Tokyo Idol Festival 2016 Snapshots: Part 2 – UPUPGIRLS (KARI), BiSH, LinQ, Rio Hiiragi, Fudanjuku and More!

| Idol | Posted by Kai Okudara on Sep.05.2016

Sponsored Links

Even though the memories of Tokyo Idol Festival 2016 are gradually fading from our minds, we still have hundreds (thousands? tens of thousands?) or pictures we have yet to publish and so here we are at part 2 of our photo series. While this is not the last one, hopefully the end is in sight?

Here are more of the groups that we could not stop ourselves from taking pictures of over that unforgettable weekend in Odaiba!

August 5, 2016 (Friday)

Kamiyado – Ship Stage – 10:00am – 10:20am

Harajuku idols Kamiyado received a blessing as they took the stage right after Ayaka Sasaki (Momoiro Clover Z) got things started on the first day of Tokyo Idol Festival 2016. Judging by the sea of black and white towels swinging through the air during “Summer Dream”, there was definitely a strong contingent of fans who got to Odaiba bright and early just for them. With a goal to appear on Hot Stage in 2017, it’s not so hard to imagine them having their dreams realized at the pace that they’re progressing.

Photos by Nathan Gey

Kamiyado Official site: http://kmyd.targma.jp/

Idol Renaissance – Hot Stage – 6:00pm – 6:30pm

Starting off with their latest single “Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari”, which had become even more polished and powerful, Idol Renaissance had the Hot Stage living up to its name as they had Zepp Diver City unified as they danced along to their jam-packed 30 minute set. Armed with a batch of uptempo songs like Base Ball Bear’s “17-sai” and “Koi Suru Kankaku” as well as KANA-BOON’s “Silhouette”, it was an exciting preview of what’s in store when they return to Odaiba for their 4th one-man live “Odaiba de HotobashiRenaissance!!” on November 6th.

Photos by Nathan Gey

Idol Renaissance Official site: http://idolrenaissance.com/

Afilia Saga – Hot Stage – 5:25pm – 5:55pm

The magical schoolgirls of Afilia Saga had the full attention of their senpai (fans) gathered at Zepp Diver City, taking them on a “Magical☆Express☆Journey” to the “NEXT STAGE”. Even though they might have gotten “Lost In The Sky” for a few minutes as a “Knee High Egoist” is known to do when they first “Learn To Fly”, they arrived safely thanks to the blessing of “Venus and the Seven Blue Seas”. They also performed “Embrace Blade”.

Photos by Nathan Gey

Afilia Saga Official site: http://afiliasaga.jp/

Fudanjuku – Smile Garden – 7:55pm – 8:10pm

Danso group Fudanjuku attracted a rush of females with their cool expressions, and heart-stopping choreography packed with fan service. It was their first Tokyo Idol Festival since the addition of new member Leo Fujimori and the graduations of Kyouhei Midorikawa and Ryoma Yukimura.

Photos by Nathan Gey

Fudanjuku Official site: http://nfs724.com/

August 6, 2016 (Saturday)

Keyakizaka46 – Smile Garden – 11:25am – 11:50am

After publishing the report on Keyakizaka46 at Tokyo Idol Festival a few weeks ago, it seems there were some more pictures. This should be the last of them.

Photos by Nathan Gey

Keyakizaka46 Official site: http://www.keyakizaka46.com/

PASSPO☆ – Hot Stage – 1:25pm – 1:55pm

PASSPO☆ went 30-minutes nonstop as they flew through 8 songs in their stopover at Tokyo Idol Festival’s Hot Stage. Taking off with “Himawari”, “Aozora Hanabi”, and “Material Girl”, they made sure even “frequent flyers” (PASSPO☆ fans are known as “passengers” due to their travel/airline concept) knew who they were with their self-introduction song “7’s Up”. Delivering some sweet in-flight treats with “Honey Dish” and “Pretty Lie”, PASSPO☆ took on a more emotional note as they touched down on the tarmac with “Bachelorette wa Owaranai” and “Mudai”.

