Untitled Bangya: January 2025

This post will be all about ordering cheki for pick up at a Hitchcock live!

For information on how to do Hitchcock satsueikai, or if you’re nervous about your first ever vkei live in Japan, check out these other posts!

Hitchcock satsueikai

Guide to vkei lives

Now onto cheki yoyaku (reservation) !!! I’m going to be quite repetitive on certain facts, so be ready. This is specifically for in-person pick up at the venue. Their online store does not ship internationally so pick up is the only way. ~~It also does~~ ~~not~~ ~~accept foreign credit and debit cards,~~ (update: my friends told me their international credit cards were accepted!) but that won’t be an issue for cheki pick up. You can only reserve to pick up cheki at a live you are attending. You will pay directly at the goods table after the live and NOT online!

Steps:

Make an account on https://mathildaofficialwebshop.com/ .

Non-residents can make an account, but unfortunately, foreign credit and debit cards are not accepted.

Click “Category” then click “ヒッチコック” followed by “当日会場受け取りチェキ予約”. (This is for same-day pick ups)

Choose the correct live date you are attending. Double check everything!

Choose the member you want and the correct set you want.

6 cheki for 5,000 yen OR 12 cheki for 10,000 yen.

Double check you got the correct name since it’s all in kanji + the correct set.

Add the order to your cart, then proceed to the check out page.

Before finalizing, scroll down until you see the option/remarks column. It will have a text box. Enter the name or nickname you want written onto your cheki.

The member will sign their name, your name, and a custom message.

Complete check out! The price will list 0 yen because you pay in person. Bring cash! Always bring cash to dominor lives!

*IMPORTANT* The deadline to order cheki is always by 23:59 the night prior!
Example: If the live is on Jan 30th, you must yoyaku cheki by Jan 29th 23:59!

Not all Hitchcock lives will offer venue pick up! They will always announce on their Twitter which lives have mail order or venue pick up. Click here to see what the tweet looks like. (There will be two separate tweets. This one is specifically the venue pick up tweet.) But the website will be organized as well. Just be sure to click the correct cheki link so you don’t get confused.

Mail order can take a long time (sometimes months) so I do not recommend using a Japanese address that isn't yours or a friend's.

THE DAY OF THE LIVE

Now it’s show time! You’re ready to enjoy a fun Hitchcock performance and see your beautiful cheki.

Before the live starts, you can collect your stamps for your point card, buy 2shot (satsueikai) tickets, or any goods. But you cannot pick up your cheki until after the live ends.

Once it’s time, join the goods line. Many fans will be forming a line in front of the goods table, and a sign with a Hitchcock band photo will be passed around. That sign indicates the end of the line. Join from there.

When it is your turn, choose which items you’d like to purchase, if any. Then tell them you made a cheki reservation along with the name you used for the cheki.

Example: (member)-san no cheki wo yoyaku shimashita. (name) desu.
(This always works for me. Sorry I can't really help with Japanese lol)

Once the staff finds your cheki, they will show you the cover to make sure the name is correct. The name you want written onto the cheki will be written either on the plastic bag or on a paper envelope inside the plastic bag. When everything is confirmed, you will be told the total amount to pay, and you’re done!

Best of luck!

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Disclaimer: This is all based on my personal experience. I’ve only ensei’ed (traveled far distances for lives) a couple of times throughout my years in Japan.

I’ve been to Osaka, Nagoya, Kanazawa, Sendai, and Fukuoka from Tokyo through various means of transportation.

The options are shinkansen (bullet train), airplane, and night/day bus.

Out of these three, the cheapest but longest option would be a bus. It isn’t the most comfortable, but if you’re traveling on a budget, this is what I recommend the most.

Prices still depend on when you travel, but ultimately it’s still cheaper than a bullet train.

I recently took a night bus from Tokyo to Osaka during December, so prices were higher than usual. It was 7,500円 one-way and took 9 hours, while my return bus was 5,000円.

In October 2021 I paid 6,240円 for a round trip from Tokyo to Nagoya (the first bus was 3,040円 and the second bus was 3,200円).

In November 2022, I paid 3,800 円 for a round-trip day bus from Tokyo to Gunma (each bus cost 1,900円).

As I mentioned before, these are all better than a bullet train ticket which could easily cost 13,000円 for a one-way trip from Tokyo to Osaka. If you have the money to afford the bullet train, then go for it! It saves time and is much more comfortable. If you want to be cheap or you have a lot of lives to organize and travel to, a bus is the best way to save some money. You can research bus passes and train passes as well!

I’ve used 3 bus companies and had a decent enough experience with all of them:

WILLER EXPRESS

Kosokubus

Bus Bookmark

I’ve used Willer Express the most and can easily vouch for them. You can also book a women-only bus if that makes you feel more comfortable!

When booking, pay extra attention to the pick-up spot and time because they will not wait for you. I can’t imagine the stress of missing a night bus and having nowhere to go until the morning! Triple-check everything! In case you’re worried about the websites being all Japanese, I’ve booked everything just fine using Google Translate. Just take your time and double-check all the information. Willer Express does have an English website, though!

The website will list their size limit for luggages. The bus will have a trunk to load your oversized bags. I've traveled with a full size suitcase before and another time with a smaller carry on suitcase.

