Good day ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, mz’s and mb’s in Japan, Indonesia, Italia, and all around the world.

Allow me to introduce myself first, the name’s Dario, Wotaliano here on JKT48Stuff, Om Badai or Tatsuo Senpai on Twitter.

I will have the privilege of telling you a little (long) story today, my first trip to the Holy Land aka that certain theater on the 4th floor of fX Sudirman in Jakarta, Indonesia.

My First 10 Days in Indonesia

(or “10 days of Gesrek”)
(or “Some things you should do, MANY things you should avoid in Indonesia”)

(BTW, a couple Indonesian slang words you should know to read this are “bule” (foreigner, originally used only for whites afaik) and “gesrek” (to be hyper/ecstatic about something))

Actually, unlike other battle-hardened JP Wotas, I went to Jakarta for the first time this August, from the 18th to the 27th. As it was the first time, I didn’t try to program my schedule around an HS event or similar, my only hope was to finally see with my own eyes the theater and its surroundings, to walk on the same ground, breathe the same air the JKT48 girls and fans walk and breathe….and of course, watch as many shows as possible.

It’s been almost 1 month since I left from Haneda airport to Jakarta. I might have forgotten smaller details, but the excitement and emotions felt those 10 days are still burning inside me.

OK then, care to join me on this (relatively) short, but intense, ride?

17 August

Not really much to say about this day, as my flight leaves at 11:45 PM from Haneda airport, Tokyo. I meet fellow wota comrade Bang J in the afternoon, do some shopping in Akihabara, get back home to finish packing my stuff, grab a bite and head for the airport. Check in (Air Asia X, via Kuala Lumpur), get some more souvenirs, wait, board the flight.

Things I learned today: I paid 8000 JPY to check in my luggage (had my clothes and stuff, the souvenirs, etc; it’s 4000 JPY per flight.) , but IIRC the limit for carrying luggage in the cabin is 7 KG. I stayed 10 days, so it was kind of unavoidable, but I think that some smarter packing might have avoided that expense. As long as you don’t carry super heavy/voluminous looking things with you, you might get away without them weighing it… it’s worth a try imo.

18 August

My flight arrived at Kuala Lumpur airport in the early morning, and I had to wait a couple hours for the next connection to Jakarta. Apparently Air Asia X now uses the recently built 2nd terminal of KLI airport; it’s easy to navigate, clean and all, maybe there aren’t that many shops in it yet, but it’s convenient enough in my opinion. There were also few people around until close to departure time, so I just took it easy until flight time. Oh yeah, Wi-Fi was available “for 1 hour only”, but I could use it for a little more than 2 hours, I think. No more free options afterwards though (AFAIK)

The flight to CGK leaves and lands…. I had prepared the 35 USD to receive the tourist Visa, but I was honestly puzzled to see that the custom clearance form to fill in was written only in Indonesian. Luckily the immigration form had English translations, and as they ask pretty much the same things, I managed to fill it in somehow, but that sure left a big question mark in my head. Of course the flight attendants were explaining to non-Indonesian speakers what to write during the flight but…as I didn’t expect that to be the only available one, I didn’t ask and…yeah. Moral of the story, write it during the flight, I guess.

Except that, immigration procedures went smoothly, and I was outside the terminal building in no time. The heat! The aroma! Bahasa Indonesia swirling around me! But no, no time to get moved yet. As soon as a bule (I suppose) is out of the terminal, he/she gets swarmed with smiling folks beckoning to all sorts of taxis, asking where you want to go? Hotel? etc etc. And they. don’t. stop. (In all other occasions, I found they stopped after you turn them down once)

My preparation for the trip was mainly reading Mukku-san’s blogs, and he did warn against these people, as they were likely to guide you to taxis much more expensive than the normal rates, and to use Bluebird group taxis if you had to (as other friends also had advised me to).

That actually was my intention, but albeit Bluebird taxis were incessantly passing through the area, I couldn’t figure out where to board one…and that’s where I saw the bus stop.

