How to get Ayumi Hamasaki concert tickets in Japan

[Hatix]

I'm seriously planning for AT 2007 as well. I will probably go in June to one of the last concerts in Yoyogi (doesn't have to be the very last one).
I will (like any one would) buy some tickets before I go to japan (yahoo, ebay, whatever), and then go to those ticket resellers for a second concert and maybe try to get some deal for some good tickets. But it would be nice to go with a few AHS members together, all from different parts of the world.

I will be going to Tokyo for a week at the end of october and I'm going to check on those ticket resellers, where they are exactly in Harajuku. Will probably take some pictures how to get there and prepare some other stuff as well.
And also one tip if you buy tickets before you go to japan, DON'T use akibado, they are very slow lately (meaning 1-2 months), fdjp is probably faster.

So count me in too for AT 2007 too. PM me as well if you want. I'm a good planner.

[immel]

Originally Posted by Hatix

I will (like any one would) buy some tickets before I go to japan

Not necessarily .

[Hatix]

Originally Posted by immel

Not necessarily .

I know you got them when you got there, but I'm still somewhat reluctant. But since you only decided 7 days before you went to Tokyo it would be a bit short to buy them beforehand.
But I'm still not sure what i'll do next year, buy some before I go. As I will probably buy another one when I'm there to go to 2 concerts .
I was actually almost going to go in June this year, but I got that idea out of my head because I had just went 3 weeks on vacation in May, and would need to ask for another week at my work, just a few weeks later. But if it wasn't for that, I would have gone in june already. I was just like you, that you just HAD to go. I had also read on the reviews by others that went already. So now I'm SO going next year . And I'm not unsure of traveling alone (as i"m also going alone to Tokyo end of october), but I may have my best friend who wants to go as well (and also is a fan of Ayumi).
But still, about the tickets, I'll see what happens next year .

And I just bought my flight tickets, and if you wait a bit and not too long you can get a good price. I got some for just 650€ (with Swiss Int. Air Lines). So I will probably only have spent about 1000€ for flight and hotel for 1 week Tokyo, not bad. But then there comes the spending on other stuff ;p

[stardusties]

^ oh cool! advance notices!, I'll try to see if i have the money to do AT 2007, then if so i'll join ya

So if anyone's seriously planning to go to CDL 07~08 then let's meet up maybe? that'd be fun!

[TeamAyu]

I would so be in for that! LOL But I still want like price estimates! I would DIE to see Countdown Live 2006-2007 or Arena Tour 2007 if there is one. *prays*

[Norrel]

Well Sunshine Slayer, who lives in US, found a way to get tickets for the new concert, so we'll wait for him/her to tell us.

[SunshineSlayer]

I'll make a thread about the best ways to do it when I get back to the states. Right now I've got to head to the airport!

[stardusties]

^ thanks! airports are fun! so have fun ^^-

[MeMeMeChant]

Yeah, I need help finding tickets too!! lol, I'm going for AT 2007! =]

I just wanna get tickets the first week available so I can get good seats! Thanks, SunShine Slayer!

[hallelujah_united]

Will be looking forward to the thread.

[freedreamer]

yea me too...dieing to noe

[matt]

The real only way to get tickets is to do it in Japan.

I got my tickets to CDL 04-05 through the fanclub as I was a member at the time, and Arena Tour 2005 I got through a ticket outlet. I got my A-Nation tickets through regular ticket outlet as well, and I got my Every Little Thing ticket through a pre-sale for people who went to A-Nation.

Scalpers in Japan are obvious to spot (they basically wave tickets in your face) but I have never dealt with them so I don't know what kind of prices they sell them for etc.

Yahoo Auctions can work if you're a) in Japan, or b) know somebody who is in Japan and is willing to do it for you. Avex were tricky this year, but actually mailing people tickets after they paid for them. Because of this, tickets were late showing up Yahoo Auctions, thus making it impossible for someone say to use Celga or something to buy them because the turn around time would be just too long.

[nmskalmn]

Originally Posted by matt

Arena Tour 2005 I got through a ticket outlet. I got my A-Nation tickets through regular ticket outlet as well

I'm just curious about how this works. Do you need a Japanese address or can you buy at someplace that will give you the tickets on the spot?

[matt]

Originally Posted by nmskalmn

I'm just curious about how this works. Do you need a Japanese address or can you buy at someplace that will give you the tickets on the spot?

That's a good question. I can't remember if I had to input my phonenumber or not into the mahcine when I bought my tickets. I don't think I did, but I can't be 100% sure.

[SheFliesHigher]

The way I got tickets to this year's concert was through Ebay, heh. You can find plenty of people selling tickets on Yahoo Japanauctions...there are many pages of them, but I would recommend gettng help from Japanese person because it can be tricky to navigate if you are lacking in Japanese skills. Almost all of these tickets are ones gotten through the fan club, so the seats will be good.

