The date was July 11th, 2015. Location: Saitama, Japan. I had embarked on my second journey to attend a concert that I would never have the opportunity to attend again. One Ok Rock is one of the biggest names in Japanese rock. Having released seven albums now and toured most parts of the world, it is no surprise that they're so popular. The only way to get tickets to their concert, was by entering a lottery in hopes that you were one of the few to win the purchasing ability. I had entered the lottery twice and came out unlucky both times. However, my luck changed when I got to Japan and was introduced to the auction community. It was there that I managed to win a reasonably priced ticket to their sold out concert. I was so pumped, especially because the special guest for my showing included Twenty One Pilots, whom I love and have seen twice before. Upon arriving to the venue, I immediately went for the merch stations which, unlike at the Babymetal concert, were everywhere. The lines were shorter too - a huge plus! I grabbed what I wanted and threw it all in a coin locker back at the train stations right next to the arena. I walked around aimlessly for a while trying to kill time and figure out where my seat group was lining up. Unlike in America where everyone pretty much enters the same area of a venue and then finds their seats, in Japan they even split up the entrances to ensure everyone is in their correct area. Although I can I speak Japanese conversationally, finding my seating area was pretty hard, but I found my seat easily once I was inside. The time had finally come - I had been fanboying all semester for the opportunity to be able to come out and see these guys play live. I never thought that I would be able to get these tickets! Finally, Twenty One Pilots took the stage, playing off their new album Blurryface. There wasn’t much time between the end of their set and when One Ok Rock came on. The crowd went crazy, and not a single person was sitting for the entire set They played every popular song and even a good amount from their new album. Kellin Quin, lead singer from Sleeping with Sirens, even called in during the show to tell the crowd hello and introduce the song “Paper Planes,” which he is a guest on. 

This was by far the biggest concert I had attended for a single artist ever, and man was it incredible!

After this show, it was announced that they would be going on an American Tour with All Time Low and Sleeping with Sirens. Having only been to America once before and only as a guest with not a lot of playing time, this was a big deal. I have purchased tickets and will be seeing them again October 16th in Houston. I am so excited for it!