Mukku-san had recommended to use the Damri buses, much much cheaper than taxis (350 to 600 JPY for several locations throughout Jakarta), and that’s what I did. I knew my hotel was close to Kota Station; I asked the ticket sale attendee about it, and not only did she sell me the right ticket (well, duh) she also led me to the right bus, probably noticing my hesitation. Ve bless her.

The bus was comfortable, free Wi-Fi, honestly it’s perfectly equal to a taxi, as long as you know where to go of course.

Fast Forward to arriving at Kota Station. I check around the station itself, go out, and again people beckon to me! No taxis this time though, but 3-wheeled vehicles called “Bajaj”

One thing I often heard from acquaintances and friends, is that it’s imperative to bargain with drivers or such vehicles (or taxis without meter), because the price is decided before riding, and they’ll inevitably propose a higher one, especially when dealing with foreigners. Thing is, all I can say in Bahasa Indonesia are simple greetings, and forget about using English, so I just accepted what the driver guy proposed (50.000 IDR iirc) and hopped in.

The funny thing is, it’s actually pretty easy to understand if you’re getting cheated or not. When I accepted the price here, the driver guy was all smiles and one friend (?) of his who helped communicate in English patted him strongly on the shoulder and sent him off…one later day, I did the same route at half the price, and the driver just nodded quietly and motioned at me to get on (LOL)

It might be sound arrogant for me to say this, but in the end bargaining nets a difference of hundreds of yen (when doing short routes of course), so I didn’t really feel the need to do it.

Anyway, after 15 minutes or so I arrive at my hotel, “New Mirah Hotel” . It was a little before 1 PM. I’m greeted by a friendly man from the concierge, who confirms my reservation but tells me that I should wait 30 minutes or so for check-in, as in they’re “dusting the hotel for mosquitoes”.

…..okay.

Other people, presumably hotel staff and customers, are gathered in small groups outside, some with masks covering their mouths, as a big ass dust cloud flows merrily from inside the hotel.

…..okay.

No wonder my eyes were itching ever since I arrived, I guess.

Anyway, after 30 minutes or so people start entering and checking in, and I do too, despite the concierge guy not knowing English and deftly dodging my approaches, until a more English-savvy person arrived.

Anyway I check in my room (neat and tidy, no complaints), get a quick shower and set out again; there was no show that day, but I had programmed to meet up with a few acquaintances at fX.

Thinking of using the TransJakarta bus this time, I ask for directions to the nearest bus stop and head there. The bus stop was easy to find, and as in the picture below it’s also easy to understand how to get to your destination.

The problem is, I took the pic above probably in my last or second to last day in Jakarta….

I will spare you the long and tortuous, although involuntary, bus/walking trips I did through the city because of my lack of knowledge and preparation (and the hotel being quite far from fX)
But after acquiring the above weapon, sailing was smooth!

…back to Aug 18. It took me some 4 hours, in the end, to get to fX. (It’s less than 1 hour via bus), and not having Internet access caused friends and acquaintances worry too. (Apologies again!)

But at 18:30….there it is, fX Sudirman.

I enter the building, almost ecstatic. I knew that my friends were waiting at Starbucks, but…I just couldn’t help it. I had to go there first…to the 4th floor. So I head for the escalator…1st, 2nd, 3rd floor…my heartbeat’s speeding up even now, maybe 1/5th of how much it was speeding up then though. I arrive at the 4th floor, turn to the right…and…. Holy, there it is. No show scheduled that day, so it was dimly lit, the shop was closed, no one around but….there it is. It really exists. Indonesia’s most sophisticated show…..

As I was there, just staring, I hear a voice calling my name, and a somewhat familiar-looking face….?

Turns out it was Djt, who I had never actually met before, but knew via Twitter. He shook me out of that frozen state and accompanied to Starbucks, where I met Boss, who had been waiting for a long time too… after that tearful (?) reunion, the conversation somehow shifted to doing a dogeza in front of the theater, and that’s how the two pictures above were born.

