Aoki

A Foreigner’s Guide to Japanese Concert Tickets Yesterday’s Nano post caused a lot of discussion, and one of the biggest concerns people brought up - right after regional restrictions - was how difficult it is for foreigners to buy concert tickets in Japan. A lot of people mentioned the recent Arashi situation as one of the worst examples of how inaccessible the system can feel for overseas fans. Since I’ve gone through the process multiple times myself, here’s a short guide that may help other overseas fans. To buy tickets in Japan as a foreigner, you basically need 3 things: - A Japanese phone number - An account on Japanese ticketing services - A way to pay with a Japanese-compatible card The good news is: all of these problems can be solved either during a single trip to Japan, or with help from a friend/family member visiting Japan. First: the phone number. The easiest option is getting a SIM/eSIM from services like Hanacell, Sakura Mobile or Mobal. Important: it MUST include an actual Japanese phone number, not just mobile data. Some newer eSIM options can even be shipped internationally to selected countries (sadly not Poland yet). Providers using Docomo infrastructure — like Sakura Mobile and Mobal — also support roaming, meaning in theory you can still receive SMS verification codes and calls in your home country while keeping your Japanese number active. Once activated, just insert the SIM/eSIM into your phone and you’re ready for SMS verification. Next step (registration): registering on ticketing platforms. The most important ones are: Ticket Pia eplus Lawson Ticket (L-Tike) TIGET Most concerts in Japan use lotteries, while some are first-come-first-served sales. Payment compatibility is often the hardest part. eplus usually accepts Revolut cards, but the others can be inconsistent. That’s where ANA Pay becomes extremely useful. If you create an account with ANA, you can activate ANA Pay and generate a virtual Japanese card for ticket purchases. You can top it up like a prepaid card using foreign Mastercard cards. Once you have all of this set up, there’s nothing stopping overseas fans from entering lotteries and buying tickets legally under their own information - no scalpers, no shady middlemen. The Japanese ticketing system is absolutely frustrating at times, but it’s far less impossible than many people think. Hopefully this helps more overseas fans enjoy Japanese concerts properly and without unnecessary stress. Thank you @nanonano_me for opening this discussion. I genuinely hope more overseas fans will be able to support Japanese music and artists properly, and I’m happy to help however I can.