Berryz Koubou at Sakura-Con

Yesterday concluded Berryz's first trip to mainland USA. I was unfortunately not able to go (come to the east coast!), so a big thanks to all of the fans and staff who took these wonderful pictures and videos.

Friday was officially day one of Sakura-Con, but the day before, some fans struck gold.



Yes, they ran into Berryz at a random restaurant. How cool (and stalkerish) There is also a slightly longer part here.



The next day, some more lucky fans got to be up and close with Berryz for a photo-op. 

There was also an autograph session,

where fans got a chance to talk to their favorite Idols while they autographed their merchandise.

And also a Q&A session (the rest of the parts are on that user's channel).



Later that night, Hello! Party 2 (a fanmade party where foreign fans got together to play games, sing, and dance) took place.

They were streaming live and if you missed it, more or less all of it was recorded. You can click here to see the videos.

They played some pretty epic games, like the mystery box game that Berryz played in Berryz Koubou DVD Magazine Vol. 8.

Skip to about 23 minutes in this video to watch.

Watch live streaming video from helloparty at livestream.com

Hello! Party 2 looked like a ton of fun in itself, but the main event was still yet to come.

Of course, I'm talking about the concert.

Many fans lined up to see Berryz perform,

and in total, about 3500 people were in attendance. Represent!

Fans mentioned seeing HD cameras, so there will no doubt be an official DVD release somewhere down the road.

Until then, here is a fancam of the concert. Sneaky!



MOAR fancam.

The setlist consisted of

1. Ai wa Katsu
2. Special Generation
3. Heroine ni Narou ka
4. Shining Power
5. MC
6. Piriri to Yukou
7. Happiness ~Koufuku Kangei~
8. Tsukiatteru no Kataomoi
9. MC
10. Berry Fields
11. CLAP!
12. Maji Bomber
13. Icchoume Rock!
14. Otakebi Boy WAO!
15. MC
16. Rival
17. All For One and One For All

Pretty epic if you ask me. Especially since they played the most epic song of their new album (Ichoume Rock) and started things off with the somber Ai wa Katsu.

Speaking of Ai wa Katsu, there was a donation box at one of the booths.

Berryz announced that almost $1900 was raised. Good job foreign fans!

After the concert, fans marched down the convention center and showed their loyalty by shouting "Berryz saikou!"

I must say, that is probably the greatest thing I've ever seen. The title of the video is perfect: BERRYZ RIOT!

On the last day, Berryz appeared on stage once again - this time to share their final thoughts.



Finally, here are some random photos that are too awesome not to share.

Berryz cosplayers

moar

Lucky fan wins a package of Maasa awesomeness

The same fan snatched Risako's water bottle after the Q&A session (nice!)

PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH BERRYZ'S OUTFITS

yaaaay

And the final picture is of a Japanese wota's generosity. A lot of the time, wota are seen in a creepy or negative light, but I've heard nothing but kind things from people who have actually met them.

Sakura-Con definitely looked like a ton of fun and I just hate myself for not being there. Honestly, it looked like it was even more awesome than AX. Overall, there were a lot of things that fans were able to do with Berryz (like the free-for-all close up photo-op), there were awesome prizes, and the setlist was perfect. Now, C-ute, it's your turn to come to the east coast!