I was thinking to be lucky that at least there was no one around, but as I stood back up I saw Rica oshis (and one of them was a person I often heard about and admire too) putting up banners for Rica’s birthday show the following day…..

Okay…..

Anyway, after I had the very pleasant surprise of meeting another friend, we went back and settled down at QQ, a cafe on the ground floor of fX, right next to the main entrance.

I had often heard of it, but had no idea how important it really was for JKT wotas. I would understand soon though….

We were gradually joined by more people: Abang Pleiboi, RHKilis, etc. just having a laid-back, fun chat. Sometimes, someone would tell me to stay alert, because members were training in the theater that day, and we would see them pass later, but to be honest I was skeptical. How could it be that easy, I mean girls just strolling in the open like that, going out from the main lobby?

Being used to the JPN48 fandom, it seemed absurd. Things like these happened maybe in AKB’s 1st and 2nd year (at least as far as I’m told), nowadays they’re rare and random occurrences.

But well, I was to be proven wrong.

At around 11 PM I think, a voice says “Hey, Ayana tweeted “lesson finished!” They’re coming!” and excitement throughout the small group rose. Boss, sitting next to me, urged to take out my present (I had brought with me a present for Rona I had actually bought months before, as a kind of (very) late birthday present, thinking of handing it to the staff).

I had no time to even think again how unbelievable that would be when….

Soon enough, I see two familiar, pretty figures heading right this way.

Walking towards the elevator, at a distance of roughly 1 meter from our tables, it was none other than my oshimen, the frickin’ real Eleonora Angelica Rona Ariesta Anggreani.

(I’m getting goosebumps and cold sweat again just by typing and remembering it, for God’s sake)

Well, as you can maybe imagine, I was left speechless, unable of doing, well damn, nothing. I mean, she existed, really existed too, and was right there….!

It was only thanks to the others there calling her name, she smiling and waving back at us, that I could muster my courage and give her the gift. She looked surprised, accepted with a smile and turned the corner towards the elevator…

You can maybe imagine (again) how devastated I was after that. I mean, I had just arrived, and boom. Death by gesrek.

I can only remember fragments of what happened next, really. I know that it was getting late and everyone started going home. I know that following Rona (and Natalia, who was with her, but I honestly did not see at all) members like Melody, Jeje, Haruka, Chikarina etc came down too but…no sir, I’m in a different planet.

Anyway, after saying goodbye to everyone, I just took a cab and go back to the hotel. The following day, August 19, was the birthday of Rica Leyona and Jessica Veranda, and I had received an e-mail saying I had won a ticket to the Team J “Demi Seseorang (Dareka no Tameni)” show which would double as their “Seitansai”.

What I learned today: fX is heaven on earth.

August 19 – Double Seitansai

I had a ticket already, so I took it easy in the morning and headed to fX at around noon. I met other previously Twitter-only acquaintances like Pitra, Mas Niwatori, etc, had a very pleasant chat, then when it was time we headed to the 4th floor to see the show.

There we found a familiar sight in the case of such events, at least for JKT wotas; celebrative banners, flowers etc all lined up to the left side of the theater.

The bingo wasn’t very much forgiving, so I watched the show from the standing area, behind the seats. My first time in the JKT theater…I felt kinda choked up going inside, through the corridor, the members’ portraits on the wall…

During the show itself, other than throwing a few MIXes and calls here and there, I remained quiet, focusing as much as I could on Team J’s performance. One other reason was that, unlike what you can see in YouTube from JKT48 concert performances, the theater audience (with a few exceptions) is very, very quiet. Everyone’s just “normally” enjoying the show. No MIXes, no calls, no wotagei, nothing. It honestly felt weird at first, but after talking about it with fellow wotas, I came to the personal conclusion that while Japan-born idol culture might have somehow planted roots in Indonesia too, it doesn’t have to mean all of its present elements have too.