On the day of your trip, you go to the meet up spot and there will be a staff member with a clipboard checking people in. Tell them your name and then they will tell you your seat number. Once you board and are settled in your seat, you can pretty much do whatever as long as you aren’t being loud and disturbing other passengers.

The bus will halt at a few rest stops, so you can stretch your legs or have a toilet break; however, the frequency of stops completely depends on the company and bus you’ve booked with. They generally have that information when you’re making a reservation.

The time limit at these rest stops also vary. Some rest stops will only have a ten-minute time limit while others have a twenty-minute time limit. When exiting the bus, there will be a time marker on the dashboard that tells you the departure time so make sure to have a wristwatch or your phone with you when exiting the bus.

Most buses will have a USB charging port for your phone, but there were times where I didn’t have access to one, so prepare a portable power bank just in case!

The entire process is pretty straightforward. Just be careful to not miss your buses at any point in time!

Good luck with your travels. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Here is the itinerary from my recent Osaka trip:

Sunday December 15th at 23:00 departure from "Tokyo" Station

Monday December 16th at 08:10 arrival at Namba Osaka Station

9 hours on the bus with frequent rest stops

Live in Shinsaibashi from 17:30 to 20:00

Monday December 16th at 23:15 departure from Umeda Station

Tuesday December 17th at 07:00 arrival at Tokyo Station

Total bus cost: 12,500円

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I'm finally here with my Yoi birthday live report!! I'm so sorry for the long wait. I hope I can provide enough details to satisfy my fellow Yoigya.

At the time of writing this, it's January 4th and Yoi had his host-themed birthday live back on December 26th (his real birthday being December 31st). It was located at Shimokitazawa ERA!

Upon arriving at the venue, I had met up with my friends and made new Hitchcock friends that same night 💜 Anyway, I'm not sure what the band was doing but we all entered the venue super late and I believe the live started late as well. I had an S ticket and was able to grab 4th row with Mia! The S ticket section was blocked off from general admission, but everyone wanted to be on shimote for Yoi, so it was a bit crowded. However, there were only 5 rows total in the S section, so we had a perfect view of the band!!

There was a black curtain covering the stage and colorful lights along with a disco ball that was slowly spinning in the venue. The background music was definitely what I'd expect to hear in a night club too 😂

When the live started and the band walked on stage OHHHH MY GOD GUYS I lost it. They were all in suits and dressed up as hosts. Karasu wore a suit with hair extensions styled into a ponytail. He was even holding a phone to his ear. Kou wore a black suit and was pretty laid-back. But YOI??!?! By now I know you've all seen his photos, but he went in for tight jeans with a belt that had a huge buckle at the front, a white fur coat, a leopard-print button-up with a white blazer jacket, a longgg chain hooked on the left side of his pants, boots, and sunglasses. It was literally perfect LMAO

(Photo taken from Yoi's Twitter)

Behind him were these silver streamer decorations that hung over his bass amp and went all the way to the drumset. There were numbered balloons for that day's date “1226” taped onto the streamers and mini balloons taped to his mic stand. In front of the drumset was Karasu's desk with a mini champagne glass tower (empty glasses) on top, and Karasu's teddy bear was sitting beside it.
The live itself was insanely fun and Yoi looked SO happy. Throughout the live he was slowly scanning the crowd like he was trying to savor every minute and remember everyone there. It was seriously so sweet.

If you didn't already know, Hitchcock has light sticks that we use for furi for certain songs. Each member has their own color, and you can change colors on the light stick by clicking the button at the bottom. Some songs we use the red light while other songs we use our favorite member's color. Since it was Yoi's birthday event, Karasu told us to use the purple light for the whole show. 🥺💜

(Karasu red, Yoi purple, Kou yellow.)

During one of the MCs, staff played a popular host birthday song, and Yoi had to pop open two little champagne bottles while the fans sang along. It was hilarious!! After opening the first bottle, Yoi threw the cork into the audience and it smacked someone in the face. I'm sure she's okay, but I wonder who got the cork in the end lololol for the second bottle he struggled a bit, but got it open in the end. His precious smile you guys 😭

The last song for their mainset was 一人ぼっちの歯ブラシ, but it was Yoi singing and playing the acoustic guitar. The other members left the stage and all the spotlight was on Yoi!!! He has a beautiful voice. Speaking of which, S ticket holders got a CD of Yoi singing as a present. I haven't listened to it yet, but I really need to asap!!!! After Yoi finished and left the stage, we immediately called for encore. They played their new song, ちゅうぜつ, which is their gyakudai song and has a bass solo. Literally a perfect and chaotic way to end the live!

After the band finished I rushed to the merch table because they were selling a special Yoi non-alcoholic champagne bottle. It was limited to S ticket holders only but just 10 were available!!! I was able to grab the first one for Peruchan and immediately take photos of it 😂 my broke ass couldn't get one myself so this belongs to Peruchan.

(Yoi Satsueikai photo to mark the end of the line)

Afterwards, I fixed my hair and makeup for satsueikai. I took a 15 second video and a cheki with Yoi. I was super excited since it was my first ever video with him AAAAA!!!!! I captured his precious laugh and smile on video 😭

If you ever see Hitchcock live, you'll see how serious Yoi is on stage, especially if there's a theme. That man will act and be in character, but once it's meet and greet time he is the sweetest ever!

I had a wonderful time.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed my report!!!

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