After a few days of me settling in Japan, I made my way to Osaka by overnight bus from Nagano. It was raining that day and Janet was scheduled to arrive into the country that evening at Kansai Int’l Airport. I got to the airport early to meet up with two other fans from the region, Rie and another Osaka fan and his friends. It was my first time meeting them and we got along great. I was introduced to them by a long time friend and Janfam Shino, whom I met in the Miss Janet chat room during the Velvet Rope era. It was just a few of us fans hanging out and as time went by, more fans came trickling in. We saw members of Janet's staff were arriving. Security officials were then being posted and the photographers were setting up, signalling Janet's imminent arrival.
More fans started coming in and we were now a nice-sized welcoming crowd. I talked with a girl who made the quick trip to Tokyo just to see Janet's arrival. After standing patiently for about a couple of hours, Janet finally comes through the arrivals door. Janet nonchalantly walks pass the press, not pausing for any pictures or comments. She continues on and approaches our direction. We call out her name and wave to here. Janet waves and keeps on walking going inside the lift. We can see through the glass windows going up. Everyone is still takings pics and then, she disappears. Rie got interviewed by a press crew and we also end up on the next morning’s TV news.
Thursday was the day of the first Japanese show. I joined my Janfam friends Kyoko whom I also first met in the Miss Janet chat room years ago, Rie and other Osaka fans. We queued up at the entrance and we were all given roses. The ticket ushers said it was a gift from Janet. I went around taking pictures of interesting fans to convey on social media. I encountered a group of enthusiastic fans that were also sitting in the front row.