Sakurazaka46 '5th YEAR ANNIVERSARY LIVE' — Five Years of Rebirth, the Current Location of the National Stadium

Sakurazaka46's 5th anniversary commemorative '5th YEAR ANNIVERSARY LIVE' was held over two days at MUFG Stadium (Japan National Stadium).

The sacred Japan National Stadium, used for the Tokyo Olympics and the World Athletics Championships.
It was the largest-scale performance in the group's history, mobilizing a total of 140,000 people over two days at the vast venue.

It was not only a first for the Sakamichi groups, but also the first performance by a female group at the new National Stadium.

I participated via stream on the first day and in person on the second.
Focusing on the second day, I will summarize my thoughts and impressions here.

A relentless opening, the National Stadium wrapped in silence

Compared to the first day, when temperatures in Tokyo exceeded 25 degrees Celsius, the second day was comfortable and not too hot.
As the start time approached, a cool breeze entered the stadium, making it feel almost chilly.

The live show started about 10 minutes late.
It was still bright, with the pleasant feeling unique to an outdoor venue.

Starting with the latest single 'The growing up train,' they kept the momentum going from the start with four-character idiom dance numbers like 'Shonin Yokkyu' and 'Jigoujitoku'.

After an MC segment (who would have thought it would be the first and last MC), class-specific songs were performed in the middle part.

Most impressive of all was the 3rd generation song 'Seijaku no Bouryoku'.
For this song, it is standard practice to turn off penlights and refrain from calling.
Even at the National Stadium, 70,000 penlights gradually went out, creating silence.

When the song ended, the silence-wrapped venue allowed the sounds of cars driving outside and the wind to be heard, making this grand act of subtraction a major performance element.

The delicate beauty that stood out in 'Samidare yo'

After the silence, they performed 'Addiction,' created by all members enrolled at the time, following a dance track choreographed by Yui Takemoto, who is set to graduate from the group.

They kept the momentum going with songs that raised the voltage even further, such as 'Naze Koi wo Shite Konakattan darou?', 'Nansai no Koro ni Modoritai no ka?', and 'Manhole no Futa no Ue'.

The medium-tempo song 'Samidare yo' was performed just as the venue's voltage reached its peak.

The first verse featured a solo performance by center Ten Yamasaki, fully expressing the delicate worldview.

Because it followed a series of up-tempo songs, the delicate beauty of 'Samidare yo' stood out, serving as a great spice throughout the entire live show.

The final stretch, racing through with dance performances

After 'Samidare yo,' they raced through the final stretch with dance numbers that are synonymous with Sakurazaka.

In 'Masatsu Keisu,' the earth-shaking 'Masatsu!' call echoed throughout, and 'BAN,' which has incredibly detailed and intense choreography, was performed in an all-member participation version.

During the recent signature song 'Start over!', center Fujiyoshi ran to the center stage during the interlude for a solo dance.

By this point, they had been dancing for over two hours.
To start running in the middle of a song with such intense choreography, even under normal circumstances...

Once again, I was moved by the members' stamina and their wholehearted performance.

And the final song of the main set was Sakurazaka's 1st single, 'Nobody's fault'.
Before the final chorus, center Hikaru Morita performed a jump with all her might.

Even though it's a song they've performed many times, to be able to pull off a jump like that at the very end... it's truly amazing.

The 5 years that 'reborn' Sakurazaka

During the encore, they spoke about their feelings for the songs while shedding big tears.

No one knew where the group was headed, and everyone felt at least some anxiety. The feelings of Morita, who carried the Sakurazaka banner and continued to lead from the front, are immeasurable.

From a post by Kaho Miyake, who attended the second day of the concert.
Exactly as she says.
It is wonderful that the 2nd generation members, led by Morita, have kept going for five years.

Honestly, I never dreamed that we would be holding an anniversary concert at the National Stadium five years later.
That's not a matter of ability or popularity, but rather that the Sakurazaka team and the fans were both doing their absolute best just to keep running through the 'now'.

I have nothing but gratitude for the members who were part of the group, including its predecessor, the members who have kept running this far, and the Sakurazaka team.

And beyond the National Stadium

The concert, including the encore, was a long haul of nearly three and a half hours.
With only an MC at the very beginning, the main set can only be described as a masterpiece.

Sakurazaka's live performances are basically full-length presentations.
Since there was no MC this time, there were more dance tracks inserted than in a typical concert, and the main set was just non-stop dancing.

I admire their full-throttle performance as they ran across the incredibly vast venue.

In that sense, the National Stadium performance was the culmination of Sakurazaka's five years, and I truly felt its awe-inspiring power.

On the first day, Ten Yamazaki was appointed as vice-captain.
On the second day, the release of the 15th single, a summer arena tour, the 6th Annila at ZOZO Marine in November, and an Asia tour in 2027 were announced.

The announcement of a highly reliable vice-captain, and plans not just for this year, but for next year as well.

The succession of surprise announcements drew cheers that sounded like a roar from the venue.

Once again, from Kaho Miyake's post.
That is truly the case. My circulation feels better, and I feel like my stiff shoulders have been relieved.

I'll do my best starting tomorrow, too.
Until then, I hope to see you at the next tour.

Afterword — About the Japan National Stadium

Finally, a few words about the Japan National Stadium, which I visited for the first time.

Since it began full-scale operation in 2020, it is still very new and clean overall.

The most troublesome aspect of concerts at large venues is the line for the restrooms, but the National Stadiumhas plenty of them, and they are clean.

The restrooms near the entrance were crowded, but compared to other large-scale venues, I was able to use them with almost no waiting.

The lack of stress in this regard was extremely comfortable.

There were some areas near the venue with poor signal, but inside the National Stadium,Wi-Fi is available, and the signal environment is good.

The concourse also features a wide variety of food and beverage tenants, ranging from standard snacks to Chinese, pizza, and ethnic cuisine, which I was also able to use without much of a wait.

I headed there from the Kokuritsu-Kyogijo Station on the Oedo Line, but on the way back, since the nearby stations including the JR lines were crowded,I walked to Shinjuku Station.
It takes about 20 to 30 minutes, and in this season, it's a good distance to enjoy the night breeze and soak in the lingering excitement.
Yoyogi Station is even closer, and it felt closer than I had imagined.

I hope this information will be helpful to those who plan to visit in the future.