Mao Asada's 'Thanks Tour' (Starting from May 2018)

[rosewood]

Here are glimpses (7 twitter clips) from Shiga show. Skating in more than 100 MTT shows, it seems skaters now have room to enjoy ad-libing in Bei Mir Bistu Shein. hahaha We can see Mao is in a new costume for Ritual Dance (red) and it's more sexy than before. Seems they did skating lessons for kids here in Shiga, too.

https://twitter.com/Sakurabue_/status/1161250753769431040

MTT shows are usually broadcasted by local networks and it seems those local TV companies love to take Mao to sightseeing and nice restaurants for promoting those places. Nice to see Mao enjoy sightseeing and nice local foods that she had to give up when she was competing. Here are glimpses those scenes in Shiga.

https://twitter.com/sarasa_maono1/status/1161306327672426496

https://twitter.com/sarasa_maono1/status/1161307374277160961

https://twitter.com/sarasa_maono1/status/1161307807871672320

https://twitter.com/sarasa_maono1/status/1161308174596497408

https://twitter.com/sarasa_maono1/status/1161308525907206144

It's sad I know several YT vids of MTT but they have to be private (and can't post here) due to strict copyrights thing in Japan.

 

[rosewood]

That's amazing that the show has grown to so many stops. Just shows how popular Mao and skating is in general in Japan. Here's another news video I found that shows a lot of different snippets of the show:

浅田真央サンクスツアー ～沖縄まとめ～ ※説明欄に見出しあり

2019/6 沖縄テレビ3番組を1本にしました！ 0:00 OTV news 公演前日インタビュー 4:49 OTV news 氷上の美しい舞 -沖縄公演のダイジェスト- 9:14 ひーぷーホップ ～沖縄おもてなし～

www.youtube.com

Thanks for finding the video. During the Okinawa stop Mao said she wish she'll come back to Okinawa again with MTT. So I wonder if these days she's leaning toward continuing MTT in 2020.

 

[rosewood]

For those who don't visit Mao's fan thread in TC, I'm copying my rough translation of an interview with her published a while back. Mao's retirement was quite a devastating one. This article tells what she thought after that and how she started/built up MTT. I think this article is quite inspiring for various types of people but I wish especially it'll be read by athletes who retired and still don't know what to do on their next stage of life.

浅田真央さん「ああ、幸せだな」　引退して気づいたこと：朝日新聞デジタル

■１０代の君へ　フィギュアスケート女子で人気と実力を備えた選手として活躍した浅田真央さん（２８）。１５歳で世界を驚かせた後、世界女王に３度も輝いた頃を「楽しいと思えなかった」と振り返ります。自分を見失…

www.asahi.com

(my rough translation)

title: "Ah, I'm truly happy" -Things that I found after retirement

It's the first time that I felt "I'm happy"
After starting the ice show 'Mao Asada's Thanks Tour' about a year ago, which travels all over the country, I came to feel "Ah, I'm truly happy". It was the first time that I felt this way. When I was competing, tough things gradually increased, and things with happy feelings were gone.

It was a pleasure to be supported by lots of people and to win many medals. But that joy came from 'being strong'. On the other hand, happiness is something 'soft'. I was not 'soft' on my mental side when I was competing. If, as a competitor, you don't stay strong, you'll lose to yourself. I lacked in time to have any thoughts about happiness at that time.

It was a lot of fun until the 15-year-old senior debut. After coming up to seniors, I did not feel it was fun from the bottom of my heart any more. I skated convincing myself like "I need to feel it's fun." It was not only a matter of winning/losing. My body shape changed with the advance of ages. It was also the inconsistency on jumps as well as the fears that came up in my mind during competitions. There was a lot of hardship regarding myself. Various things happened one after another. It made the joy disappear, and it repeatedly made me wonder "What kind of feelings did I have about skating when I started it?"