Since Ebay is an English auction site, I'd recommend checking there from time to time, as it will be easy for you to navigate.

I think that the reasonable price range per ticket should be $60-100 USD depending on what the seats are like.

[hallelujah_united]

I guess it's really time to start making Japanese pen-pals now.

[stardusties]

^ I've been doing that too....though the ones who've replied back 'hate japanese music' ....as i 'hate american music' XD LOL!

But, good luck to you and everyone <3

http://www.japan-guide.com/ is a a good place to start [recomended by CoryBobory ]

[SunshineSlayer]

Ok, how you get concert tickets: (many of these have already been mentioned here)

1. The official way - Just forget it, it ain't gonna happen if you aren't living in Japan and you likely will not be able to get the very best seats because they all go to fan club members and foreigners can not join the fanclub. So just resign yourself to that.

2. Yahoo!Auctions - However sellers will only ship to Japan so you need to either be living in Japan or get someone in Japan to bid on the auctions for you and then send the tickets to you - you might have to pay this person to do so as well as pay for shipping costs.

3. Akibado is a website that offers to bid on Japanese auctions for foreigners, but their prices to do look pretty high to me and I haven't used them before. However you might want to give them a try if you can't find anyone else to bid on the auctions for you and the Harajuku option listed below isn't possible for you either.

4. THE BEST way to get tickets is to not get them until you are actually in Japan. It sounds very risky, I know. If you are flying to Japan and getting a hotel room and spending all that money just to see Ayu live, you would generally like to have the tickets first so that you know for sure you are going. But trust me that this way is the easiest, least confusing, and ultimately cheapest way to go.

If your concert is in Tokyo or the surrounding area (Yokohama, Saitama, Chiba, Tochigi etc) what you want to do is go to a ticket reseller shop in Harajuku. It's very easy to find since it is on the famous Takashita Dori st.(famous for its crepes, fasion, and idol shops.) On the Tokyo Metro system, take the green Chiyoda line to the Meiji-Jingumae stop. Exit the station and you should see a big store across the street called Snoopy Town.(this is a cool place to check out since it has more Snoopy merchandise than anywhere in the US.^_^) Cross the street to Snoopy Town and then continue down the sidewalk to the left. Soon you will see Takashita Dori on the right. (You really can't miss it, there is a big archway over the start of the street that says Takashita Dori) It's a narrow crowded street filled with Idol shops that sell every photo, key chain, pen etc with Ayumi, Gackt, MM, L'arc and zillions of boy bands on them - Don't spend all of your money before you get to the Ayumi tickets! lol. About 3/4s of the way down the street there will be a lingerie store called LOVX on your left.(don't confuse it with the LOVX building that will be on your right about 1/2 way down the street. That store just sells cosmetics.) There are a set of stairs in front that lead up to the second level of the LOVX building and inside of there is concert ticket mecca. They have tickets for sale for every major concert tour currently going on as well as sell tour goods from past tours, all in glass displays, so you can easily pick out what you want. Best of all, the prices are reasonable. I actually paid less at that shop for Ayu tickets than I did through Yahoo!Auctions and the seats were comprable. Also, as the concert gets closer they will seriously mark down tickets that haven't sold yet. I saw one 400 level ticket that they had for the Saitama show which hadn't sold yet(the concert was the next day) and they were selling it for 3000 yen! Pretty amazing considering that the ticket originally cost 7,800. They have tickets for all over Japan, but obviously the area they are the most well stocked for is the Tokyo area.

Much Japanese isn't required to buy the tickets. You can simply point to the one you want and they'll get what you mean. Of course speaking at least some Japanese is helpful, but you should be able to get by mainly on gestures and their limited English ability.

So if you want to go to a concert in or around Tokyo all you need to be thinking about is that shop in Harajuku. It's easily the best option.

5. The last option are scalpers. Your likely to pay more, but usually they are better seats. For example, I had 2 tickets for the Sun. Saitama performance - both were for the 400 level(far back from the stage). So I found a scalper and traded my 2 400 level tickets for 1 200 level ticket + I had to pay 3000 yen. You generally don't have to try and spot the scalpers. If your concert is one of the main ones(like Saitama, Yoyogi, Osaka) they will be waiting to pounce on you just as you leave the train station. Authorities must not care about scalpers because they do it wide out in the open and very obviously. It's worth noting though that I didn't see any scalpers at the Hiroshima show last year. However, they were all over the Saitama show this year. For this option it's good to at least know how to count in Japanese and know what 'man' and 'sen' yen mean, that way you can bargain with them. As I found out, this is also an excellent option if you already have your tickets but want a better seat.

Originally Posted by SheFliesHigher

I think that the reasonable price range per ticket should be $60-100 USD depending on what the seats are like.

