[Tutorial] "How I made it to Tokyo and Arena Tour 2006" =P

Nice pictures Corybobory, the kind of Japan trip I want to plan (i.e. see loads of different things). Of course adding in a trip to see Ayu at some point

[polka-dot-jewel]

Also jonneh, I know all hostels aren't part of the Hostel Organization. A lot of the ones I've come across aren't part of it. (Or, at least, I couldn't see anything that said you had to be a part of the Organization.) They can still be cheap, but I'm sure the ones that do require a membership card can be cheaper. ^___^

[Hatix]

Hehe, the bean bag pillows, yeah. When you have a western type of bed, they tend to be more like western pillows (but still not as soft). But when you have a japanese type of bed (on a futon) you are sure to have a bean bag as a pillow. So when I stayed at Homeikan the first time, I made sure I brought an small extra pillow with me, that helped a lot ;p.

Interesting idea about finding a japanese travel agency, but I don't think we have many in Belgium, but I can give it a try (especially since flights are still above 700eur at the moment).

[maneayu]

Originally Posted by Hatix

Hehe, the bean bag pillows, yeah. When you have a western type of bed, they tend to be more like western pillows (but still not as soft). But when you have a japanese type of bed (on a futon) you are sure to have a bean bag as a pillow.

I had a bean bag pillow at Ryokan Kangetsu too! lol!

(BTW, Hi Blasterion and Hatix! I always remember Minato Mirai, that view is amazing!).

[Blasterion]

yes please do give it a try Hatix,
it would sure help me out a lot too


hey how's it going btw, long time no see

[Hatix]

yeah, indeed, long time no see ;p How are you and your sister?
I remember that ayu-car from your avatar very well when we were taking a picture of it
Minato Mirai 21 was cool too (and of course the concert!! just WHEN is that dvd coming? )

[_Eria_]

Hi there!

I’m going to the performance on April 8th, and I decided to get my ticket via fdjp, then I wonder if it’s better to send my request already (although the tickets aren’t on sale yet, are they?) or wait after the tickets release. Talking about fdjp, I have doubts about when the payment has to be done. I mean, I’ll have to send them a mail stating what I want and my budget, but, do I have to send the money right away or wait for their reply? I’m willing to pay 50000-60000 yen for the ticket, I hope I get a good seat… I’m so glad I’m able to attend the day of the anniversary…

[immel]

If you send the request to them now they will most likely reply to you giving you an estimate of when they're released, they can't give you information about how much to pay them until they've actually seen the prices of what tickets they can buy you.

If you send your request now I don't know if they'll contact you again once the tickets are released or if you will have to do so, give it a try .

[polka-dot-jewel]

^ I actually have a question about contacing FDJP about the tickets...would I send them a request about how much Ayu tickets would be (without a link), or would I have to provide them a link to go by? I know the GUILTY CD came with a slip that had a link of where you could sign up to get Ayu tickets. Would I send them that link?

[immel]

Bleh, I wrote a long reply but my computer rebooted while I was trying to post so I'll just try to say everything in short....

@polka-dot-jewel Yeah, I think you can contact FDJP now, I think they have a separate mail for questions and you could send them the same questions that you asked here.

Do you want tickets from the official release? Like, do you want them to call on the day of release and try to get tickets? They'd be 7500 each but you wouldn't know where you're seated. I doubt FDJP would do this since there's a lot of hassle and you have to call within like 5-10 minutes if you want tickets because they sell out that quickly. I think what they'd offer you is to go to a reseller store and pick them up, that way you know your seat but the price will be on another level... or rather in another galaxy.

They're pretty used to people wanting Ayu tickets by now I think, so don't worry much about links etc. Just describe what your preferences are and how much you're willing to pay, you have my price reference so that you know about where you can expect to be seated depending on how much you pay.

[polka-dot-jewel]

Originally Posted by immel

Bleh, I wrote a long reply but my computer rebooted while I was trying to post so I'll just try to say everything in short....

@polka-dot-jewel Yeah, I think you can contact FDJP now, I think they have a separate mail for questions and you could send them the same questions that you asked here.

Do you want tickets from the official release? Like, do you want them to call on the day of release and try to get tickets? They'd be 7500 each but you wouldn't know where you're seated. I doubt FDJP would do this since there's a lot of hassle and you have to call within like 5-10 minutes if you want tickets because they sell out that quickly. I think what they'd offer you is to go to a reseller store and pick them up, that way you know your seat but the price will be on another level... or rather in another galaxy.

They're pretty used to people wanting Ayu tickets by now I think, so don't worry much about links etc. Just describe what your preferences are and how much you're willing to pay, you have my price reference so that you know about where you can expect to be seated depending on how much you pay.

lol I wish I had read this BEFORE I sent them an e-mail. ^^; I had sent them an order form, and I included BOTH links (to the ticket-navi one and her official schedule).

So they offer services to where you pay them for tickets from a reseller, and then all you have to do is pick them up (after, obviously, paying for the tickets)? Huh, I may have to do that. (Since I'll be arriving only a week before the actual concert dates that I'll be attending.)

[immel]

Originally Posted by polka-dot-jewel

So they offer services to where you pay them for tickets from a reseller, and then all you have to do is pick them up (after, obviously, paying for the tickets)?