As I was a type who was nervous and clumsy, I was not able to try various things out of skating. Thus, I've spent my whole life with skating all the way up to today. [When I was competing,] I repeated my routines every day like a machine. If you look back the past today, it's like "How could I do that way?" When I decided to retire, my body and mind were beyond limits. I didn't really know what I wanted to do, I thought it would be okay if I quit skating, and it was like I was completely in the darkness.

Challenging spirit sprouted
Everyone has periods when s/he cannot keep looking forward. In my case, when I felt I was in the darkness after the retirement, I went out on a trip. I tried not to rush and just waited time to flow slowly. Staying away from skating at the moment, I tried to hear the voice from my heart asking myself "What can I do?" or "What do I want to do?"

The opening part of the MTT show indicates that I was lost in the darkness with no idea of what to do. And then I came to discover lights little by little, and the vocal says "Everyone can shine! Let's shine together!"

When I was a competitive skater, I spent everyday just focusing on myself, but now things are not the same as in competitions where I stood alone on the ice. I have the pleasure of creating one thing together with people around me. I have a great group of people to help each other for building up something together, and I have a conviction that I want to make the show better and better no matter how many hours I practice, so I don't feel anything is tough. I thought that after my retirement I would not feel the tension and sense of accomplishment that I felt in competitions, but that was not the case. Through the tour I can get a sense of accomplishment more than when I was competing.

When you're with pains in your heart, it can work well to leave where you are working or what you are working on at the moment. I can forget my daily hardships by doing so. Sometimes we need such a period.

Reiwa, I wish it will be an era without any natural disasters
I sometimes visit disaster-affected areas such as Fukushima, Kumamoto and Miyagi. I'm also supporting a NPO group who are supporting/encouraging the disaster-affected children to go abroad for making speeches in English about their experiences, for interacting with overseas people, and for studies. I want to support them even for just a bit.

I've heard there are children who had so much tough, sad, and painful experiences and the experiences made it difficult for them to get over the shadow and be back in the mood to keep their chin up. It's so nice to hear smiles were back on some of their faces when they were back home from abroad. Probably they were able to forget about their sadness for a while when they noticed their mission of their life or they came across something happy by interacting with overseas people apart from Japan.

In the disaster-affected areas there are still lots of people living in temporary housing. There are lots of people who have the sadness of losing memorable stuffs, too. Looks the complete reconstruction from the disaster is still far ahead. On one hand it was wonderful that Heisei was a peaceful era without any wars. However, on the other hand, it was the era when lots of people struggled and mourned with many natural disasters. I wish Reiwa will be a peaceful era in advance and also an era without any disasters.

Please have some goals
I wish children who will lead next era to have some goals, either in study or in sports. It is important to have goals in tackling various things. If you have a goal, you will always be able to climb the stairs. In my case, I also did so, I had goals, and once I reached them, I looked for another one. Then you can definitely grow by following this way like climbing the stairs. I wish children will reach their goals by doing this way. Goals can be any small ones.

Everyone has their own way of thinking, and their way of life is different. I think that people who wants to stick to something in sports etc should just stick to it. You need to stay strong when it comes down to competitions in sports.

However, winning is not everything. There is another world like an ice show where the point is how much you can make the audience enjoy your performances. You can have any goals. I want to tell children that if they work hard on something, the experiences themselves can open up another new path. I've focused on figure skating for 22 years up to today. That experience lead me to where I am now.

This year I'll turn 29 yo. I still have a long way ahead. I'll go without calculating too much or thinking too much in my head. I want to go floating on natural waves. Once I achieved my goals with ice shows, I'll take enough time to wait and see something that I want to do next to come up in my mind naturally.
(author; Tadashi Goto, Asahishinbun)

ETA:
What do you recommend to do when someone can't see a solution?
Mao: Marathon that I did when I didn't know what I wanted to do.

Reason
Mao: Everyone, please let your body move, and you can be back in the positive mood.

