This article will provide you with basic information regarding Morning Musume. kobetsu (individual) release events, and how to attend them.
This guide can also be used for other Hello! Project / M-Line acts that organize their kobetsu events through forTUNE music too.
You can therefore use it as well if you plan on going to kobetsu events for OCHA NORMA, Tsubaki Factory and BEYOOOOONDS but NOT for ANGERME and Juice=Juice (they are using pony canyon instead).
Table of contents:
- What are kobetsu events?
- How to participate in forTUNE music events?
- Overall tips
- Tips for cheki sessions
- Tips for sign sessions
- Tips for talk sessions
- How to trade tickets for talk sessions?
♡ What are kobetsu events?
Kobetsu events (個別イベント) or "individual events" are a specific kind of release events organized to promote Morning Musume.'s new releases.
Unlike other release events, those allow you to have a personalized interaction with the members. Therefore, if some are happening in Japan, you should definitely try to attend them!
These events last for an entire day, and several are organized in Tokyo and in Osaka, mostly shortly after the release date of a new single or album. They feature three main types of activities that you can do with the members:
- Cheki sessions (チェキ会): taking a polaroid picture with one or multiple members. 2-shot cheki means that you and one member of your choice will be on the picture, 3-shot means you plus two members, etc. and "group cheki" includes several members. For chekis, you will be asked to choose a pose to do on the picture. Your polaroid photo will be handed to you by the staff while you leave the booth after taking the picture.
- Individual sign sessions (個別サイン会): talking to the member while they sign a paper with your name.
- Individual talk sessions (個別トーク会): talking to the member. One ticket worths about 8 seconds with them. For albums (as those are more expensive than singles), they rather organize "long talk sessions" (個別ロングトーク会), for which one ticket worths about 40 seconds with the member.
These activities can be slightly different depending on the events, so make sure to always check the details yourself on the related webpages.
These tickets can be obtained through lotteries organized via a service named forTUNE music. Tickets are sold with CD packages, and not all activities cost the same price. You will not be charged for a lottery you lost.
♡ How to participate in forTUNE music events?
The very first step for you will be to carefully read the event schedule and details on the corresponding Hello! Project website page once it has been announced.
A day of kobetsu events is usually organized this way: cheki sessions → talk sessions → sign sessions. All sessions are organized in time slots ("部"). While applying for an activity, you will be asked to choose the session(s) and the member(s) that you want.
Here is an example of a kobetsu event schedule which was used for one of Morning Musume.'s 73rd single release individual events:
- Group cheki session: Doors opening at 11:20, event starting at 11:30
- 2-shot cheki session ① : Doors opening at 12:10, event starting at 12:20
- 2-shot cheki session ② : Doors opening at 12:30, event starting at 12:40
- Talk session ① : Doors opening at 13:55, event starting at 14:00
- Talk session ② : Doors opening at 14:25, event starting at 14:30
- Talk session ③ : Doors opening at 15:10, event starting at 15:15
- Talk session ④ : Doors opening at 15:40, event starting at 15:45
- Talk session ⑤ : Doors opening at 16:40, event starting at 16:45
- Talk session ⑥ : Doors opening at 17:10, event starting at 17:15
- Talk session ⑦ : Doors opening at 17:55, event starting at 18:00
- Talk session ⑧ : Doors opening at 18:25, event starting at 18:30
- Sign session : Doors opening at 19:35, event starting at 19:45
And here were the prices for that one event:
Group cheki session: ¥6,100 (all regular editions of the single + Limited Edition A, B or C)
2-shot cheki session: ¥6,100 (all regular editions of the single + Limited Edition A, B or C)
Sign sessions: ¥6,100 (all regular editions of the single + Limited Edition A, B or C)
Talk session: ¥1,300 (Regular Edition A , B or C of the single)
(Keep in mind that this is just indicative information to give you a global idea of the prices and organization, but of course check details for the event you plan on going to).
You also need to know that for "Individual talk sessions" (not "Individual long talk sessions"!), members are almost always grouped in pairs. For instance, during the event that was introduced above, "Group B" was composed of Ikuta Erina and Haga Akane. Which means that you apply for a GROUP of members and not directly for the member of your choice. Therefore, if you won the lottery for a "Group B Individual talk session", you would randomly get a talk ticket with Ikuta or Haga. But do not stress too much over this, many fans achieve to trade their tickets if they did not get the member of their choice (more information on trade at the end of the article).
Now that you have all of this in mind, time to apply for some tickets!
1. Creating your forTUNE music account
I recommend using the Google Translate Chrome extension to navigate on the website if you do not read Japanese.
Go to https://fortunemusic.jp/ and click on the three bars at the top left section on the page, and then on "ログイン / 新規登録" (Log In / Sign Up). Then, choose "新規登録".
