Tokyo Dome Concert Tickets?

[moonangel-1506.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone, I'm Luna m(_ _)m yoroshiku!~
Seeing that recently the concert dates were posted for the Arashi's 10 year anniversary tour,  I felt tempted to go to the Tokyo Dome concert in December.   But given  I know not how to read any Japanese I'm a lost on how to start planning a trip there.

First, I was just wondering if anyone knew how to find/buy the tickets?, and if anyone has a price reference? from previous years or something of the sort. Any idea when can the tickets be purchased? where? anyone that might be thinking of going?

Any Information can help so please let me know if you know anything that you would want to share.

Thanks and sorry for the trouble !~

Comments

[amhrancas]

Hi there! Basically any situation requiring tickets is going to fall under the JE ticketing process, or "balloting". I have included a link to one of the best breakdowns of how to get tickets to an Arashi show, and I hope that it helps!! Be forewarned, though, if you live outside of Japan -like me- it's *almost* impossible. not completely, but almost.

<http://arashi.vox.com/library/post/natsucon-tickets.html>

[moonangel-1506.livejournal.com]

Thjank you so much m(_ _)m that as really helpful!~

[hontowa.livejournal.com]

Basically if you're not in the fanclub or you don't know someone in the fanclub, you can't get tickets unless you buy them from an auction online. Fanclub tickets go for around 7,000yen from the fanclub. Buying on auctions for Tokyo Dome? You're looking at anywhere from 20,000yen to 200,000yen. It'll be the most popular venue of the tour, so it'll be hard even for fanclub members to get tickets.

I'd suggest going to je_sales and seeing if anyone is willing to ballot for you.

[karo-25.livejournal.com]

ooo ty ty lol
i will be going to japan this aug :D
i want to look for tickets on aug 30

[moonangel-1506.livejournal.com]

thanks it makes me depressed... but it's very helpful ^^ , arigatou!~

[oviparous.livejournal.com]

hey, sorry to butt in, but i see that you obviously have some experience and would like to ask your opinion on scalpers? i know this is a tad bit taboo because they're generally not well-liked, but i have heard people getting tickets from them. and if you're willing to shell out (not unlike auctions), scalpers seem to be kind of the easy way out, right?

i've never been to a concert overseas, much less an arashi one, so i'd like to seek help on this. m(_ _)m

[hontowa.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if this will be very helpful, since I don't have personal experience with scalpers, but here's what I can tell you -

Scalpers are usually standing right outside the venue selling tickets on the day of the concert for really high prices. I personally would be wary of them because of the potential that they have phony tickets or for you to get majorly ripped off (since they know you're desperate to get in as it's the last minute).

I actually think buying an unknown seat number ticket from auctions might be the best combination of easiness and safeness. Before I joined the fanclub, that's what I did and it worked out really well. The ticket was going for barely over the original price (8,000yen, original price is 6,500yen) and I didn't have competition with bidding. I ended up getting a decent stadium seat (at Osaka Dome, this is in 2007). Not fantastic, but not terrible.

A really good service I'd recommend is i-TM4U/J-Ticket Get (http://garnet-project.com/j/aconcert/d-ticketcojp/). She can bid on auctions for you (at a commission) and I think in some cases can even get fanclub tickets. I work for her as a translator and have ordered things through her several times, so I can attest to her reliability :)

[oviparous.livejournal.com]

thanks so much for your advice. i've checked out the site and am actually quite keen about using the service. :) it looks great, and your word does carry weight, so thank you.

but as a side-note, and to further expound on this: i have to admit i'm one of those people who would pay up to over 40 000 yen for a seat, and while that will probably get me a decent seat i know it wouldn't be The Most Decent. but that's okay. seating is my first priority, then comes price. but there isn't any choice for seats until the auctions reveal them or you get them from scalpers, right? plus going by my budget (i'm willing to go up to 45 000 JPY per seat per show), i'd probably only get not-so-good seats if i'm going by auctions?

am i being conservative here? or am i projecting this realistically?

gah, i really hope i'm not bothering you with all these questions. it's just, i haven't managed to ask someone properly regarding this (or rather, no one i know has been in my position) and now that i have a chance to, i'm just bombarding you. sorry about it.

[hontowa.livejournal.com]

No problem!

Sadly, the downside to Arashi's sudden increase in popularity over the past year or so means ticket prices have jumped a lot. The fact that they're only playing a limited number of venues makes the prices spike too, since there are only so many shows to choose from. I read at a friend's journal that for last year's dome tour, seats were going from 20,000-30,000yen and even up to 200,000yen. Those are all numbered seats of course. When you order tickets for the fanclub, balloting takes place all at once for the whole tour (except this year the three days in Kokuritsu are being done separately from the dome venues). After balloting is over, they send out a phone number you can call to find out if you got seats. I can't remember if the hotline tells you which seat you got or not though. I want to say last year I didn't find out until I had the tickets in hand, but I have a terrible memory x_x Either way, fanclub members don't find out what seats they have until no more than a month, maybe even as little as two weeks before the concerts start. I want to say they send all of the tickets out at the same time, so if you were going to a show later in the tour you might know sooner, but I'm not sure about that. Last year I went to the 2nd venue on the tour so I didn't have that much of a gap.