 

[cohkaix]

Last night, there was once an update on the official website of Mao Asada Thanks Tour the information about the Tour in 20'. But that information was deleted immediately....And the reason was: we have to wait for Mao to make the announcement on her IG:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1XygWPBg2V/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

So it's a happy news that #MTT will keep on in 2020!!!

MTT 2020 stops:
Jan 11~12 Osaka (Towa Pharmaceutical Ractab Dome)
Jan 25~25 Nagano (Big Hat, the former Nagano Olympic arena)

Neither of these two locations are year-long skating arena, but both have been used for major FS events and shows in the past. So the capacity should be doubled or even tripled than the small arena for recent stops.

Now I don't feel regret for having to skip the shows for 19' and may consider to go for one of these two stops next year!

 

[livetoskate]

Looks like the tour is a huge success. In related news, Mura announced his divorce on Twitter. Eruni (Ernesto) turned 21. The Mongolian skater graduated from college and still still skating competitively. Orange Cheers held a skating seminar at the Okayama rink which looked well attended. Mao, Takahito and Daisuke Takahashi spoke at a high school to a large group of students.

 

[rosewood]

The final show(performance) at Okayama stop was the 101st show of Thanks Tour! (It's counted as 2 shows if they did an afternoon show and an evening show on one day.) Congratulations to the amazing long run!

Watch the "101" candles on the cake.

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Reportedly Mai Mihara came and see the 101st show. Glad she's recovered enough to come and see her idol's show.

A TV director Katsuki Watanabe who has worked with Mao since she was 13 yo counted the number of the shows of the tour.

https://twitter.com/katsu717/status/1168114273295294465

(my translation)

#Mao Asada's Thanks Tour
Congratulations to the 101st show!

2018 tour
1 Niigata 4
2 Nagano 4/8
3 Sapporo 4/12
4 Ibaraki 4/16
5 Saitama 5/21
6 Yamanashi 4/25
7 Fukushima 4/29
8 Kanagawa 3/32
9 Fukuoka 3/35
10 Hiroshima 4/39
11 Shimane 4/43

2019 Tour
1 12 Miyagi 4/47
2 13 Kumamoto 4/51
3 14 Gunma 4/55
4 15 Ehime 4/59
5 16 Kagawa 4/63
6 17 Iwate 5/68
7 18 Hachinohe 4/72
8 19 Tokyo 5/77
9 20 Okinawa 5/82
10 21 Niigata 4/86
11 22 Shiga 4/90
12 23 Tomakomai 4/94
13 24 Obihiro 3/97
14 25 Kurashiki 4/101

This list made me feel this tour is amazing once more again. This journey of the appreciation still has more to go.
Keep your eyes on #Mao Asada's Thanks Tour

 

[rosewood]

Happy birthday Mao!

 

[rosewood]

10月6日 第379回放送　 - 鎌田實×村上信夫　日曜はがんばらない

Mao talked about MTT on a recent radio program. She explained about MTT as well as talked about her daily life. The point is she said MTT will continue until next October. Her birthday is Sept 25th and she'll turn 30. She said it's the timing to put a period to MTT. I don't know what she'll do after that. She may start another tour or she may shift her weight from ice shows to something else. We'll see.

The only province with an available rink for ice shows that MTT has not planned to visit yet is Chiba. Aqua Rink Chiba is the only ice rink in the province. Their original renovation plan was to be done from this winter to next spring, but last month the rink was seriously damaged by a typhoon. This article has photos of the damaged rink. Too bad for the local skaters like Shiika Yoshioka (who is a promising Jr lady). They have to travel around other provinces to look for rooms to skate when other rinks have available time (like midnight) for them. Anyways MTT continues until next fall so I think MTT can visit Chiba at some point.

 

[rosewood]

Adding to Nagano and Osaka 5 more stops were added to 2020 tour.