I also remembered that, at least as far as MIX is concerned, it was born as a pure act of disturbance during live performances; you can then say that it kind of went back to its origins, because at least during theater shows doing it might make you feel out of place :p

Anyway, about Team J’s performance…the impression I got was solid, rock solid, stability that other 48 teams could envy. This was no “Dareka no Tameni”, the show Team A and Team N performed in their theaters, but “Demi Seseorang”, Team J’s show, which you can only see at the 4th floor of fX Sudirman, Jalan pintu satu Senayan, Sudirman, South Jakarta.

I actually felt a weird sense of pride watching it. Previously I had only seen JKT performances on TV or DVD, and was always apprehensive if they could ever measure up and then overcome the best performances of Japan’s 48 groups. Well, watching Team J reassured me.

Not that they can perform better than Japanese teams (there’s a lot of subjectivity in that anyway), but that they managed to create their own world, own style, own charm, that they don’t have anything to prove or any need to feel inferior or be compared to other groups.

After the show, I reunited with fellow wotas, was lucky enough to finally meet other web-only acquaintances in person, then did again what would have become the after-show routine: dinner at QQ.

That night too, we caught glimpses of members going home, and while it was still an exciting thing, what surprised me even more how other fans were so casual about it. Of course they would whisper “There’s XXX there” etc, but everything would end there, no amassing crowds, people taking photos or asking for handshakes, etc. Are JKT wotas all so respectful and polite!? Amazing! (I later learned that it’s more like something limited to fX, as not-so-pleasant things happen elsewhere, especially outside Jakarta)

What I learned today: A glimpse of a different form of idoling.

August 20 – White Pajama Drive

I had a ticket (Super Far) for today’s show too, Pajama Drive by the 3rd gen’s White Team.

The Super Far ticket guaranteed I would have been sitting on the 3rd or 4th row, and that’s what I did.

Team 3rd gen White’s Pajama Drive: what should I say? Energy, freshness, 16 young girls having a blast singing, dancing and prancing on stage. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean their youth is all they had: they’re probably diamonds in the rough, and they can become the greatest stars or the greatest stardust, only time will tell. Well, Pajama Drive itself is a very fun setlist, and they sure know how to make the audience have fun too, especially in full-member songs.

Personally, other than my 3rd gen oshi Nina Hamidah, Zebi, Farina, Andela’s performances got my interest.

I have to mention too that this day I went to eat Aceh cuisine, in the restaurant that Haruka and Akicha had visited for a Japanese TV program.

I wanted to mention this lunch because here I ate THE BEST dish during my stay in Indonesia: “Mie Aceh”, or “Aceh-style noodles”. They looked just like the pic you can see in the hyperlink, but had a huge crab on top. The crab was delicious and all, of course, but the noodles themselves!! The soup they were in!! The seasoning!! Pure bliss right there folks. If you ever had the chance of going to a Aceh cuisine restaurant (better if family-owned, or heck even better if you go to Aceh itself), just try it. You won’t be disappointed.

What I learned today: Why people go crazy over Andela….

August 21 – Gadis-Gadis Remaja (Seishun Girls)

The following day, I went to fX earlier than usual, as I had not won a ticket for that day’s show (during my stay, the only tickets I didn’t win were for K3 shows…) and had to pick up a Waiting List number. Unlike Japanese 48 groups, WL here is not subjected to application via mail, just go to the theater, receive a ticket and pray there’s enough room to get in (there usually is, with the exception of special shows such as seitansai, shonichi, senshuraku etc).

I get the ticket (see below), but actually that day much more serious things were going on. The Indonesian Presidential elections’ results were being disputed in a demonstration on the streets, quite close to fX, and the situation didn’t look pretty at all for a few hours. I was joined by some friends afterwards though, who claimed they didn’t have particular trouble coming, and as the show was regularly held later, with the audience being the usual number too, I suppose things had settled down relatively quickly.