Agree to the terms of use ("利用規約に同意します") and the handling of your personal information ("プライバシーポリシーに同意します"), then click on "同意して次に進む" ("Agree and proceed").
Fill the following form:
When filling in the address, make sure to put one you will actually be able to send the tickets and CDs to. Tenso does not ship within Japan, so don't send it to their place (or any other proxy service).
If you don't live in Japan, ask someone who lives there if they could receive the CDs and tickets for you. If you're travelling, you can also ask your hotel if they would agree to do it.
After you filled in the form and confirmed your information, they will send you an e-mail with a URL, on which you will have to click to confirm your registration.
Once your account is set up, it's time to apply for events!
2. Applying for lotteries
Several rounds of lottery are always organized, which gives you multiple opportunities to apply or even more time to decide. However, it happens that certain members sell out their slots for some of the activities, so try to apply from the first one if you want to maximize your winning chances.
Access the page of the event, scroll down and then click on the activity you're interested in (they have the shape of red rectangles).
Example from the Tsubaki Factory's 3rd album kobetsu events page
If "受付終了" is written before the name of an activity, it means that you can no longer apply for it (it's either sold out or all reception lotteries are over).
After clicking, you will be directed to a page with all the details about the type of event you chose. Scroll down and you will find summaries of all reception lotteries with their opening and closing times. Choose one that is currently open and click on "Click here to apply" ("申し込みはこちら").
Then, click on your desired date and venue to pull down a table summarizing all the time slots and available members.
Once you're done, add it to your cart by clicking this button at the bottom of the page.
Complete the application process. Once you're done, you should receive an e-mail from forTUNE music. You can also check the status of your lottery applications from "My Page" "マイページ", and then "抽選申込履歴".
3. Lottery results and payment
On the day of the results, check "My Page" "マイページ" and click on "抽選申込履歴". You will find a tab with all your applications, and if the results are out, they will be detailed in the "抽選結果" column.
There are three types of results you can get:
- 当選: you won all the slots you applied for (for the type of activity the line is about).
- 一部当選: you partially won (so at least one slot).
- 落選: you lost.
You will also receive a mail to tell you about the results.
If you won, click on "お支払い方法の未登録一覧" next to the tab to choose your payment method. Make sure to do it as soon as possible, because there will be a payment deadline, and you will lose your slots if you don't pay by the deadline.
Good news for international fans, you can pay by credit card! No need to pay at the conbini.
4. Receiving your CDs and tickets
If the lottery you won took place before the official CD release date, you will receive around the release date. forTUNE music sends mails to let customers know when the packages have been shipped.
Your tickets will be gathered on wide paper sheets included in the box next to CDs, on which they will be pre-cut. You can get rid of the blank tickets with just "***" on it. All you have to do is to bring them to the event and show it to the staff after queuing for the right time slot!
If you received Individual Talk session tickets and are not satisfied with the members you were randomly appointed within their "groups", there are tips on how to trade with other fans at the end of the article.
♡ Overall tips
- Be aware of the members' popularities. As it was explained above, forTUNE music always organizes many different lottery receptions, but tickets for certain members are quite difficult to win. If you plan on applying for a session with a popular member (or group chekis), make sure to try from the first reception. If this is a graduation single/album, sessions with the graduating member will automatically be very competitive, regardless of their initial popularity. Also, be aware that some members who are not necessarily the most populars can be known for being good at specific activities and their tickets for those sessions will therefore be harder to get (e.g. Sakurai Rio's chekis).
- Be on time. Officially, the staff will not let you use a ticket indicating a specific time slot for another one if you missed it.
- Wearing a mask is mandatory for talk and sign sessions.
- If a member you were supposed to have a session with is absent on the day of the event (e.g. sickness), check the staff's updates on the Hello! Project website to see how they will proceed. Sometimes, they can offer refunds, but also allow you to change for a session with another member of your choice instead.
- If you're attending an event in Tokyo, do not mix up "Shibuya Bellesalle" and "Shinjuku Bellesalle". Both venues are often used for Morning Musume. kobetsu events, and as their names are very similar, be careful not to go to the wrong one.
- Have fun!!
♡ Tips for cheki sessions
- Don't forget your passport / residence card! The staff will check the name on your ticket and your ID before you can access the event venue for cheki sessions.
- Choose your pose in advance and write it down on the papers the staff will be handing around the venue when it's time for cheki sessions. It's quite logical, but write it in Japanese and be as precise as possible (e.g., try to avoid writing things like "heart", which could be a heart formed by joint hands, a big heart formed with arms, finger heart, etc.). Very logical again, but do not choose anything inappropriate.
- Have another idea of pose you'd like to do just in case. It's rare, but sometimes, members can decline your pose if they don't like it, don't feel comfortable with it or are tired of doing it all the time. If this happens, it's better to have a plan B to avoid choosing something in haste.