No, they don't. It works like this.

You tell them what you want.

They go outside to look around in the stores where they know they can find the tickets and tell you how much it will cost in total to pick them up for you.

You send them the money.

They go to the ticket reseller store, buy the ticket for you and mail it to the address you specified.

If you're gonna arrive a week before the concert you can just as well go to a ticket reseller store on your own to get a ticket, a week before the performance there should still be nice tickets available. That way you'd save the cost for using FDJP as the middle man, which might be quite a lot. The trouble would be finding a good reseller store, since different ones have different tickets. You'd have to do a lot of walking and research etc.

All this information is more or less already stated in the first post in this thread.

Or you could bid on tickets from Yahoo! Auctions and have them sent to the address of your hotel. That's a hassle though.

[maneayu]

BTW.... From my last experience, you can actually buy tickets by yourself from resellers. Me and Hatix went to Yokohama Arena twice. The first time, he got the tickets from yahoo auctions at a very high price and we got seats like 100 mts. near Ayu.
For the second one, I went to Ueno and found a reseller (is easy to find) that was selling tickets very cheap (like 12.000 yen if I'm not wrong. Hatix, please correct me if I'm wrong), so I got them at the same day of the concert. They were a very good seats though.

So... I recommend to all of you to get your tickets directly from resellers at Japan. Is cheaper and is the easiest way to get them.

[Hatix]

Originally Posted by maneayu

BTW.... From my last experience, you can actually buy tickets by yourself from resellers. Me and Hatix went to Yokohama Arena twice. The first time, he got the tickets from yahoo auctions at a very high price and we got seats like 100 mts. near Ayu.
For the second one, I went to Ueno and found a reseller (is easy to find) that was selling tickets very cheap (like 12.000 yen if I'm not wrong. Hatix, please correct me if I'm wrong), so I got them at the same day of the concert. They were a very good seats though.

So... I recommend to all of you to get your tickets directly from resellers at Japan. Is cheaper and is the easiest way to get them.

100 meters? More like 40 meters from the stage, and 10 meters from the round catwalk thing in the middle . These tickets were 45.000 yen though from an auction... These were B-block, but very close to the center catwalk (only 6 seats further). A-block (closer to the main stage), can go from 30k up to 80k+.
The second day we had tickets at about a distance of 50 meters. These were 7500 yen (still have it in my expenses list from last year ) Which I think was less than original retail value, which was 7800 yen if I remember correctly.
But indeed, the best way would probably be to go to the reseller shops. The one in Ueno is bigger than the one in Harajuku.

When talking about blocks in the center (!), A-block is usually too expensive. Go for B or C-block. Yokohama has 4 rows of blocks and 3 columns of block. Yoyogi has 5 rows of blocks and 5 columns, I think. I would not recommend D or E blocks in the center . Try to get a cheap one on the side then. Which can sometimes be very good as well if you're not too much to the back (like our second day seats).
Blocks in the center are usually in a straightforward pattern, but the ones on the side and back are quite different, they mostly have an unusual pattern, and they can have the same letters as in the center. That's why it's stated on the ticket if it's arena&side (for Yoyogi) and center&arena (for Yokohama). But let's wait for the tickets to come out, so the seat location discussion can start again


P.S. @ mane: still have a video recording from the top floor of Minato Mirai ;p)
(P.S.2 @ Avex: When is that concert DVD coming out???!!)

[Zeke.]

Well thank you SO MUCH for this guide! It will definately be of use to me in the coming months!

[Blasterion]

I went to the Yokohama performance twice last year, same as Mane and Hatix,
the first one we all went together actually and yes Mane, the view from minato mirai was amazing indeed + elevator
I got the tickets for the first show on yahoo auctions japan through a middleman service, they were C-block tix, final row I think,
but they were fine since Yokohama arena isn't as big as Yoyogi.

For the second show I bought tix at a reseller shop in Ueno on the same day as the show,
there were quite a few to choose from in different price ranges.
The tix I bought were about the same or a bit cheaper than the original prices,
again C-block but they much closer to the (catwalk)stage(thingy)
..my sis almost caught a ball!! it bounced off her fingers lol

but anywayz, you shouldn't have any problems getting tickets if still don't have any when arriving in Japan..
or you can even buy some outside the arena or when exiting the train station


p.s. @ Mane & Hatix I still have a pic of the 4 (+ my sis) of us at minato mirai

[Hatix]

Yoyogi is rather longer but a bit more narrow than Yokohama, I think.

@ Blasterion: oh,I didn't remember we took pic of us four ;p
Got one of you three though and that video. Will pm you about it

[maneayu]

To all!

Another recommendation!
It's great to meet AHS members on a concert!
For us was very exciting and joyful.

So try to meet with other AHS members at concerts, it's a very nice experience.

@Blasterion and Hatix:
oooh!!!
That's amazing! I'll PM to both ^_^

[jonneh]

Ahh - I would love to meet up with someone for the Yokohama concerts if I get to go.

[shidesha]

They told you the row too?
When I got my tickets they wouldn't really tell me where they were... only that they were 1st floor (Yoyogi gym).

Thats bad ... isnt it?