Because of that though, you have some options with auctions. If time and money are factors for you (for booking a flight and such), it might be safest and cheapest to buy one of the tickets that goes up to auction before the person knows what seats they got. If you're more concerned about getting a good seat, you can wait until the tickets with seat numbers go up for auction. If you have the option, I think you'll get a better seat for your budget at a venue like Fukuoka, Sapporo, or Nagoya (though the very first stop at Fukuoka and very last stop at Nagoya might be popular). Seats at Tokyo Dome will for sure be the most outrageously priced. For the price you mentioned, I think you should be able to get arena seats. I can't say how their increased popularity and the 10th anniversary aspect will factor in though. Also keep in mind that if you use a go-between service like i-tm4u, there will be a commission charge of 10-15% on the final auction price.

[oviparous.livejournal.com]

wow. thank you for such a comprehensive response. i can't tell you how much i appreciate it! :D

your information has helped me understand the auction thing a lot. thank you! i just asked another source regarding how she gets her tickets, and she mentioned the market price for tokyo dome as well. i'll only be able to make it for tokyo so i guess i have to shell out up to about 130 000 yen. (my wallet is going to die but considering i have waited a gadzillion years to really get around to seeing the guys and the tenth anniversary happens only once in a lifetime, it should be worth it.)

thanks for the reminder. i'll factor in the costs of the go-between as well!

once again, i'm deeply appreciative that you took the time to help me out with this. thank you!!!

[hontowa.livejournal.com]

One last thing I forgot to mention - last year JE post a list of seats they weren't going to admit to Tokyo Dome (and maybe one other dome?) =/ They were seats JE had seen selling on auction sites. Suspiciously though, they were all stadium seats. Probably because they didn't want to show any empty seats on the news/the DVD, where you can see arena seats better. You should probably be safe if you go for an arena seat.

[oviparous.livejournal.com]

got it. thank you for that heads up. :) considering i upped the ante to like three times my original budget (i still can't believe i am deciding to pay 130 000 yen for one seat) i think i should be able to get an arena seat...?

i dunno. i'm gonna hope real hard. XD

you've been a dear. thank you for being so kind ♥

[hontowa.livejournal.com]

No problem at all! If you don't mind, could you let me know how things turn out? If you remember, that is, I know it's several months from now XD I've been working with the Arashidex (http://arashi.fukanzen.net) to make a section that will be helpful to foreign fans trying to get tickets, and I'd like to be able to update it with some more current info on the whole auction experience.

[oviparous.livejournal.com]

sure! i will definitely update you if i decide to do it the auction way. i'm still keeping the scalping thing open, but while it used to be me being inclined to buying from scalpers, now i'm pretty much 50-50. i'd love to share this with foreign fans as well. i've been a fan for six years and this is a big thing for me (first time to japan, first time to an arashi con), so i can really understand how others may feel.

if it's okay with you can we be friends? it will help me keep pace with the future update as well :) so, if you please?

(by the way, just a warning - i spam a lot, so it's totally okay if you decline ^^;;)

[hontowa.livejournal.com]

Sure! I don't really mind spam, I'd rather be spammed by actual people on my f-list than by communities XD

[oviparous.livejournal.com]

great, thanks for being so game! ;)

宜しくお願いします ^_^

[oviparous.livejournal.com]

hey maki~ i've friended you already. ;) my name's lydia, by the way. thank you for link the Arashidex! it's a great resource and i've been hooked for the past 30 minutes. ha. i'm still educating myself on the ticketing stuff. it's really comprehensive. amazing.

[kairi52474.livejournal.com]

Ahh... I've never really thought of that...... Fake tickets from scalpers.I was planning to seek them if I manage to go to Japan at the end of August.How can you tell whether they're fake or not? =X

[hontowa.livejournal.com]

I'm not really sure, I've never seen a fake ticket ^^;; Real tickets will have the fanclub member's name printed at the bottom, at least. Maybe when it gets closer to concert time, go check out auctions - most will have pictures of the tickets (with the name blurred out) so you can get an idea of what they're supposed to look like.

[mofuchan.livejournal.com]

I found this post really insightful but have a few more questions about entering the domes:
1. Do they really check ID's against tickets? I've read that they only did for small venues, but this year it's all big venues so less chance of checking?

2. What items are prohibited inside the venues? I know PET bottles are not allowed, but what about cameras, cell phones, voice recorders? If they find it in your bag, is there a locker to store it or do they confiscate it? [if I ever make it to a con, I'm planning on fan camming the whole thing]

3. Is there a size limit to uchiwas or posters?

[hontowa.livejournal.com]

1. I've been to 3 Johnny's (all at domes) and never had my ID checked. Once the name on the ticket was Japanese (I got it from an auction), once it was a Chinese name (I went with a friend and it was her membership) and by physical appearance I'm very clearly not Asian, so I really don't think they are likely to check. There's just too many people.

2. Cameras and voice recorders are strictly off limits. They will take these from you if they find them (they search all bags you bring). They'll give you a tag to come pick it up after the concert. Cell phones are allowed, but they have people patroling the whole venue and if they see you using it even before the concert starts, they make you put it away.

3. Yes. Uchiwas cannot be any bigger than the size of the ones they sell at the concert. They'll take those away from you too. I don't know if posters are allowed, but I imagine if they are, they also have to be smaller than the uchiwas they sell. There are actually Japanese fan websites online that teach you how to make your own uchiwa and have trace patterns for different names, phrases, and symbols (like hearts and such).

[plueonigiri.livejournal.com]

:( i'll be in japan beginning from september and i am really dying to go for the tokyo dome concert too, but it seems impossible to get any tickets other than waiting to go there and cry at the outrageous bidding prices on auctions...

[ran-stellina85.livejournal.com]

sorry I have a question.. i search 2 tickets for ora concert osaka (24-25-26 /2009) ora concert nagoya (16-17/2010)and how mach cost?? thanks a lot