

Flight attendant, "Yeah, I think he's the cutest too."

Me: OωOb

I uploaded a lot more pictures to my Facebook, Xhirachu Xhu!

Third Day in Hawaii

Our bird friends increased. They were braver too. They were landing on the table.

After breakfast we did our souvenir shopping on Kalakaua Avenue and then took a walk to a beach near Fort DeRussy.

My grandfather told us that the palm trees on Waikiki and other tourist areas have the coconuts removed because the hotels and such are afraid of being sued because a coconut fell and hit someone on the head. Haha

No pictures of the beach because I'm chubs. w

Next we drove up to the Nu'uanu Pali and met my grandfather's cousin and her husband.

Pali

After that we stopped by my grandfather's best friends house and did some sightseeing near the concert venue.

I uploaded a lot more pictures to my Facebook, Xhirachu Xhu!

Second Day in Hawaii

I guess I'll write about what we did in Hawaii besides the concert.

I made a bird friend at breakfast. He begged for muffin crumbs like a cat. Then he pooped on the floor. Don't worry. We wiped it up.

We had a city view hotel room. There was lots of construction going on. It wasn't very pretty, but I was really excited that we could see Aiba-chan and MatsuJun's banners on Kalakaua Avenue from the balcony!

Many of the trolleys and some of the buses had Arashi banners on them too!

Arashi banners down Kalakaua Avenue!

I took close-ups of all of the Arashi banners. <3

The concert wasn't until 5:30PM so my grandfather, who is a local, took us sightseeing.

First we visited a beach near Diamond Head. Their are calcite crystals on the beach that make the sand sparkle. My grandfather told us that sailors mistook them for diamonds, which is where Diamond Head got its name.

Next we stopped by my grandfather's high school and drove past some of the places he used to live. (He was an army brat.) Then we visited Punch Bowl where several of his family members are buried.

A beautiful picture my grandfather took while we were at the concert.

I uploaded a lot more pictures to my Facebook, Xhirachu Xhu!

Arashi Blast in Hawaii Goods

I spent almost $1,000 on concert tickets and goods. No regrets.

At the Arashi Blast Shop you received a booklet with all of the CD's, DVD's, and concert goods that were being sold so that when you got to the counter you told the cashier what items you wanted and they pulled them from the back.

I tried to limit myself, but I ended up buying more stuff every single day we were in Hawaii. orz
The day we arrived I bought "the bare necessities."

T-shirt

If you're going to an Arashi concert you have to buy the T-shirt. I love the little hula dancingArashi-chan. This is my favorite shirt now. I wear it at least twice a week...

Jumbo uchiwa

Ok. This wasn't necessary. At all. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with this, but they just looked so cute that I couldn't not buy it! (I really wanted a Nino uchiwa. I was so sad that they didn't have individuals. :( )

Group clear files

Individual clear files

Back

Because I didn't already own more folders than I need. And now I'll never use any of the others again. I'm really happy with these because they're actually useful and they make me smile every time I need something out of them. OωOb

Scrunchie with charm

Another one of my favorites. I wear it like a bracelet every day so whenever I have a bad customer or something I just look at the little Arashi charm and my mind goes back to Hawaii. Haha

Pen light

The only thing more important than the T-shirt. Really happy with this because I've wanted a pen light for a long time. I bought this at the goods booth on the first day of the concert because they were sold at Shirokiya.

The concert was on a dirt lot so the red dirt got all over the strap and in every nook and cranny of the handle.

Arashi water

$3. Dollars. A bottle. And worth every penny. Partially because everyone joked around and pretended it was their favorite member's sweat, but mostly because it was really hot. Haha

Tickets

Not as pretty as the tickets you could buy from the radio station. They ripped our tickets on the second day. :(

Lei

A $170 "gift" from the members.

Stool

The seating was very disorganized. When I bought my tickets from Ticketmaster and I got a block letter and row number. I didn't get a seat number until I swiped my card and received my physical ticket at the venue. Then I was given a stool which they were supposed so write my name and block on, but they were in too much of a rush to do so. We were supposed to set up the rows according to the seating assignments on our tickets, but everyone just sat where ever we wanted which was the only good part of the disorganization because I got to have my moment with Nino. Haha

I sit on this and wave my pen light while watching concert DVD's at home now. Lol

Maxi's new bed

Tote bag

I'm not a fan of tote bags because I have severe scoliosis and anything that's not a backpack causes me severe back pain, but I after seeing people with it all over Waikiki I finally caved on the second day and bought it. I'm so glad I did. It's so cute and really spacious and asdf;lkj Arashiiiii.

My grandfather found this on the ground. It looks handmade, but I don't know what it is. I saw a couple girls in yukata with Arashi decorations around their waist. Maybe it was hanging off of someone's obijime?

On the last morning we stopped by Shirokiya to check out the Book Off and grab some lunch to take with us sightseeing. Of course, I had to stop by the Arashi store one last time and, of course, I caved and bought more stuff.

"Arashi Live Tour 2013 LOVE" concert DVD
and their latest single, "Dare mo Shiranai"

I couldn't wait. Now I don't think I'll be going to Japan next summer so I'm glad I grabbed these. They raised the price only a very small amount. (Almost nothing compared to Amazon/eBay.)

It's so gaudy though.

Mini uchiwa

Free with the purchase of any DVD or album. Exactly the same as the jumbo uchiwa... except mini. I just... needed it. I don't know why. orz

Boku no Miteiru Fuukei Limited Edition

 I hit the jackpot at Book Off! It's used and they were overcharging and I already own the regular edition, but I just couldn't let it slip away. *cries*

Arashi in the local paper

Every morning my grandfather would go down to the lobby, get a newspaper, and find all of the Arashi ads/articles for me. <3