angra

do any of you fine folks have any experience dealing with rainouts?

I have tickets for Marines tonight and based on the weather forecast, I expect it be cancelled. Just trying to get a head start on figuring out my options.

AlsoNamedBort

So I want to book two tickets for the Yakult Swallows game on Sept. 30. The English language website only offers seats around the infield (best in the house), but from everything I've read the best way to experience the game is in right field. Yet those seats only seem to be available through the Japanese site, which requires a Japanese email address and credit card.

My hotel will order RF seats for a 3,000 JPY fee, and the fees with other sites like Voyagin seem to be in the same range. Is there a cheaper option? Would the close-up seats be a comparably fun experience? Money isn't an issue here but I'd rather not pay what is essentially a 70% booking fee on the RF seats.

Also, I know games don't usually sell out but this is the second-to-last game of the season so a playoff spot could be on the line.

evergrn

Sorry I don't have the answer to your question.
But what kind of hotel is this that wants to charge 3,000yen just to help you with baseball ticket booking?
That's not very customer-friendly.

AlsoNamedBort

Hilton Tokyo. Seemed pretty weak to me, too.

evergrn

Unbelievable. Hope you get some answers here. But if you really want the seats you're looking for, you may need to just pay that 3000yen. Who knows... maybe they'll waive it if you show up and complete the stay.

angra

ANB I was able to purchase from the Japanese language website without a Japanese email address last April I will see what it takes later today when I am using a computer instead of my phone. Might have been a third party site line 7-11 or something It should be doable .

Also fwiw I've found the swallows crowd to be pretty subdued. I'm probably the biggest advocate here for sitting in the cheering section, but in this case I say it's not a huge loss if you can't.

angra

I ran out of endurance tonight to fully see this through. I wanted to give you a specific working path but didn't get that far.

failing that, I notice on the english tickets page for swallows that there are 5 online vendors. I am 99% certain that at least one of those 5 will allow you to make an online purchase without a japanese credit card or email. I know that some of them put up real hurdles for foreigners outside the country, but I know that they don't all do so.

AlsoNamedBort

Thanks for the tip! It was Lawson's ticket website.

Just ordered my tickets and it actually took me two tries. I initially chose the pay at pickup option (seemed convenient), but it said I have to pick them up in the next five days. Oops. So I placed a second order and paid with my card (Visa was refused, used AMEX instead) and it went through! Now I just have to drop into a Lawson and pick them up when I get to Japan.

jphripjah

That's good to know. I didn't know Lawson had a website where you could book tickets and pay with a foreign card.

angra

I've found that they are all constantly evolving. Even between last april and this August, I've found significant changes.

glad to see that ANB was able to get sorted even though I fell asleep without finishing my quest last night

evergrn

Yes, that's good to know!

Boraxo

Even WSJ has jumped on the bandwagon. Though of course far more practical advice on this thread

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-jap...all-1535125745

mxqisit

I can't seem to find how I can pre-purchase tickets for the game in Osaka on October 4th. The only site I could find is the $59 service fee one at the start of this thread. I've tried surfing around the team's pages but an English option to buy tickets isn't coming up.

Any advice, or should I just try my luck at the box office on game day?

angra

are you talking about the Orix Buffaloes game or the Hanshin Tigers game? It appears that both play at home on the 4th.

mxqisit

Orix.