MTT 2020 tour schedule (announced so far)

浅田真央サンクスツアー 〜浅田真央が全国に感謝を届けます〜

maotour.jp

Jan 11-12, Osaka, Towa Ractab Dome
Jan 25-26, Nagano, Nagano Big Hat
Feb 15-16, Kanagawa, Sagamihara-city Ginga Arena
March 12-15, Akita, Akita Prefectural Skating Rink
March 28-29, Kumamoto, Aqua Dome Kumamoto
April 4-5, Hiroshima, Hiroshin Big Wave
June 27-28, Yamanashi, Kose Sports Park Ice Arena

map

https://maotour.jp/img/img_map2020_pc1015.png

 

[rosewood]

Finally Chiba is added to the 2020 tour!

June 13-14, Chiba, Aqua Rink Chiba
map https://maotour.jp/img/img_map2020_pc1107.png

Now that Chiba is added, MTT completed covering all of the prefectures which have at least one available rink for ice shows. Mission completed. Congrats to Mao& MTT!

Since Mao announced MTT will continue until next October, I assume some more stops will be added later, though.

 

[sheen]

DVD and Blu-ray recording MTT will be released on April 1, 2020.

浅田真央がファンへ感謝の気持ちを込めて全国を回る「サンクスツアー」、Blu-rayとDVDで発売決定！

フィギュアスケート界の中心として活躍し、2017年に惜しまれつつ現役引退したプロフィギュアスケーターの浅田真央。2018年より「今まで応援してくれたファンの皆様へ感謝の気持ちを込めて・・・」と、自身でプロデュースし開催し […]

news.ponycanyon.co.jp

This is must-have!

They announced the royalty of the members will be donated to the damaged Aqua Rink Chiba, as @rosewood's post below.

Their original renovation plan was to be done from this winter to next spring, but last month the rink was seriously damaged by a typhoon. This article has photos of the damaged rink. Too bad for the local skaters like Shiika Yoshioka (who is a promising Jr lady).

 

[rosewood]

In the end of this year I re-re-re-watched this beautiful Mao. Wish you a wonderful new year, everyone!

https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1211199881009696768/pu/vid/1280x720/6Zqjc4sNKoqgqUTl.mp4

 

[rosewood]

Celebrating a new year, a dedicated fan uploaded a new version (mostly from 2019 Okayama show) of 10 programs from MTT. Watch it before it's gone (the uploader says it has a time limit). Thanks the wonderful fan for sharing!
(ETA: Since I can edit my post only within 24 hours on FSU, I deleted the direct link to this video at the end of the 24 hours. Its title is "浅田真央(mao asada) MTT Best Program (10Pro.) Medley ～ 2019年の集大成！ 【全面改訂版". Search it on YT. You can find it if it's still open to public.)
____

DVD and Blu-ray recording MTT will be released on April 1, 2020.

浅田真央がファンへ感謝の気持ちを込めて全国を回る「サンクスツアー」、Blu-rayとDVDで発売決定！

フィギュアスケート界の中心として活躍し、2017年に惜しまれつつ現役引退したプロフィギュアスケーターの浅田真央。2018年より「今まで応援してくれたファンの皆様へ感謝の気持ちを込めて・・・」と、自身でプロデュースし開催し […]

news.ponycanyon.co.jp

This is must-have!

They announced the royalty of the members will be donated to the damaged Aqua Rink Chiba, as @rosewood's post below.

The blue-ray and DVD are open for reservations (23% off) by Amazon (Japan) already.

Blue-ray (￥7,630), region code: region free)

Amazon.co.jp

DVD (￥6,783, region code:region 2)

Amazon.co.jp

 

[rosewood]

I counted how many shows MTT did through 2018 & 2019 tours combined. It's 137 shows (I counted two shows when they did an afternoon show and an evening show on one day) at the point of the end of 2019 December.

Here are videos from second half of the 2019 tour which I could find on net. Seems every local TV company loved to take Mao to somewhere they want to show her, such as sight seeing, local foods, etc. They never aired the whole show but it's still fun to see Mao enjoying traveling across the country. It was what she wanted to do when she was competing.

