In all of my years going to concerts, I’ve been to a variety of shows that have encapsulated me in a different range of emotions. I’ve laughed so hard that I cried, bawled my eyes out watching my favorite song be performed, and experienced such pure happiness that nothing, not even the worst sadness, could bring down that incredible walking on clouds type of lightness in my heart. Even in my heavily biased opinion, Travis Japan sit atop the throne as utter masters at crafting and putting together a well-balanced show and setlist.
Consisting of seven members, Noel Kawashima, Kaito “Chaka” Miyachika, Kaito “Umi” Nakamura, Kaito “Machu” Matsukura, Genta Matsuda, Ryuka “Shime” Shimekake, and Shizuya “Shizu” Yoshizawa, the fabulous Travis Japan debuted in 2022 with their all-English hit song JUST DANCE! followed by other singles, such as Moving Pieces and Candy Kiss. Late last year they released their debut album, Road to A, and began their Japan-wide tour in Yokohama Arena on January 4th of this year.
What sets Travis Japan’s concerts apart from other STARTO ENTERTAINMENT groups is not only their dance ability, but their strength in knowing how to craft a setlist to make the flow from start to end make sense. There aren’t any slow ballads placed between two fast paced numbers. Each song is used as a building block to get from one moment to another without jarring the audience or giving them whiplash.
When you add in their performing abilities on top of this, Road to Authenticity, this year’s tour, is sparkling perfection. From their very appearance on stage, appearing like magic between rotating lights on the main stage, Travis Japan enraptured their audience as the first notes of DRIVIN’ ME CRAZY came through the speakers.
Here are a few performances from their tour that caught my attention!
The absolute upbeat positivity of Okie Dokie! made it a clear favorite of mine from the first time that I watched the music video. There are times in our lives we need a pat on the shoulder and to be told it’s “gonna be okay” which is exactly what we as the audience get from Travis Japan singing the lyrics. Much like the song, the choreography was catchy and made you want to dance along, but those emotions only increased tenfold during its live performance.
Dancing on their moving stage at the back of the arena, it was hard not to keep your eyes off of the group as they grooved along to the music. With the moving platform raised up, it made it easy for fans seated in the stands to see their beloved idols performing for them. Their voices felt as if they were reaching to every nook and cranny, and your heart felt ten times lighter with the pure positivity emoted by their voices. The whole performance of Okie Dokie! was perfect.
A few songs later, Travis Japan were back on the main stage and performing their beloved Junior era song Yume no Hollywood (夢のHollywood). Although this is a staple in Travis Japan shows, there’s the added level of emotion of “They made it! They went to Hollywood and debuted!” laced within the audience’s minds as it was performed. It was hard not to tear up upon thinking about how hard this group has worked to make their dreams a reality.
But more than that, Chaka had managed to make me laugh a little. During the tail end of the song, where the members are tap dancing, Chaka always calls out to the audience to join them and dance along. This time, when the song came to a close, in a shocked voice he asked the audience, “Eh? Did you practice?” which was a sweet and funny way to add a little humor to a classic song.
One performance that caught me by surprise was Seasons of Gold. This particular song had a lot of buzz surrounding it on social media once the album was released but completely exceeded my expectations upon being performed. Choreographed by member Noel, Seasons of Gold featured beautiful contemporary dancing that showed off not only Travis Japan’s talent for dancing multiple styles but their emotion charged vocals. Their bodies flowed through the delicate and swirling choreography that kept the audience’s eyes locked on them until the song came to a close. Even then, you couldn’t help but wish to rewind and watch them dance it over and over again. It was truly one of the dancing highlights of the entire show.
One part of the show that showed off Travis Japan’s strength in building a setlist was just after the MC corner. The thought that went behind the placement of the unit songs showed an absolute brilliant sense and awareness from the group, even if the decision seems so simple. The group started with the slowest song, a ballad called bro 🙂 performed by Genta and Machu and ended with the highest energy song, Paranoia, performed by Umi, Shizu, and Shime.
What made this three song section so brilliant is that building of energy. Starting with a slower tempo song not only gives the audience time to build up their excitement and anticipation for what’s to come but it also gives Travis Japan the chance to get ready as they start making the final push to the end of the show. There aren’t any drops in energy by starting with the slowest either.
If they had made a single switch, putting Chaka and Noel’s song, Day off, first for example, there would have been a huge drop in crowd energy before being slammed in the face with Paranoia. It would have left the audience confused and wondering why that choice was made. By letting the setlist flow from bro 🙂 to Day off and finally wrapping up the unit song corner with Paranoia, the audience’s anticipation is at the absolute maximum by the time all of the members return on stage to perform Turn up the vibe, which is exactly where we want to be.
