October 1, 2014
Back in March, I received an email informing me that tickets were now available for Ultra Japan. At first, I simply skipped over it since I wasn't in a position to pay myself a flight to Japan just to see this concert. But after a few moments, I quickly rushed back to check the dates to realize that I was going to be in Japan at that time! I was filled with joy.
Just to explain a little bit about Ultra, Ultra has been my dream place to be ever since I started DJing. I always wanted to perform there one day, even though that's quite unlikely, and I also wanted to attend a few of these big electronic dance music festivals. Ultra is one of the biggest of them all and I had watched too many videos of my favorite DJs performing at this concert around the world. Canada doesn't host this concert, therefore I was never able to go until now!
I definitely would have gone alone had I had to, but I decided to contact a friend in Japan who I thought would be game to join me: Anzu (My sister's roommate during her stay in Japan). Anzu also came to Winnipeg last summer to stay at our house for a week! After a few messages, our tickets were bought and I received my electronic code for my ticket by email.
From then on, nothing really happened until two days before the event, when Anzu contacted me to decide when we would leave and how we would get there.
The day of, I left my dorm at 6:00 A.M. and arrived at Ebina where Anzu was waiting for me. Last time we had tried to meet up, we had spent at least 1 hour trying to find each other, but this time we had developed a better plan haha. As we were both tired, we rode the rest of the train ride sleeping, with Anzu's alarm set for a certain time. Yet, I woke up at that time, but Anzu didn't. I didn't want to wake her up until I was sure we would miss our stop, which we almost did. Oh Anzu... haha! Two trains later, we were riding the Yurikamome, which is basically a slow train that rides around the city of Tokyo, usually used for tourism, to pass by the highlights of the city. During my last visit to Japan, my dad had taken me on this particular train, and many of the places flew back into my memory as we rode by them. We passed by many famous places, including the Tokyo Tower and the Sky Tree, two of the tallest structures on the planet. As we neared our destination, Anzu and I spotted the park and the stage's setup I so eagerly wanted to see. We walked off the train, and the exit of the station was literally meters away from the entrance to the park. Until that moment I had been worried we had come too early, but to our surprise, there were at least 30 people waiting in line already. Anzu then asked me: I wonder at what time they came? haha, we shall never know.
We quickly grabbed breakfast at the nearest convenience store, and waited in line for about 20 minutes before we were allowed to enter the park... only to walk up to a new line. After about another 20 minutes, we were redirected three times to a new line and finally, using Anzu's phone to scan our tickets, we entered the Ultra park... only to end up in another line to buy sunglasses. This line took much longer. About 40 minutes later, we were on our way into the main part of the park. A DJ was already playing by that time. We walked around the different shops that were set up, picked up some Pocari Sweat (a famous Japanese sport drink), took a few pictures, won a VIP pass for the Pioneer Terrace, and headed to the front of the main stage.
(Ultra Japan's main stage.)
(DJ Komori rocking the room!)
After that, it was time for a break. Jumping around can be quite tiring. We grabbed some ramens, and sat down in the shade to admire the venue's setup while we ate and chatted. After that, I had another first time experience to eat some Kakigori (basically a snow cone: chopped up ice with syrup), and we were then back off to the main stage. But luckily, we had won passes to the Pioneer Terrace, which basically meant we were allowed to go for 30 minutes on a special terrace which let us watch the main stage from a higher point of view. It was relaxing and we were given each a glass of Red Bull.
(Anzu and I at the top of the Pioneer Terrace.)
(Worldwide Arena.)
We left the room hazed and tired which is why we decided to take a rest. We found a place under the shade of some palm trees and slept there for 30 minutes. I should have then taken the time to go to the washroom, but we headed straight for the main stage since I didn't want to miss Fedde le Grand who was due to play at that time.
(Main stage during Fedde le Grand's set.)
But as I had mentioned, for some reason, they had installed gates all over the place, so some people were standing on them or sitting on them, which obstructed our view of the stage. This was not going to be a pleasant evening if this continued. Fortunately, with a little bit of shifting and the crowd moving, we were able to make it to a gate ourselves, where we could lean on and Anzu could step on to see over everyone's head.
I didn't want to be right at the front of the stage, and we had a very good spot, so we stayed there for the rest of the night. After Fedde le Grand, Afrojack came on, and I knew most of his songs! It was great, and by the end of his set, it was already getting dark. Next up was Alesso, who has produced many great hits as well, including "If I lose myself". By this time, it was dark out, Anzu and I were both dead, but the music just kept me going! I couldn't believe I was actually living this. I was at Ultra! The set was amazing and I could sing, jump and dance to most of the songs. There was a slightly longer break between Alesso and the last DJs of the night, Axwell and Ingrosso, to allow them to install a bigger stage (Like it wasn't big enough already). Now their set just took things to another level. Sure, they had the benefit of being last, in the complete darkness and being on a bigger stage, but their choice of music was perfect. I REALLY wish I could make music like that. Anzu and I danced and jumped until we could no more and then we still kept going. During most of the set, the crowd screamed out the lyrics and the melodies to the songs, and I had to join in. During the last two songs, I ended up singing with a complete stranger, who was as into the moment as I was! GOOD TIMES...
(Perfection...)
(By the end of the night, it was just CRAZY!)
The festival ended at 9 P.M. and after a few hundred pictures and videos, loads of music, a crazy amount of light, fireworks, flames and 9 DJs, it was time to head back. It took about 25 minutes just to get out of the park. Anzu and I decided to go see the rainbow bridge, which happened to not have rainbow lights that night haha, and to eat at McDonalds in the calm air.
(The swag is real.)
(Thank you Anzu for coming along!)
I walked to the restaurant across and they told me I would have to sleep out that night. I said too bad for that, I wasn't going to pay for a hotel. I decided to jump the fence. I made it across, and as I was walking through the campus, I realize that I could have easily just biked around the campus since my residence is outside the gates... Too late. I was soon jumping over the second fence, entering the back door of the Kokusaikaikan (my dorm), saying goodnight to all the guys still awake in the lobby (what the...) and off to bed.
What a great day. A dream come true. Ultra can now be checked off my bucket list.
(Don't you worry, don't you worry child. See heaven's got a plan for you...)
9:21 AM |
Category:
Dance,
DJing,
Dreams,
Feelings & Thoughts,
Friends,
Music,
Preparation,
Vroxyle
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