Shizuoka (2019 #21 stop) show
(ETA: The video is now private)

Tsuruga (#20) show
(ETA: The video is now private)

Kyoto (#18) show *click on the YT link on this tweet

KenKen🌈 (@kenken20140901) | Twitter

The latest Tweets from KenKen🌈 (@kenken20140901). Kenちゃんです😊✨ﾋﾟｶｯ こちらは浅田真央さんメインで、舞さんとサンクスツアーメンバーの事もRTしたり呟く事があります☺フォロバは控えております🙇‍♂️真央ちゃんOfficialHP→https://t.co/MF2KhNBdyK 　浅田真央サンクスツアー公式HP→https://t.co/U2srGdybwz 👼さん動画は固定ツイに～. JPN

twitter.com

Aomori (#17) show
(ETA: The video is now private)

Okayama (#14) show
(ETA: The video is now private)

＿＿
News clips from Yamaguchi (later added #22 stop, the final Aichi stop turned out to be #23 stop) show

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みんなの経済新聞ネットワーク on Twitter

“【動画】下松で浅田真央さん「サンクスツアー」　県内唯一のリンクでファンに感謝（周南経済新聞） #浅田真央 #アイスショー #アイススケート #周南経済新聞 #地域ニュース #みん経 #minkei #MINKEITV https://t.co/2xVfrs4nS9”

twitter.com

Aichi (#23) show is to be aired soon.

 

[rosewood]

2020 Tour schedule announced so far:

Jan 11-12, Osaka, Towa Pharmaceutical Ractab Dome, Kadoma
Jan 25-26, Nagano, Nagano Big Hat, Nagano
Feb 14-16, Kanagawa, Sagamihara Ginga Arena, Sagamihara
March 12-15, Akita, Akita Prefectural Skating Rink, Akita
March 28-29, Kumamoto, Aqua Dome Kimamoto, Kumamoto
April 4-5, Hiroshima, Hiroshin Big Wave, Hiroshima
April 11-12, Shimane, Lake Shinji Park Koyukan Ice Rink, Izumo
April 24-26, Tokyo, Edogawa Sports Land, Edogawa-ku
May 15-17, Saitama, Saitama Ice Arena, Ageo
May 23-24, Shiga, Shiga Prefectural Ice Arena, Otsu
June 13-14, Chiba, Aqua Rink Chiba, Chiba
June 27-28, Yamanashi, Kose Sports Park Ice Arena, Kofu

浅田真央サンクスツアー 〜浅田真央が全国に感謝を届けます〜

maotour.jp

map https://maotour.jp/img/img_map2020_pc1107.png

MTT is supposed to finish in 2020 October (if Mao does not change her mind).

 

[Spun Silver]

...
MTT is supposed to finish in 2020 October (if Mao does not change her mind).

What an amazing tour this has been. It reminds me of Anna Pavlova or Jenny Lind, the way she is taking her wonderful show deep into the nooks and crannies of Japan! What a glorious way to close - or continue - her performing career.

 

[rosewood]

What an amazing tour this has been. It reminds me of Anna Pavlova or Jenny Lind, the way she is taking her wonderful show deep into the nooks and crannies of Japan! What a glorious way to close - or continue - her performing career.

At first I was worrying about there would be some backlash against MTT as a new show from people inside of already-established-shows/tours. I'm relieved to see things are going OK even if there could have been some backlash which we don't know. I wonder if one of the reasons of the success can be MTT has Heroes Edutainment as one of its organizers. HE is a company who has lots of notable people in Japanese show biz world. I'm happy to see there are people who love/support Mao outside of figure skating world, too. I'm thankful to everyone who are involved in this project - cast, staffs, local rink managers, sponsor companies, media and the crowd.

 

[rosewood]

This tweet has a link to a new documentary of MTT (2 hours long YT video). Watch it before it's gone!

