Ayu Tickets

[AyumiAi]

I posted this question on the "How i made it to tokyo" thread in the chat but no one answered and i really need to know

Two questions for the option of getting tickets via Internet and then printing them at a 7/11 can we choose our tickets or they give them randomly? And secondly for other arenas ( I'm going to go see her saitama concert) how do I know which tickets are floor seats and seating charts? Can someone help please

[Misa-chan]

About your first question. I'm assuming your "getting tickets via Internet and then printing them at a 7/11" means the online lottery, which is only limited to TA members. So unless you're a member yourself, you have to get someone to help. Plus, you need a trustworthy friend who lives in Japan to help pay the ticket for you and have your ticket be delivered to his/her address. Otherwise, this option is more or less out for foreign fans.

And about tickets, if you buy it from the lottery, you won't be able to choose seats. They will randomly send you tickets. If you buy from a resale place, you get to choose from those available for sale. But then, you have to be prepared to pay if you want good seats.

As for seating plan, it really depends on how the tour stage will be like. Traditionally, it's with a front stage, but there's a high chance that the stage this time may be a centre one, like CDL. So we really can't tell until the show starts (since you're going for the very first show at Saitama, you'll just have to rely on luck).

But as a general guide, the floor seats will have the words アリーナ (arena) written on it, and the ones going up the sides are the スタンド (stand) seats, with 一階 and 二階 (1st and 2nd floor up) respectively.

There are generally no seating charts available, but you can Google each location's website, and they can give you a rough guide.

For example, for Saitama, the official website provides some "guidelines" for seating plans. May not be accurate, but it's the best reference there is.

If stage is in Front,
http://www.saitama-arena.co.jp/seats_info/arena_end02/

If stage is in Centre,
http://www.saitama-arena.co.jp/seats_info/arena_center/

[AyumiAi]

Thank you so much

[CeReSu]

If you want, last year, Misa bought one ticket for me but the other, I bought it from

http://www.fdjp.com

It's an english site. Excellent website. Normally you have a possibility to choose your place. You can indicate the seat or arena and also the budget you have (I bought a place for 15 000 yen last year + 30% commission and I was in Block D: beautiful view in Yoyogi!). But not sure that people who work for this site can find your request exactly. But you can try!
Plus, the site sent to you by EMS your place at your home OR they send it at your hotel in Japan.
It's a really good site, believe me!
And if you need help tu use it, you can contact me!

[Misa-chan]

A small word of advice.

Not wanting to tarnish the reputation of fdjp.com, but that guy running the site charges exhorbitant commissions. He demands 30% of what the ticket costs. So if you buy a$1,000 ticket from him, you have to pay him $300 for commission, which is insane IMO. When I helped AHS-ers buy tickets last year, I only charged USD$15 commission flat, and I thought that was quite alot already.

So yeah, sure, his service may be not bad, but you'll just have to be prepared to pay alot more than you need to. So keep that only as a very very last resort.

[CeReSu]

Originally Posted by Misa-chan

A small word of advice.

Not wanting to tarnish the reputation of fdjp.com, but that guy running the site charges exhorbitant commissions. He demands 30% of what the ticket costs. So if you buy a$1,000 ticket from him, you have to pay him $300 for commission, which is insane IMO. When I helped AHS-ers buy tickets last year, I only charged USD$15 commission flat, and I thought that was quite alot already.

So yeah, sure, his service may be not bad, but you'll just have to be prepared to pay alot more than you need to. So keep that only as a very very last resort.

yes unfortunately it's very expensive but it's a good way to find ticket if we don't have friend who live in Japan

[AyumiAi]

yea i'd already read peoples comments on fdjp i guessuess if its my last resort then ill consider using it but i think i might go with resale or yahoo auction ;p i unno Say i want block B tickets and i have no friends in japan or TA what would be the BEST way to get itckets?

[LacusClyne]

the other way is to buy straight at resellers shops?

[Misa-chan]

Originally Posted by AyumiAi

yea i'd already read peoples comments on fdjp i guessuess if its my last resort then ill consider using it but i think i might go with resale or yahoo auction ;p i unno Say i want block B tickets and i have no friends in japan or TA what would be the BEST way to get itckets?

Yes, from my experience, Lacus' idea is actually the wisest option if you don't have any friends in Japan.

I know it may seem crazy, booking flights and hotels and going over to Japan, when you don't even have a ticket on hand. But the thing is, resale shops are located everywhere in Japan, and they will definitely have stock for the tickets which you want. What's more, the closer to the date of the concert, the cheaper the resale shops will sell the ticket, because they need to get rid of them to earn money.

In truth, middleman services like fdjp.com probably make use of resale shops to get you tickets too. Thing is, because they are the middleman, you have to trust that they are not cheating you of money. For example, you want a Block B ticket, the middleman goes to the resale store and buys it for 30,000yen for you, but you don't know it, and if he wants to charge you 50,000yen for it, there's nothing you can do. So that's the danger with middlemen, and another reason why I don't really recommend their services.