My first Team K3 show. You can bet it was a whole new emotion to finally see the girls on stage! Especially Rona, of course. Your oshimen’s just different, no? A true joy for the eyes. The show itself was enjoyable enough, with some gems here and there, but I kind of had this gut feeling that I wasn’t seeing everything that Team K3 can do…it was good, yes, but why was I feeling they can do much better…?

I asked a fellow wota after the show, and he more or less shared my impressions, adding the reason that it was the absence of power players such as Lidya, Yona and Noella.

During the show, Rona did well as I expected, but I was impressed by Naomi and Novinta too (it might hurt to admit it, but these two totally slay Blue Rose). Despite not understanding the MCs (duh) I could also see how Acha was entertaining the crowd, getting laughs at almost every sentence.

Finally, one word about Chikarina. You may know that, differently from Team J, no one speaks Japanese in K3. Even Haruka, who has acquired a certain level of Indonesian proficiency, can’t keep up all the time with Team J MCs, you can see Ayana whispering in her ear frequently.

Imagine how hard it can be for Chikarina then! She was doing whatever she could though, in this day’s show she had written some Indonesian on her hand to say it during the MCs, and thanks to Tata’s efforts too, she really tried her best to keep up. As I too could only follow gestures to guess what was going on, I found myself cheering for her without knowing….

What I learned today: the Indonesian football team’s uniform is pretty cool

August 22-23-24 Pilgrimage to Sulawesi

These 3 days, I went via plane to Manado, city located in North Sulawesi.

As you might guess from the writing on it, Manado and its surroundings are famous for its natural sightseeing spots, diving spots, natural reserves etc. (Bunaken Island above all)

Unlike the rest of Indonesia, Manado has a strong representation of Christians.

The room (left) of the guest house I stayed in, Istanaku Guesthouse. Very pleasant, very cheap, definitely recommended. Even with its funky wall paintings (right) :p

I tried taking a panorama pic of the sea from Manado. You can see Bunaken (I think) on the right. The sea was really great here, I went often just to look at it.

You might be wondering why I went to Manado in the first place. One reason was that since I would stay 10 days in Indonesia, I wanted to go somewhere else than Jakarta too. Originally I planned to go to Makassar, Jogja area and Bandung too, but I realized I did not have enough time, so I chose Manado as my only destination. The other reason is, Jessica Veranda

Anyway, I stayed in Manado from 22 to 25 August, returning to Jakarta in the evening of Sunday 24. From this day, I changed lodging: the former hotel was too far from fX area, going back every night was a pain (with many taxi drivers saying they knew the address, then losing the way and asking me where to go midway….), the dusting didn’t prevent loads of mosquitoes to be there all the time…

As I was advised to by many, I looked for somewhere to stay around Blok M, commercial district not far from the fX area. And Kamar-Kamar for Backpackers is what I found. It’s a hostel, of course, but the interior, rooms etc are very neat and tidy, the staff was super polite, and I was lucky enough (I guess) that there were only 2 other people lodging in the same room as me, so I didn’t feel uneasy at all. I recommend it too if you’re not too picky and/or don’t want to use too much on lodging (like me). Staying at Kamar-Kamar also let me discover something else….

What I learned in Manado: Kids love saying “Hello mister!” to foreigners, but conversation stops there… (and that even rather cute girls suddenly asking to take pictures with you really happens…)

August 25 – Seishun, again

My stay in Jakarta was nearing its end…

What I used this and the following day for transportation was a type of small bus called “MiniMetro”. These doorless buses operate on fixed routes, but they pick you up/let you down anywhere you want: the ticket price is fixed (and incredibly cheap). You can see them everywhere in Jakarta, just motion at one and it will pick you up.

The number/destination is written on it, so you can’t go wrong. While I was riding I saw musicians coming in for a performance (asking for money later of course), some old guy selling magazines, but I heard ruffians come in too sometimes and harass people for “donations”…luckily I didn’t have the experience, but I don’t know if it’s OK to recommend them after hearing this.

