[HONG KONG] Genki Japan in Hong Kong Event Report

Maeda Atsuko, Nakagawa Haruka and Masuda Yuka visited Hong Kong from March 26th, 2012 to March 28th, 2012, to attend the [Genki Japan in Hong Kong] event as the official cheering squad.

The trio arrived in Hong Kong on Monday morning. However, due to the number of fans waiting in the arrival hall, airport staff escorted them outside using the VIP route, away from the sight of fans. Some fans have been waiting since last night to welcome the girls.

The first event took place on March 26th, 2012 at 8pm. MC for the event is a comedian duo called Mukoangie. They briefly talked about the purpose of the [Genki Japan in Hong Kong] expo and introduced AKB48.


Setlist:
M00 - Overture
M01 - Aitakatta
M02 - Everyday, Kachuusha
-----MC-----
M03 - Dareka No Tameni

During the MC, the 3 girls introduced themselves. Both Acchan and Harugon simply said their names, Masuda Yuka used her group stage introduction, and to her surprise, most if not all of the audience knew her catchphrase!

A short Q&A session followed the introductions - the questions were fairly standard, such as "Is this your first time in Hong Kong?" and "What is your first impression?" It turns out Maeda Atsuko had stopped in Hong Kong before, but it was a short layover when she was on her way to Macau. They thought the city was beautiful.

Finally, they asked the 3 members to talk about the "Dareka No Tameni" Project, and that led to the last song of the evening.

The event ended with a surprise handshake session with the 3 members at around 8:30PM.

The second event on March 27th, 2012 followed pretty much the same schedule, and the questions for members were more or less the same, with the addition of "What is your favorite Hong Kong food?"  To which Masuda Yuka answered, "Pretty much everything...but if I had to pick one, it would be the fried rice!"  They were able to do some sight-seeing during the day, and they really enjoyed the city.  They also said the support from Hong Kong fans made them feel very energized, even though they performed for 3 days in a row just prior to this event.  They were happy to be here and be so close to passionate fans.

After the 3rd song, the 3 members came back on stage and took a photo with the audience.  There was also a handshake session with all 3 members.  They left on March 28th, 2012 to go back to Japan.


Overall I think the girls really enjoyed the visit.  They had a lot to eat, did some sight-seeing and went shopping for a little bit during the day on 27th.  The fans behaved very well, and showed a lot of support for all 3 members.  Most of the attendees were Acchan fans - there were many boards, posters, towels and robes with her name/photo on them.  Every time there was a conversational pause, the crowd chanted "Acchan!  Acchan!"  I think she found the support very heart-warming.