So yeah, it all depends on what kind of person you are. If you are the kind who worries about the ticket and will rather pay high prices just to ensure you have them before going to Japan, then the only way is to use middleman services. If not, I truly recommend that you fly to Japan maybe 1 week before the actual concert, and go look around resale shops on your own to find a good deal. If you are staying in a hostel/hotel, just ask the staff there to help you locate the nearest resale store, I'm sure they'll be more than willing to help out!! Most people know some basic English, so it won't be totally disastrous if you can't speak Japanese. If not, you can always log onto AHS and ask, I'll be more than willing to write sentences for you in roomaji so you can "talk" to them.

That's all!!

[AyumiAi]

Ahh thank you!!
I think ill go with buying the tickets before hand, im too afraid to buy the tickets last minute, I dont think id be able to do such a thing haha ;p
so excited

[Misa-chan]

Originally Posted by AyumiAi

Ahh thank you!!
I think ill go with buying the tickets before hand, im too afraid to buy the tickets last minute, I dont think id be able to do such a thing haha ;p
so excited

OK then. Good luck!!

If you need any advice, like how much a resale ticket will cost for a particular kind of seat, feel free to ask here!!

[Luja.]

Originally Posted by Misa-chan

If not, you can always log onto AHS and ask, I'll be more than willing to write sentences for you in roomaji so you can "talk" to them.

oh Misa-chan, could you maybe tell me what "I want concert tickets for ayumi hamasaki, 25th of July, in Yoyogi" (something like this)? Something like... "hamasaki ayumi no konsato chiketto ga hoshii" ....... "Yoyogi de" ...... I have no real idea how to put the sentence

[Misa-chan]

hamasaki ayumi no konsaato chiketto ga hoshii desu kedo, shichigatsu nijuusan nichi, kokuritsu yoyogi kyougijou no desu.

may work. Yeah it is really long. Or you can print it out on a piece of paper in kanji and show it? ^^

浜崎あゆみのコンサートチケットがほしいですけど、七月二十三日、国立代々木競技場のです。

Oh, I wrote it for 23rd Jul, since the shows this year are on 23rd and 24th only.

[Luja.]

^yeah, just saw that the dates are different, too. haha. thank you!

[AyumiSEASONS]

Misa, could you help us make a tutorial for the 7/11 printing option? >< I don't know enough japanese..

[Misa-chan]

Originally Posted by AyumiSEASONS

Misa, could you help us make a tutorial for the 7/11 printing option? >< I don't know enough japanese..

It's quite hard for me to explain without photos/screenshots, because there's this machine in 7/11 that you need to print out barcodes and stuff from, then you can pay at the counter.

Do you have a Japanese friend? It'll be easier to get him/her to bring you there and help you with it actually. Or if all else fails, just approach the cashier at the counter and ask for help. I can help you compose a note to show him so he knows what you need. They are generally very helpful, and it's their job to help people unfamiliar with using the machines anyway, so yep.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Misa-chan

A small word of advice.

Not wanting to tarnish the reputation of fdjp.com, but that guy running the site charges exhorbitant commissions. He demands 30% of what the ticket costs. So if you buy a$1,000 ticket from him, you have to pay him $300 for commission, which is insane IMO. When I helped AHS-ers buy tickets last year, I only charged USD$15 commission flat, and I thought that was quite alot already.

So yeah, sure, his service may be not bad, but you'll just have to be prepared to pay alot more than you need to. So keep that only as a very very last resort.

Yeah I echo this. Before I was able to buy tickets myself, I used his service once a few years ago. The price was absurd and when I questioned him about whether the ticket really was from the fan club (Namie's fanclub tickets usually have a design on them and this was just a plain ticket), he threatened to destroy the ticket. Unbelievable.

btw, there is a 7/11 option other than the fanclub. When tickets go on sale at the Ticket Pia website and if you are lucky enough to get a hold of one, there is usually a 7/11 option for delivery and you can print the ticket from 7/11 even up until the day of the concert.

Originally Posted by AyumiAi

Ahh thank you!!
I think ill go with buying the tickets before hand, im too afraid to buy the tickets last minute, I dont think id be able to do such a thing haha ;p
so excited

I know how you feel because I too wanted to have the actual ticket in hand before heading to Japan the first time I saw her. But honestly it really is just a waste of your time and especially your money to try and get the tickets before hand. The easiest way really is to just wait until you are in Japan and buy them from a resale shop. I don't know about other cities, but in Tokyo the main resale stores never have a shortage of tickets; usually even on the day of the actual concert you can still find tickets.

[AyumiSEASONS]

Originally Posted by Misa-chan

It's quite hard for me to explain without photos/screenshots, because there's this machine in 7/11 that you need to print out barcodes and stuff from, then you can pay at the counter.

Do you have a Japanese friend? It'll be easier to get him/her to bring you there and help you with it actually. Or if all else fails, just approach the cashier at the counter and ask for help. I can help you compose a note to show him so he knows what you need. They are generally very helpful, and it's their job to help people unfamiliar with using the machines anyway, so yep.

Thanks but I don't know if we'll be able to go anymore :/ and I don't know anyone either.

[crea_spain]

^ http://www.hyogoajet.net/wiki/How_To...Loppi_Machines

[Mai82Go]

For Lawsons machine I also found a nice english tutorial on Youtube. I cannot embed it for some reason on AHS but here's the link.

Watch it here on Youtube

If you absolutely know no japanese it might be confusing even then. It's also from 2009, so I'm not sure if the procedure is still the same.

There are also a few videos in japanese - when you actually have a code. Just search for it on Youtube.