I am currently learning the language so that I can in future without problems also go to Visual Kei Lives in Japan. But I have heard that there is often a lot of problems in getting tickets as gajin because they insist on that you life in Japan for payments to work. How much small Visual Kei lives I might become completely unavailable to attend?
(If you want to talk about CD orders or similar please do that in another thread this one specifically about live concert tickets)
I did not really attend any huge shows during my study abroad, but going to Familymart or 7/11 and using the printers to order B tickets and paying in cash at the counter never failed me
I have bought secondhand tickets once through Twitter to see Codomo dragon and paid using Paypay and got the ticket digitally on an account I had to make for their specific hosting site (required phone number..) so beware that digital tickets are a thing and may get difficult
The main barrier can be solved by going to Japan once…for most shows.
A lot gets opened up to you once you get your first Mobal SIM card and land in Japan. It gives you access to major ticket platforms, and signing up for a mail forwarding address from Tenso (or, just giving your hotel address if that fails) takes care of the address problem…for most scenarios.
For fanclub limited stuff, first step is joining one…which is much easier once you have the phone number and address above. Check the fine print, as some memberships don’t take affect until the next month like DeG.
Most VK bands don’t really care if you permanently live in Japan or not. The only area where there may be an issue is FC limited, so I’d check with each FC ahead of time to see if they care that you’re using a mail forwarding address.
Another potential thing to look out for is third party apps that some events use to verify tickets. Tickets initially purchased with a temporary number will be flagged and will need to be manually released by getting in touch with customer service to explain your situation. Happened to me twice, and I got it resolved both times but ymmv.
Once all of this is done, your primary barrier becomes paying for the tickets within a couple days of buying. Most ticketing platforms don’t accept international credit cards yet, so you may need someone in Japan to be your proxy payer.
The main issue is to get an e+ account. Either find a friend, or get a SIM card, or figure out how to deal with Chinese resellers (they can open an account on their name for you)
the next thing is figuring out the payments on e+. I tried several bank cards from various countries — the only thing that worked foR me is Revolut.
Language and everything else — Not necessary. I know zero Japanese and I never needed it in my three vkei trips to Japan.
Basically, solve the first two things I described and you are good for 90% of vkei gigs.
If the tickets require you to have an e+ app on your phone, then you need to Figure out how to change your store to the Japanese one, download the app via a Japanese vpn, and you are good.
re: the practicalities of actually attending concerts:
how did u handle that, were you with someone who communicated in japanese or did you find japanese ppl who communicated in ur language, etc.? did u think the things u needed to know were obvious without understanding or did u learn something on the go?
anything stand out in particular?
@GreatNorthernVK
ive always meant to ask u how much japanese language (and in particular written vs verbal) factors into your japan experiences.
uve mentioned talking to people (for example getting drinks w/acquaintances or meet and greets with musicians), but not a lot of having to read (i’m guessing sinec you look at setlists it does factor in a bit?)
dam watch out
good tip
You can basically attend a concert without saying a single word. (If you don’t wanna use your drink ticket).
Have the drink fee ready in coins and your ticket. If you wsnna use your drink ticket go the bar Hand the ticket and say “mizu” (water) or “cora” (Cola).
Honestly for everything else use a translator app.
I’ve been very worried that the live i went to required me to split my eplus smartphone tickets between my friend and I when she didn’t have an eplus account. According to some redditors some venues will insist that each person will have to hold their ticket, but thankfully a friend helped me to contact eplus and they confirmed that it was fine that I didn’t have to do ticket distribution.
A codomo dragon live i went to seemed to require it, or at least my acquaintance carried out the ticket distribution, but atp i could access the ticket screen even without an account.
I guess the situation is highly dependent on the live you go to and if you’re attending with friends. But yeah it’s actually a lot easier once you attend a live, and sometimes management may even help you out as a foreigner. Verde/Shou for example, helped a whole bunch of us out.
Oh, my spoken language abilities have only deteriorated since my larger trip. In terms of reading, I can only make out so many kanji even though I have a pretty good grasp on kana. A lot of my reports are cross referenced with VK.gy song lists for artists so that I can write out the romanized song titles. For handwritten setlists, those always take longer because some guys write messy.
But tbf since you’re seeing tiny bands @blossomingRuin i highly likely think you can just settle for door tickets if you find yourself having problems buying beforehand. For small bands I’m guessing it’s a lot smoother.
@x51715x my vocab is basically that of a kindergartener and I honestly think it’s suffice to communicate. Id say it’s more impt to keep your eyes and ears peeled for instructions (like when they call out ticket numbers) and I feel that instore events are the one where I see possibly having a bit more comms is helpful. Though i did have to ask a lovely lady how to use a locker hahahaahahaahahaa
like @CervaCannibale said
If I wanted to ask something from the staff who sold merch, I just used Google Translate or ChatGPT.
All I can say, don’t overcomplicate things, my dude 
Going to vk gigs is the same experience as going to any gigs in countries you are not from. As long as you deal with the local ticketmaster and payments, you are fine.
good tip
And yes. Pull out ChatGPT and ask him to give you all the pronunciation of numbers up to two hundred, and more if necessary. That’s how you will learn when it’s your turn to get in.
I used to use a proxy but i think the one i used stopped doing it and another one i tried the guy got really mad at me and claimed i was unprofessional because i didnt know if id be able to get to japan so i was just getting a quote
I just went to family mart and printed a ticket off a kiosk when i wanted to see Mejibray, no Japanese SIM or anything, i was literally screenshotting directions step by step in Google maps cuz no Internet except at hostels and some combini
Granted that was 2016ish and idk if there’s any relation to now…
but i went to go see Royz and a (german) friend also visiting Japan at the time bought tickets for me and my other friend, we paid her back, and we all got in there no problem too. I don’t know if there were any more interactions more in-depth than when you show a club your ID and they say yep that looks like you?
Just two anecdotal experiences from ten years ago but ig it’s not all always high security
A lot of the "Japan is so polite " / “Japan uses politeness to _______” can ngl, for visitors and tourists, collapse to “you’ll actually get redirected pretty quickly if you look confused long enough”
It’s in Japan’s interests to help you find and spend your tickets y’know as a quick in quick out tourist
Yes, I think you also said that you tend to try and stay in the back. That also goes a long way in people generally not approaching.
The closer to the front someone is, the more likely you are to be approached for spot trades.