I wish. The tickets to start with cost 7,800 yen which is roughly $80. But expect to pay at a very minimum 10,000 yen. But it more than likely will end up being between 12,000 and 17,000 yen. ($120-$170) And that is just for bad to mid range seats, not the best seats.

[animefanatic002]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

Ok, how you get concert tickets: (many of these have already been mentioned here)

1. The official way - Just forget it, it ain't gonna happen if you aren't living in Japan and you likely will not be able to get the very best seats because they all go to fan club members and foreigners can not join the fanclub. So just resign yourself to that.

2. Yahoo!Auctions - However sellers will only ship to Japan so you need to either be living in Japan or get someone in Japan to bid on the auctions for you and then send the tickets to you - you might have to pay this person to do so as well as pay for shipping costs.

3. Akibado is a website that offers to bid on Japanese auctions for foreigners, but their prices to do look pretty high to me and I haven't used them before. However you might want to give them a try if you can't find anyone else to bid on the auctions for you and the Harajuku option listed below isn't possible for you either.

4. THE BEST way to get tickets is to not get them until you are actually in Japan. It sounds very risky, I know. If you are flying to Japan and getting a hotel room and spending all that money just to see Ayu live, you would generally like to have the tickets first so that you know for sure you are going. But trust me that this way is the easiest, least confusing, and ultimately cheapest way to go.

If your concert is in Tokyo or the surrounding area (Yokohama, Saitama, Chiba, Tochigi etc) what you want to do is go to a ticket reseller shop in Harajuku. It's very easy to find since it is on the famous Takashita Dori st.(famous for its crepes, fasion, and idol shops.) On the Tokyo Metro system, take the green Chiyoda line to the Meiji-Jingumae stop. Exit the station and you should see a big store across the street called Snoopy Town.(this is a cool place to check out since it has more Snoopy merchandise than anywhere in the US.^_^) Cross the street to Snoopy Town and then continue down the sidewalk to the left. Soon you will see Takashita Dori on the right. (You really can't miss it, there is a big archway over the start of the street that says Takashita Dori) It's a narrow crowded street filled with Idol shops that sell every photo, key chain, pen etc with Ayumi, Gackt, MM, L'arc and zillions of boy bands on them - Don't spend all of your money before you get to the Ayumi tickets! lol. About 3/4s of the way down the street there will be a lingerie store called LOVX on your left.(don't confuse it with the LOVX building that will be on your right about 1/2 way down the street. That store just sells cosmetics.) There are a set of stairs in front that lead up to the second level of the LOVX building and inside of there is concert ticket mecca. They have tickets for sale for every major concert tour currently going on as well as sell tour goods from past tours, all in glass displays, so you can easily pick out what you want. Best of all, the prices are reasonable. I actually paid less at that shop for Ayu tickets than I did through Yahoo!Auctions and the seats were comprable. Also, as the concert gets closer they will seriously mark down tickets that haven't sold yet. I saw one 400 level ticket that they had for the Saitama show which hadn't sold yet(the concert was the next day) and they were selling it for 3000 yen! Pretty amazing considering that the ticket originally cost 7,800. They have tickets for all over Japan, but obviously the area they are the most well stocked for is the Tokyo area.

Much Japanese isn't required to buy the tickets. You can simply point to the one you want and they'll get what you mean. Of course speaking at least some Japanese is helpful, but you should be able to get by mainly on gestures and their limited English ability.

So if you want to go to a concert in or around Tokyo all you need to be thinking about is that shop in Harajuku. It's easily the best option.

5. The last option are scalpers. Your likely to pay more, but usually they are better seats. For example, I had 2 tickets for the Sun. Saitama performance - both were for the 400 level(far back from the stage). So I found a scalper and traded my 2 400 level tickets for 1 200 level ticket + I had to pay 3000 yen. You generally don't have to try and spot the scalpers. If your concert is one of the main ones(like Saitama, Yoyogi, Osaka) they will be waiting to pounce on you just as you leave the train station. Authorities must not care about scalpers because they do it wide out in the open and very obviously. It's worth noting though that I didn't see any scalpers at the Hiroshima show last year. However, they were all over the Saitama show this year. For this option it's good to at least know how to count in Japanese and know what 'man' and 'sen' yen mean, that way you can bargain with them. As I found out, this is also an excellent option if you already have your tickets but want a better seat.



I wish. The tickets to start with cost 7,800 yen which is roughly $80. But expect to pay at a very minimum 10,000 yen. But it more than likely will end up being between 12,000 and 17,000 yen. ($120-$170) And that is just for bad to mid range seats, not the best seats.

thank you soo much for the info!!! it helps out a lot, especially about the store you told us about!

[k1s3k1]

i want to go to CDL 06-07, but im not sure on how to get tickets for it.. anyone living in Japan willing to buy me a ticket?