This day too, the K3 Seishun Girls show was scheduled, and as it was also suddenly announced that shooting for the Seishun Girls DVD would be done during the show, Waiting List hopefuls were sure to be many; so as I was advised, I went to fX as soon as it opened, around 10 AM. As the K3 girls were already there to get ready to do preliminary filming of the show before the real thing, staff was already there too, and I managed to get a low Waiting List ticket

I killed time as usual chatting and just lounging around (the staff at PJ’s, a neat cafe located on the 5th floor, already knew me well at that point…)

There was another pleasant surprise awaiting, though: that day’s show was the 200th performance for Rona, an event which too is celebrated with fan-made banners.

It was like someone from above (?) telling me to pick her as my oshi once and for all, with all these coincidences! Well, that’s what I did…but anyway, about the show itself…

The member lineup was the same as the show I previously saw, but as soon as it started I could feel the difference in energy, motivation, strength… I suppose having cameras rolling makes things different? (well, that’s obvious I guess). Anyway, thanks to that it was really really enjoyable, everyone was in a good “groove”. Team K3’s Cinderella wa Damasarenai is something to see people, it seems like it was made for them…Ole!

Anyway, the “hi-touch” following the show would be the last time for me to see K3 girls and Rona up close for a while Imagine how glad I was when it was my turn to high-five her and she gave this bright smile! I think I’ll remember it forever…anyway, I just said “Rona!” and did the horns gesture (her trademark \m/) and she did it back. Couldn’t be more satisfied.

After that, reunited with friends and fellow wotas, did the usual chatting and went back to the guest house. The next day would be the last….

What I learned today: Ayenizers are a cool bunch \m/ Thanks for the pics, Ricardo and all!

26 August – Pajama Drive White

Even though I put it as the title, there’s honestly not much to say about the show itself. Nina was cute, Andela was shooting down people’s hearts left and right, but they all looked kinda tired and sluggish, it wasn’t terrible but it didn’t had the oomph it had the previous time…

After the show, I met some friends and comrades again, had a really good time chatting, eating “real” Nasi Goreng from one of the food stands outside, said goodbye to the theater, received some powerful blows of gesrek again (Sinka, why the heck are you so frickin cute??) and hopped on my last Bluebird, heading to CGK airport…. (my flight would be very early the next day, so I opted to spend the night there)

There was a small number of people doing the same thing inside, and everyone was just dozing off, so that felt pretty safe too. I suggest to bring a jacket or something warmer if you plan on doing it though, it would be utterly useless at daytime but it was just cold enough to make the short-sleeved shirt I was wearing uncomfortable….

Anyway, I just lounged around until morning, then did the necessary check-in procedures (I didn’t check-in my luggage this time, and was a little worried if it would exceed the 7 kg limit, but they didn’t even weigh it…), then boarded an uneventful flight back to Tokyo.

I did not feel as sad as others reported to be when leaving Jakarta…to be honest I felt kinda emptied, but it didn’t feel real, not even when I arrived home…

One thing I felt, and feel as strongly now too, is that I want to go back as soon as possible.

CREDITS and THANK YOUs

To Rena Nozawa, for being my first step into knowing and loving JKT48

To JKT48Stuff and its staff, for the opportunity of doing something for the community

A particular thanks to Djt, Pitra, Boss, Mas Niwatori, Abang Ganteng, Abang Pleiboi and many more, for taking care of me much more than I could ever hope. How could I repay you?

To my dearest kamprets. You know who you are, and you’re the ones I miss the most! (After Rona and Sinka, duh)

To the super kind people who, even knowing me barely went all the way to give me PPs You guys rule!

To all the Ayenizers I met, and those I will hopefully meet one day, in Indo or Japan \m/

Bang J, Mr. Yokohama, Mr. Tokorozawa, Mt. Joss, Cleaning Staff, Uncle Joe, Tacchan, and all other Japanese JKT fans who, even though they might not know it, made this trip possible.

(Last but not least, to Ayen for being Ayen. Love you girl #cieee )