 

[rosewood]

Two years ago, before Mao started MTT, she visited a small elementary school who has a hand-made outside rink as a surprise guest and did a skating lesson for the students. Recently Mao invited all the six students of the small school to MTT. She did a small skating lesson again between the afternoon show and the evening show. Here are glimpses of the news clip. Kids are so adorable.

村上あこ on Twitter

“ニュースOneさん 真央ちゃん特集あります https://t.co/YRulysF1B6”

twitter.com

 

[rosewood]

This tweet has a link to Aichi show which is the final show of 2019 tour and held in her home town. It has a short interview with Mao and her former coach Yamada, too. Watch it before it's gone.

 

[rosewood]

This tweet has a link to a new documentary of MTT (2 hours long YT video). Watch it before it's gone!

I'm informed this tweet is protected and can't open the YT link if you're not following the person. Instead, I found YT videos of the documentary of 2019 tour (including a bit of 2018 tour, too) named '浅田真央 HERO - The journey to deliver happiness'. The documentary is chopped into 5 clips but still better than nothing. Watch them before they are gone.

'Mao Asada HERO - The journey to deliver hapiness' (2019 MTT documentary)
*The title HERO is taken from lyrics of Wind Beneath My Wings and HERO means all the people supported Mao when she was competing.

『浅田真央 ＨＥＲＯ』サンクスツアー

『浅田真央 ＨＥＲＯ』サンクスツアー「幸せを届ける旅」

www.youtube.com

『浅田真央 ＨＥＲＯ』サンクスツアー「幸せを届ける旅」NO.2

『浅田真央 ＨＥＲＯ』サンクスツアー「幸せを届ける旅」NO.2

www.youtube.com

『浅田真央 ＨＥＲＯ』サンクスツアー NO.3

『浅田真央 ＨＥＲＯ』サンクスツアー「幸せを届ける旅」に独占密着

www.youtube.com

『浅田真央 ＨＥＲＯ』サンクスツアー NO.4

『浅田真央 ＨＥＲＯ』サンクスツアー「幸せを届ける旅」に独占密着 NO.4

www.youtube.com

『浅田真央 ＨＥＲＯ』サンクスツアー NO.5

『浅田真央 ＨＥＲＯ』サンクスツアー「幸せを届ける旅」に独占密着 NO.5

www.youtube.com

 

[rosewood]

This tweet has a link to Aichi show which is the final show of 2019 tour and held in her home town. It has a short interview with Mao and her former coach Yamada, too. Watch it before it's gone.

The twitter user posted YT videos of some programs from Aichi show. These videos are open to public right now.

Ritual Dance (Black and Red)

Mao ASADA ～Mao Thanks Tour 2019～『Ritual Dance』Black＆Red Full ver.

From Aichi performance in December 2019. Mao Thanks Tour official→https://maotour.jp/ Thanks tour will continue in 2020! ※It may be changed to private.

www.youtube.com

Cello Suit

Mao ASADA ～Mao Thanks Tour 2019～『Cello Suite』Full ver.

From Aichi performance in December 2019. Mao Thanks Tour official→https://maotour.jp/ Thanks tour will continue in 2020! ※It may be changed to private.

www.youtube.com

Madame Butterfly

YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

Rakhmaninov：Piano and orchestra No.2 c-moll Op.18

Mao ASADA ～Mao Thanks Tour 2019～『Rakhmaninov：Piano and orchestra No.2 c-moll Op.18』Full ver.

From Aichi performance in December 2019. ※Rakhmaninov connects with four male skaters. Mao says that the legendary Sochi FP was made thanks to the support an...

www.youtube.com

Wind Beneath My Wings

Mao ASADA（浅田真央） ～Mao Thanks Tour 2019～『Wind Beneath My Wings』Full ver.

From Aichi performance in December 2019. Mao Thanks Tour official→https://maotour.jp/ Thanks tour will continue in 2020! ※It may be changed to private.

www.youtube.com

 

[rosewood]

Aichi show broadcasting had an interview with Mao & her former coach Machiko Yamada. Here is my rough translation of the interview (around 17:10 time mark in the Aichi show broadcasting video).

