Fujii Kaze App Staff Diary Update Apr 19 2023 "Fujii Kaze Asia Tour has been announced”
1. Fujii Kaze Asia Tour has been announced
This is the translation of Fujii Kaze App staff diary - Apr 19, 2023 version.
”O.M.G. why have I never studied English? (My heart's voice every day) - by manager Zuzzu.
As some of you might know, we are now in LA.
We have announced the series of new information this week, but probably, the biggest topic is the announcement of ASIA TOUR.
Although it didn't happen, we were planning Asia Tour last year. However, the situation is different this year. Last year, "Shinunoga Ewa / I'd rather die" global viral started from Asia, with Thailand at the top of the list.* Therefore, we positioned this Asia Tour differently versus last year, with the idea of going to meet and thank fans who created this movement.
(*espresso's note: although Zuzzu said Thailand as the top of the list, where Shinunoga Ewa viral hit started, I believe he of course meant to include all countries which Kaze is not able to visit this round, I'm sure Kaze wants to visit every country. so hope you won't feel excluded. Shinunoga Ewa viral hit was broad across 73 countries / locations).
Since "Shinunoga Ewa " became a big movement, we originally wanted to perform with a band, but this time, we decided to go with Kaze and the piano only as this is the first challenge for us to go on Asia tour.
It was good that we planned this event, but when we actually started working on the idea, we found there are many new things we encountered for the first time. One of the examples is that even in the same Asian region, each area has its own customs and rules. We have only been active in Japan so far, and it was the first time for us to step out of our comfort zone. Every day, new learning.
With the cooperation of local promoters, staff members who bridged us with promoters, and many other people who helped us, we finally came to the stage of making the announcement of the tour.
To give you some details, we were able to handle the ticketing in Japan using a lottery system* (*espresso's note: believes Zuzzu thinks this is more fair system, and limits the risk of resellers / scalpers ). However, outside of Japan, we learned it is not possible to sell the tickets in the same way as in Japan, therefore, the local promoter of each area will be in charge of the ticket sales, including responding to inquiries about the tour.* (*espresso note: that means even if you send requests and questions to Kaze office, Kaze office won't be able to help directly. I think this is the answer to the appeal from fans in Hong Kong on reseller/scalper issues - I'm thankful that Zuzzu acknowledges the voices of fans.)
2. Kaze's Short Ginger/Red hair
And….the short red hair.
When I consulted with the designer, (Ms. Marui-san), about the key visuals and new photos for this Asia Tour, she said, "I see(imagine) Kaze-kun jumping out of the globe," meaning jumping out of Japan starting Asia tour. :-) So, this time, we decided to go with a blue visual, "Earth = blue".
On top, Kaze had always wanted to try short hair and change the color of his hair, so we decided to go for brave short hair at this time of Asia tour.
Marui-san had suggested to go with blue hair color, but when Takai-san was actually having his hair cut, she came up with new idea of orange color, which seemed to be what Kaze had in mind as well. Eventually, his hairstyle ended up like this. (The end)
3. Espresso's Reaction to the Staff Diary Ticketing system
Although Zuzzu did not directly mention about what happened at Hong Kong ticket sale directly, I think he is sharing with us he was made aware of the fact genuine fans who have been waiting for Kaze to visit Hong Kong faced difficulty to purchase the tickets due to the reseller / scalper issues.
I think this staff diary is the answer from Zuzzu that Team Kaze did consider how to sell the tickets fairly to local Kaze fans but it was not possible to use Japan method and they needed to follow each country's local practice.
I'm thankful that Zuzzu acknowledges the voices from fans. I hope Kaze office will find a new and better way of selling tickets to overseas Kaze fans in future, but it is currently beyond the control of Team Kaze, so hope overseas fans can keep patience and trust Kaze office who is doing every possible thing to please / help fans. Wish all the best to other fans who are applying for upcoming ticket sales in TH / ID / MY / TW / KR.
4. Disclaimer
Fujii Kaze App content is written in Japanese and no English translation is available. I know many international fans are trying to understand it via translation tool but it is not always easy to understand as Japanese is a high-context language and the translation tool is not perfect.
I do my best but I’m an English learner, not a native English speaker, so my translation might not be perfect. Hope it still helps.
Wish you a great rest of day, wherever you are reading this.
Kaze will embark on his first international tour!! Fujii Kaze and the piano Asia Tour -------- Jun 24th Seoul...
Posted by Fujii Kaze on Friday, April 14, 2023