As reported months back, sakanaction did a collaboration with Sunshine City's Konica Minolta Planetarium "Manten" and produced a planetarium show:
New collaboration with the planetarium of Sunshine City mall in Tokyo. It will show a program called "Sakanaction - Goodnight Planetarium".
— asa mazume (@asamazume_) September 30, 2015
The narration is by Yamaguchi and the BGM is music from sakanaction. It will run from Dec 1 until 4 Sep 2016. http://t.co/HHp1jUjkqG
— asa mazume (@asamazume_) September 30, 2015
I had the chance to go down to Ikebukuro and watch the show while I was in Tokyo earlier this month, so I wrote a little guide and review for anyone interested in the show.Access Guide
I had never been to Sunshine City before this, so getting to said planetarium took a bit of navigating. The shopping mall is a little bit of a walk from Ikebukuro station. For the benefit of everyone who has not been in the area, here is an access guide:
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After coming out above ground from Exit 35 (1), walk straight and make the next left turn towards Sunshine City 60 Street where you should see a Lotteria outlet (2) (or just follow the flow of the crowd). The street has a wide path area and the road in the middle is closed for pedestrian traffic so if you see people walking in the middle of the road despite footpaths at the sides, you know this is the right place.
When you see Tokyu Hands on your right (3), turn in and ride down the escalator where there should be a sign that says Sunshine City. This takes you to the underpass. From there just continue and you should come out just at the entrance of Sunshine 60 (4), one part of the Sunshine City building.
This part may be a little complicated as the mall is huge. Follow any directional signs hanging above, most of them direct you to the planetarium that is located at the top floor of World Import Mart Building (5). You should find yourself headed towards a lift lobby. Take the lift up to the "roof" level. Skip by the first counter you see as that is for the tickets to the aquarium next door. Head straight and you should see the smaller counter for tickets to the planetarium.
Buying tickets
There is a signboard next to the counter displaying the showtimes and the show for that timeslot. It alternates between Goodnight Planetarium and another show, Healing Planetarium, each hour (i.e. Goodnight Planetarium's showtimes are 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, 7pm). You can just tell the counter guy the timing that you would like to buy the ticket for, but if you are unsure then specify Goodnight Planetarium. They will understand it even if you say it in English since the reading is similar.
During the day you may not need to go down early to buy tickets (except on holidays/weekends), but from 5pm onwards it will be more crowded. In daytime, I recommend buying tickets about 1 hour before so that you can get a decent seat.
Online reservation of tickets in advance is also possible, but I am not sure if you can use an overseas credit card for payment. The site is also in Japanese only.
What is a "decent" seat?
The planetarium is dome-shaped with the projector in the middle. The best seats are those that are neither near the sides of the theatre nor close to the projector, as these will afford you the least distorted views. But there should not be much to worry as the counter guy will offer you the best seat available at your time of purchase.
There are some special "cloud" seats at the very front of the theatre that look like beanbags. Those go for 2900 yen for 2 people to share. As I did not take those seats I can't say much about the view but it did not look ideal for watching the show since most of the happenings on the dome's ceiling screen are right above those seats.
Review
Finally, the main star of this article is the show itself. Honestly, I did not know what to expect, but the moment I got my ticket I was already quite excited. Not to mention along the way to Sunshine City there were various advertisements for the show. The planetarium was apparently closed for some time to refresh it and was reopened on 1 Dec 2015, and Goodnight Planetarium is one of the first two shows to grace the renewal of the planetarium.
About 15 minutes before the show, I entered the waiting area. The place is quite strict about not letting people in the moment the show starts, so be sure to be there early. Especially if you would like to admire Yamaguchi Ichiro's autograph at the entrance.
There is a no photography rule, so I only took photos at the entrance. (Note that there are some English rules displayed on the screens in the waiting area, but the staff only talk in Japanese otherwise.) I think less than 25% of the audience were actually there for sakanaction; most seemed like people who just wanted to chill and watch stars.
The doors to the theatre opened about 5 minutes before the show started. It was simple enough to find my seat. Seeing everyone reclining their seats, I fumbled a while to find the buttons for reclining. Then the staff did their standard announcements, that the buttons were below the right arm rest, and for anyone who felt dizzy during the show to close their eyes. The seats were really comfy and reclined to a nice angle for viewing (and sleeping. Don't go when you're tired).
After the doors closed and lights turned off, the entire theatre was completely dark. The projector started with a number of commercials, then the show began.
Immediately, music sounding extremely familiar came on. Soon after, vocals. I don't want to spoil too much for anyone reading this, so I will not reveal what songs are being used in the show. But I was surprised initially, since I thought that it would be fully instrumental only so that everyone could focus on the stars.
Despite a couple of songs being rather upbeat for a planetarium, I still felt that they suited each scene well. The visuals were not very conventional to begin with. There were the prerequisite starry skies, but the visualisations also included a sizeable portion of cityscapes. But all the visuals were very pretty, and when the stars came on, there were also additional "stars" being shined all around the theatre to make it an even more complete experience.
Yamaguchi's narration is good and his voice mellow, creating a relaxing atmosphere. There is no story. He waxes philosophical about the sky being the same as the sea, introduces the constellations, and talks about how stars can't be seen in the city because of light pollution.
Some of the songs were played halfway through then faded out, while others were full versions. In total there were 5 songs played, and the rest was either instrumental or silence to emphasize sound effects.
If you've been to other planetariums and expect a science-y, educational and realistic presentation of stars, then you will be disappointed because this is not that kind of show. Objectively speaking, this show would probably be a 3/5 for the common audience.
But if you're a fan of sakanaction, your enjoyment of Goodnight Planetarium is sure to double. Just imagine being enveloped by stunning visuals, losing yourself in stars, along with the sakanaction songs you know and love. There's really no reason not to check it out if you're in town. Personally, I would even go a second time if I get the chance to.
Please do go and watch the show if you happen to be in Tokyo before it ends its run this September!
"Sakanaction - Goodnight Planetarium"
Location: Sunshine City Konica Minolta Planetarium "Manten"
Duration: About 40 min.
Runs until 4 Sep 2016
Price: 1200 yen (high school and older), 600 yen (children), 500 yen (infants), 1000 yen (above 65 years old)
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