This isn’t to say Road to Authenticity was a show strictly focused on dance and performance. There were little moments peppered in that showed off the personalities and humor Travis Japan has. One of the parts of the show that only became more and more hilarious as the Yokohama shows progressed was Happy Groovy.
But this beginning of Happy Groovy was anything but normal. Whether it was Genta stroking Shime’s Adam’s apple or Shime and Umi getting closer and closer as they sang, only to be broken up by Machu singing his line “that’s alright,” and coming between them, the beginning of Happy Groovy gave the audience a chance to see Travis Japan’s silliness. It was a refreshingly funny moment that had the audience in stitches before a switch was flipped, and their professionalism as performers snapped into place to close out the song.
The performance began with a little twist. With the letters of their group name illuminating the screen behind them, the letters became scrambled or the ‘T’ and ‘J’ of Travis Japan lept off on their own to do a little canoodling. To which the members scrambled around the stage to get everything back in order for their performance.
The absolute strongest section of the concert was from Candy Kiss to LEVEL UP. Although it is the heaviest dance section as well as the highest energy portion of the entire show, it’s another time where Travis Japan shows their talent in building a setlist, giving themselves and the audience time to rest before making that final push to the last song of the show.
The first two songs of this portion of the concert, Candy Kiss and Party up like crazy are heavy dance songs that come out like an explosion. Travis Japan got the audience on their feet and dancing along with them as they perform these all English songs. When Moving Pieces hit, it was a brief slowdown in tempo but still showed off the powerhouse synchronization the group is known for. By putting Moving Pieces next, it gave the audience a moment to catch their breath as well as the boys, despite them putting their all into their performance.
The Show was most definitely a rest song for Travis Japan as they sang and rocked out to this anthem. It was hard not to thrust your penlight into the air to beat and, by the time the song is over, Travis Japan was well rested and ready to throw themselves into the hard hitting and dance heavy 99 PERCENT. There was one more rest song for the group, the ever popular Lock Lock, as they traversed the entire arena on their moving stage, getting the crowd more and more hyped with a call and response.
By the time they reached the main stage, the members were ready to launch into catchy choreography of Love Tag, which was choreographed by Kis-My-Ft2’s Kento Senga. The dance was absolutely electric, and Travis Japan handled it with ease. The energy in the arena was at the absolute maximum by the time Umi led the audience in a call in response, shouting the lyrics “Watch me level up. Play you like a Gameboy” until the group launched into the lead song from the album, LEVEL UP.
The energy radiating from Travis Japan as they perform this song was absolutely explosive. Complete with screens showing off 8-bit video game footage and tight and synchro dancing, it was hard to decide where you wanted to watch. LEVEL UP was the final bang, the last hurrah, and when it inevitably comes to a close, it left the audience wishing it wasn’t the end. In my personal opinion, all concerts should end this way, with your heart beating fast and adrenaline pumping through the veins as you wait for the encore to start. Travis Japan definitely left me excited for what they would sing next.
For concerts in Japan, audience members don’t take their phones out to record or take pictures during the show. These shows are meant to be lasting memories between you and the performers with no physical representation of your time together.
As a kind gesture to all of their fans, Travis Japan has allowed the recording of a single song during the encore portion of their show. Not only is this incredibly sweet, but the song that can be recorded changes with every show. It makes each concert a unique experience for fans attending, and each and every person leaves with a treasured memory of their time with Travis Japan. It’s also incredibly sweet to see the fans respecting this special gift and putting their phones away when asked to do so. It’s a wonderful moment of mutual love and appreciation that warms the heart.
The last song of the encore was the song Together now. Coming from their junior era, this song was the perfect way to end the show. The lyrics speak of not wanting to part and wanting to spend just a little more time together, but somehow you’ll see each other again. For fans who want to spend just a little more time with their beloved idols, it’s heartbreaking to say goodbye and wait until the next meeting. But there is a sweetness to having those emotions acknowledged and reciprocated through song lyrics that heals that pain, even just a little. We are all together.
Travis Japan had shown off their skills in their debut concert, The Show last year, and Road to Authenticity is the perfect response in their second year of debut. The members have absolutely level upped their skills as performers and showed that they’re not done growing and evolving yet. It is just the beginning of their careers as internationally debuted idols, but it is most definitely far from over for them. I cannot wait to see what Travis Japan will do next and how they’ll continue to evolve.
Don’t forget to grab the Global edition of Road to A, available on February 12th! And check out Travis Japan on their social media!
Instagram・TikTok・YouTube・Community Profile on Genius.com・Twitter (Japanese only)
Thank u for representing TJ concert. Its full of Luv to TJ. I cannot wait for their level up too 😉
You’re welcome! Road to Authenticity is such a fun tour, and I enjoyed it a lot. Thank you for reading!