Photos by Nathan Gey

PASSPO☆ Official site: http://passpo.jp/

BiSH – Hot Stage – 2:00pm – 2:30pm

Returning after having their second day performances of Tokyo Idol Festival 2015 cancelled, BiSH played it somewhat safe when they hit the Hot Stage. Even though she and Ling Ling did not make their debut with the group until TOKYO BiSH SHiNE on August 26, 2015, Atsuko Hashiyasume expressed her regret about the previous year, causing fans to laugh when she referred to TIF as “TBS”. Even with producer Junnosuke Watanabe’s ban on lifting, the crowd was a writhing sea of bodies for the entire 30 minutes they were on stage that only seemed to grow more intense with each of the 6 times they performed “BiSH –Hoshi Ga Matataku Yoru ni–”.

Photos by Nathan Gey

BiSH Official site: http://www.bish.tokyo

August 7, 2016 (Sunday)

Cheeky Parade – Smile Garden – 2:40pm – 2:55pm

In case you didn’t get enough Cheeky Parade in the first photo report, here are some more pictures! As much as we tried to have our photographers spread out to provide as much variety as possible, somehow we all ended up here at the same time.

Photos by Nathan Gey

Cheeky Parade Official site: http://www.cheekyparade.jp/

LinQ – Smile Garden – 3:20pm – 3:35pm

LinQ hit the stage at Smile Garden with more punch than a pallet of yuzukosho (a spicy Kyushu condiment), sandwiching their adorable and infectious “Chime ga Owareba” between the festive “Hare Hare☆Parade” and “HANABI!!”.

Photos by Nathan Gey

LinQ Official site: http://loveinq.com/

callme – Sky Stage – 4:30pm – 4:45pm

Self-produced trio callme ascended to the Sky Stage as they continued “Step by Step” through the weekend in Odaiba. Perhaps 2017 will bring them a “Summer of love” and a trip to the Hot Stage? They also performed “in my dream”.

Photos by Nathan Gey

callme Official site: http://avex.jp/callme/

Rio Hiiragi – Sky Stage – 4:45pm – 5:00pm

Rio Hiiragi is the best! With her kimono sleeves and long black hair blowing in the wind, the indefatigable globetrotting idol and Pokemon master grabbed the fans who gathered on the roof of Fuji TV’s Wangan Studio with a handful of her ever expanding discography which included her latest song “BANZAI! BANZAI!”. Even though we were hoping to see her do “Rio Rio →no Uta”, we wouldn’t know what we’d do if “Riorio” ended up flying away mid-song.

Photos by Nathan Gey

Rio Hiiragi Official site: http://sunlighting.jp/rio/

Erabareshi – Sky Stage – 5:10pm – 5:25pm

Erabareshi, the “cho ultra super miracle senbatsu” group from Akihabara Backstage Pass, appeared on the Sky Stage accompanied by intro music straight out of a fairy tale. As expected from a Tsunku♂ and Chiyomaru Shikura produced group, Erabareshi stirred up fans with a energetic mix of eclectic sounds and Akihabara moe.

Photos by Nathan Gey

Erabareshi Official site: http://leido.co.jp/erabareshi/

Akishibu project – Doll Factory – 5:55pm – 6:10pm

Akishibu project cooled down Doll Factory with their bittersweet summer tune “Setsunatsuri” and their paper fans before turning the heat back up with “LOVE & PARADISE” and “Manatsu no Serenade”. It was just a glimpse of what was to transpire a few weeks later when they returned to Odaiba for their first Zepp Tokyo live on August 22nd.

Photos by Nathan Gey

Akishibu project Official site: http://akishibup.net/

UPUPGIRLS (KARI) – Smile Garden – 7:55pm – 8:15pm

The decathletes of the idol world UPUPGIRLS (KARI) seemed to be unfazed by their 6 performances plus collaboration lives and talk show appearances by the time they appeared at Smile Garden as the final group of the weekend. Despite wild behavior at the outdoor stage every night of Tokyo Idol Festival, which included cyalumes being thrown in the air repeatedly, they reminded the fans on the proper way to use their light sticks. Blasting off with “Party People Alien”, which even had the members of Fudanjuku dancing along at the side of the stage, they ran through one of their new songs “!!!!!!!!” before riling up the crowd with “Appaare”. Asking the fans to show them a “wonderful scene”, UPUPGIRLS (KARI) brought Tokyo Idol Festival 2016 to a close with “Cyalume” as the lawn in front of Fuji TV’s Wangan Studio became a sea of glowing lights.