since Kiriya-sama's graduation I've been wondering how to get tickets to her further performances and since I know just a few things concerning this problem I need to write everything down - and when I write something down I can share it as well. who knows, someone may feel interested...?
Lawson tickets
http://l-tike.com/
requires registration, but not a usual one, but the one that requires membership, and membership requires a special card called Ponta. this means you follow some rules and there are some conditions I didn't bother to read. the main obstacle is that you have to fill in the forms like address and phone number which must be Japanese as you'll have to receive your card first. you can only choose from the list the prefecture you live in, so writing you real address in some other country wouldn't do, and without making that card you cannot finish your registration
CNPlayguide
I don't remember any cards there or something, but the registration is the same. if I am not mistaken, there is no list of areas where you are supposed to live, but I doubt that changes anything
PIA
Pia seems a very convenient service for me. registration allows you to do many things - at least this is what's promised on the page for guests, but again, you'll need to write your address and other things. I've already complained about PIA letting Takarazuka use their system for selling their tickets, and one can easily notice how friendly their system is for foreigners because one needs only a Japanese phone number, and that number doesn't have to be proved in some way, only used when you go to pick up your tickets to check whether you really booked those tickets or not. there are two PIAs and I am not happy with this. BTW, Japanese citizens can use the usual PIA to buy Zuka tickets as well
E+
this is the only website where I found information about possibility of buying the tickets for those who 'live abroad'. this is not exactly availability of the service for foreigners because you'll have to write a Japanese address when registering, but at least this paragraph in 'FAQ' section hints on the possibility. I decided to ask directly and this is what I got as reply: ask your Japanese friend to give you his address and use it for registration. ok... if I could do something like this I could as well register at any other website... except Lawson, probably
also, they emphasise the importance of you having a credit card issued in Japan. not only this is mentioned in the FAQ, but also once more they stressed it in the reply I got
if one managed to register, one may try his luck and use his usual credit card to buy tickets. when I was going to buy Takarazuka tickets in April I read the same condition on the PIA website (as I said Takarazuka tickets are sold by the means of PIA system) and I managed to do it with my card that was issued in Russia - only 'twas a multicurrency one
Sunrise Tokyo Promotion
the most foreigner-friendly Japanese website ever. I mentioned already that you can write your real address and phone number when buying. the possible ways of getting your tickets are booking them and then paying for them and printing them in a 2-day period, or the way I prefer - paying with a credit card in advance. though the website scares you with telling that there is a deadline for going to pick up the tickets, actually there is no. I asked directly about the deadline and I got a very, very positive and polite reply (even for a Japanese official correspondence which is always polite) that the deadline is the day of the performance
an important point here is that the place to get your tickets is not the theatre where the performance takes place, but a SevenEleven convenience store. after you finish your payment you see a special page that contains info about the tickets you bought, payment etc., but most importantly - a special number that you will need to get your tickets. you also get a confirmation email, but it DOES NOT contain the number, it only has a link to that page, so you will certainly need to print out the confirmation page, or at least write down this special number which consists of 13 digits. be sure not to mistake it for the number of booking which is displayed first
you can get your tickets in any SevenEleven store anywhere across the country, but 'twill cost you 105 yen per ticket. I think that is affordable. the amount of tickets one person can buy is 4
the only bad point about Sunrise Tokyo is that it doesn't provide you with an opportunity to buy any ticket you might want. the range of tickets available at other websites I mentioned is wider, considerably wider. also, this morning I was deceived by the Sunrise website. the page with the concert info has no link to the page to buy the tickets via Sunrise system, and I only saw it after I visited the home page
nevertheless, Sunrise is the system I used
walkthrough (or how shall I call this?)
first click the huge button with サンライズオンライン on the page of the performance
or チケット購入．．． from the schedule page (公演スケジュール on the main page of the website)
you'll be redirected to calendar of the performance
choose the day and time and click the orange button which is for credit card payment (blue is for cash payment and red square means all the tickets are sold out)
you'll see info about your purchase and offered 2 lists - first is the type of seat (S and A this time) and second is the amount of tickets (up to 4). then click 次へ - 'next'
then you see again the date and time, place, seats type, then row and seats numbers. the blue 取消 is for deleting one of the tickets. click 'next' if you're sure or 全て取消 to delete everything
finally you see the prices and enter info necessary for payment
_____
first line is credit card number (only digits without spaces)
next is card type
next is 'valid until'
next is security code (see reverse of the card, only the last 3 digits)
_____
personal info:
name in English (the same as on the credit card)
surname in Japanese
name in Japanese
surname and name in katakana (this is actual for Japanese who have names that are not always easily readable in kanji. well I simply wrote everything in katakana. probably writing in English would do)
choose your country from the list
postal code
city/town/...
disrict/street/...
building, apartment
province (optional)
phone number
mobile phone number (optional)
email address
email address (repeat)
don't forget to check 上記の利用．．． which means you've read and agree with the rules. I don't remember if there is anything really important in this section... but Google Translator will help you if you're worried
after you click 'next',
this is the first page displayed which only contains the booking number (third line). click the blue line starting with こちらをクリックし．．． to see the confirmation page
and this is the confirmation page with your confirmation number and info about your payment etc. in the bottom you see how much you'll have to pay in 7-11 for printing the tickets. link to this page can be found also in the confirmation email. don't forget to print the page or write down the number