Mao: There wasn't a chance to talk enough with you for a while. This is not a live TV program. So I want to talk enough with you today.
Machiko Yamada: (listening to the greeting) You are grown up.
Mao: I'm 29 yo.
Machiko: Wow? 29 yo! I'm surprised.
Mao: I'll turn 30 yo next year.
Machiko: Time to find a good partner.
Mao: I know. I've been traveling around the country with my own ice show. I'll continue it next year, too.
Machiko: You continue? That's wonderful!
Mao: First of all I have something I want to tell you today. You've taught me lots of things such as basics and the pure joy of figure skating since I was very little. You also taught me the desirable mindset as a figure skater. You brought me up like a family. Thank you very much for everything you did to me.
Machiko: Thanks a lot, you grown-up lady.
Mao: hehehe Machiko-sensei told me that you wished me to be a skater who is loved by everyone, and results are not everything, when I was competing. That's what I've been cherishing in my mind up to today. It was an impressive word even though I was just a little kid when you told it to me. I believe cherishing that word in my mind led me to the place where I am now.
Machiko: Thanks. You know, every year someone wins Worlds. World champion is not always the one who stays in people's heart for long.
Machiko: You always keep working hard. You give off good lights. That's why people keep their eyes on you and love you. I always feel you are awesome.
Mao: Thank you for visiting MTT last year. How was MTT from your view point?
Machiko: It was very Mao. It's difficult to explain what made me feel so, but I felt MTT is the show which is packed with your wishes. It's not as a simple show as the cast just skate your former programs. To me MTT looked the show which was filled with every little thing you want your show to have. That made me feel you are a unique person who is different from other people around us. I think MTT is the show to go for any true fan of Mao.
Mao: Do you have any advice for improving MTT?
Machiko: No. I don't have anything. The point is you should do what you want to do. That's the best way. MTT should be filled with your color. I believe it will lead to a good direction. Believe in yourself and go ahead.
Machiko (to staffs): Mao's skating has not faded at all. At the end of the day she is amazing. Her determination and pride. She has her own bar. If she is going to skate in public, she thinks she should have been prepared to be on a certain level. MTT cannot exist without her determination and pride. That's who Mao is.
Mao: I'm thankful to see lots of people come and see my skating even after my retirement. I want to do all my best to deliver my skating of gratitude to everyone.
Machiko: For the mission you should take care of yourself. Don't get injured or sick. It's impossible for the show to start if you are absent. Since you've grown older, be careful not to injured in your feet. Please.
Mao: Yes. Health is first. My body today is so much different compared to my body in my early 20s. I'll take care of it well. Thank you for coming today.

ETA:
photo https://www.tokai-tv.com/io/okaerimaochan/

 

[rosewood]

Yesterday was the first day of the 2020 tour. Hey! Isn't it amazing that this long tour which already has run for two years drew 5,800 people to each of the four shows (two shows each on Saturday and Sunday) to hit the road of 2020 tour at a Dome in Osaka where Mao skated her swan song at 2016 Nats as well as she won National titles in 2011, 2009 and 2007 (three of her six National titles).

Here are two photos from Sunday evening show on Sei Kawahara's IG.

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Kudos to the amazing start of the 3rd year of MTT!

This person posted 2020 tour's pamphlet etc.

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Yuna Shiraiwa visited MTT on Saturaday.

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In the photo skaters are wearing a new costume for Winds Beneath My Wings. There are several costume/choreography updates in 2020 tour. People were excited about the new arrangement of the show, especially new costumes/choreography for Madame Butterfly and Bei Mir Bistu Shein. Wish I can win the ticketing battle around my area.

ETA:
Mao posted clips and photos of the final show in Osaka on her IG.

