AKB48 Fans Flock to Buy CDs From Departing Member Mayuyu Herself

Departing <a href="/music/AKB48">AKB48</a> member Mayu Watanabe bagged CDs for fans during her stint as "one-day manager" of Shibuya Tsutaya on Thursday (Nov. 23).

The Japanese girl group released its 50th CD single, "Juuichigatsu No Anklet," last week, which is the last for the longtime member known as "Mayuyu," who will be leaving the group at the end of the year. Shibuya Tsutaya is currently promoting the group's latest single with an exhibit centered around Mayuyu, and she dropped by the store to personally greet fans and sell some of her group's CDs.

She perused the store shortly before it opened and seemed delighted with the extensive display, taking photos and leaving some autographs along the way. The numbered tickets for the event had promptly disappeared and fans were waiting for the doors to open, so she hopped in behind the sales counter to perform her duties as the one-day manager.

Watanabe joined AKB48 when she was 12 years old so she has no part-time job experience. This was literally her first retail job, but many years of experience meeting and greeting fans as a member of a popular girl group paid off and she aced her first and only day as a salesperson. She seemed genuinely pleased to see each and every fan as she bagged CDs and handed them over, chatting briefly with everyone during her time behind the counter.

"It was a bit different from our usual meet and greets, and I enjoyed it," she said after the event. "I'd love to do it again if I ever get a chance."

She later went to check out the series of ads promoting "Juuichigatsu No Anklet" displayed along the underground walkway in Shibuya, and left her signature and a small mischievous doodle on one of them.