- If you don't really know which pose you should do, do not hesitate to ask the member to choose it for you! To do so, just write "[Member's name]のおまかせ" on the paper. It's a really great idea, because not only it's cool to let them choose it themselves, but it can also allow you to spend extra time with them in the booth and have a cute interaction while they're deciding.
- Don't talk to the member when you're in the booth. It's currently forbidden, and the staff will remind you of it before you letting you enter. Sometimes, the members don't really care about the rule and will tell you something anyway; in this case you can answer in a quick and discrete way but do not initiate the conversation yourself. Instead, have a great smile and wave at them!
- Don't forget to take the polaroid photo with you. It actually happens to a lot of people, especially on the first time they take a cheki, due to stress, emotion, etc. after interacting with the member. The staff will be handing it to you when you leave the booth, so don't forget it!
♡ Tips for sign sessions
- Don't forget your passport / residence card! As for cheki sessions, the staff will check the name on your ticket and your ID before you can access the event venue.
- Choose your nickname and write it down on the forms the staff will be handing around the venue when it's time for sign sessions. This is the nickname the member will be writing on the paper next to their sign. Before entering the venue, the staff will check your nickname form and apply a stamp on it to attest your nickname verification (obviously, any inappropriate nickname will be rejected).
- Your nickname can only written in katakana or hiragana (up to 10 characters). It is not allowed to request them to write it using kanji or foreign alphabets.
- For tips on interaction / conversation, check the section below, as those will be the same than for talk sessions.
♡ Tips for talk sessions
- Be careful while preparing what you're going to say. Don't enter the booth without any idea of what you could say, because there are high chances that your mind will go completely blank once you face the member. Have a least a few ideas of things you want to mention. On the other hand, do not learn full sentences / speeches by heart, because you might panic and forget it during the session, which will make you lose some precious time. It's also a bad idea because it will limit the spontaneity of your interaction, as well as the member's ability to reply and engage in a real conversation.
- If you can, try to have multiple tickets with the same members for a single time slot, rather than splitting your tickets between multiple time slots. If you have more than one ticket for a time slot, you won't have to queue again before entering the booth. Instead, the staff will add the allowed conversation time of each ticket together. It's more interesting to get one 16s session than two 8s sessions, because you will gain some time not having the basic "hello" and "goodbye" parts with the members twice. It will also allow you to have more in-depth conversations.
- Look at them! It can be very intimidating, especially for shy people, but you might remember their faces and the atmosphere of the moment better if you really try to focus.
♡ How to trade tickets for talk sessions?
As it was explained above, you cannot directly choose the member that you want for talk sessions. Instead, you apply for a "group", and you will not know which member you will get until the tickets arrive at your place.
Talk tickets are the only type of ticket you can trade, because they don't have your name on it. You cannot trade cheki and sign tickets.
Therefore, fans often trade together if they did not get their oshi / the members that they wanted. To do it yourself, Twitter will be your best friend. Here is a sample you can use to tweet your trade offer:
【交換】
モーニング娘。’[year] 個別トーク会
譲:[MM/DD] [city] [Surname of the member you got] [Number designating which time slot is it]部 x[amount of tickets you got for this member and this time slot]
求:[MM/DD] [city] [Surname of the member would like to get in exchange]
よろしくおねがいします。
If you are looking for a specific time slot, you can add it next to the name of the member you would like to get a ticket for. You can also add more information below, such as about the exchange method (on site, by mail, etc.) or the payment. Most of the time, people trade on site and exchange the money and tickets directly by cash. Some people also like to trade at earlier event places (e.g., if a concert / event is happening some time before the kobetsu event).
Once you have tweeted, you can also search for similar keywords on Twitter to check if someone has already proposed a deal that would fit your requirements, and contact them.
Note that sometimes, people cannot attend the event at all in the end due to work, or other reasons. Most of the time, those people will sell their tickets. Exchange offers involving money will then be marked as "k". If you plan on buying tickets from people, you can also check resales on Mercari.
♡ Some tips for trading talk session tickets:
- Once you've found someone to trade with, make sure to discuss with them enough in DM. I would recommend you sending a picture of your ticket to show them that you're safe to trade with. You can also ask them to do it too.
- I would advise you to mention that you are an international fan. If you don't speak Japanese well or use a translation tool, the person might think you are being rude with them in the case you non-intentionally say something awkward, or if your messages are not polite enough. If they know that you're not Japanese, they will be more lenient. You can also mention this in your initial trade tweets, because some fans might be more willing to choose you as the person to trade with if they know that it's one of your rare occasions to interact with your oshi, especially as non-Japan residents.
- On the day of the event/trade, keep them updated about your situation (if you're late, if you arrived at the venue, etc.). Set a precise meeting place and time, and make sure they update you as well to avoid any misunderstanding.
If there is any missing or incorrect information, please tell me. I will try to update the guide if there is any change.
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