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ETA2:
Group photo and an illustration on the pamphlet from Haruka Imai's tweet.
https://twitter.com/harukaimai831/status/1216337750804189184

 

[Triple loop]

I would like to thank you again, Rosewood, for the frequent updates. I am not surprised how successful Mao’s tour has been even in its 3rd year. She is such a class act and legend in your country. I hope you get a chance to see her because you deserve it. I know I won’t be able to watch her perform live since I’m an American but I love watching highlights of the tour on you tube and Instagram. Please keep posting.

 

[livetoskate]

Thanks from me too, Rosewood! This looks like such a great touring show that will inspire skaters all over the country.

 

[Tinami Amori]

Always loved Asada's taste in costumes and style.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/T50g4craX0Q/maxresdefault.jpg

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[cohkaix]

Sorry about my delayed report: I was actually at one of the Osaka shows last weekend! (According to @rosewood's MTT Meter, I think I was at show#140!) And I had a great time re-visiting MTT! It‘s the same Mao Thanks Tour, but it had completely different performances from the one I saw over a year ago at Shimane. Going into 3rd year, they are still updating the content of the numbers being performed, with better teamwork, and also the new costumes! (Mao has a fitting, mature look with new costumes that go well with her fine skating). Since they were performing at the bigger arena this time, I think they also took some time during the new year to refine each number a little bit so as to have everything fitting with the Ractab Dome (BTW the show didn't make use of the whole arena. Instead they only used about 2/3 of the whole arena and built a smaller ice surface). Another thing they tried was with the light projections in the arena, and it worked quite well onto the high-rising dome with some of the numbers performed.

I didn't get the arena seats. Instead I got the cheaper one. But it was a better view of the overall skating from slightly further distance. And you can simply tell that the MTT team did take into consideration that Ractab Dome is of a bigger space (comparing to other local arenas that they were used to perform in) so adjustments were made accordingly.

Overall, I enjoyed the two chances I had with MTT! And I'm just glad Mao's enjoying working on the show and MTT is just keeping on evolving!

 

[rosewood]

Akita shows (scheduled 12-15 March) were postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic. She wishes the pandemic will end soon and people stay safe.

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ETA:
I'm using a photo of Mao's Bells of Moscow in my avatar for now. The program portrayed people's anger against the absurd destiny and their fights against it. Her performance in the Olys/Worlds remains in my mind. It still encourages me at this difficult time. Love you Mao. <3

 

[rosewood]

Here is Mao's latest interview aired during a news show. She announced she restarts MTT. The announcer said it will be the first ice show in Japan after the pandemic.

Ｎスタ 2020年7月1日

Ｎスタ 2020年7月1日

youtu.be

Mao: We'll be able to deliver our ice show again after a while. I still have some concerns but at the same time my feeling is that I want to go forward together with everyone even if it's just a little step.
Announcer: So far it was one of MTT's attractive points that she was close to fans during the show,for example, she shook hands with fans etc but after the restart it will be...
Mao: There will be no direct contacts with the fans. There will be good enough distance between the seats. And I'm planning to deliver live streaming of the show. It's the first attempt of the tour.
Announcer: She restarted on-ice practice from June. She's excited about the restart of the show.
Mao: (by the live streaming?) The show will be delivered to various places even out of my imagination. It can make MTT into a very different show, I guess.

The first stop after the break is scheduled to be Shiga show.
Shiga show: Aug 15-16 (4 shows in total)
And the next show will be Tochigi show.
Tochigi show: Aug 29-30

浅田真央サンクスツアー 〜浅田真央が全国に感謝を届けます〜

maotour.jp

MTT announced various changes based on the new norm such as only Tochigi residents can buy the ticket of the Tochigi show and enter the venue etc. Most of us on FSU can't buy the tickets but instead it's so happy that it's likely we can buy the tickets for the live streaming! WOW! Mao always does everything to go forward and it makes the show experimental and precious.

I'll update when more details are announced about the livestreaming. I'm really happy MTT will be continued and we can see the new costumes/choreography etc!