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Buying Japan Baseball tickets

Buying Japan Baseball tickets

Old Apr 5, 2019, 7:29 am
  #151  
 
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Greetings to my fellow FT'rs who have some insight into Japanese Baseball.

I'm looking to attend my first game with my daughter on our June trip to Japan. I initially planned a Tokyo Giants game at the Dome but after doing some research it appears that's a poor choice.

I'm now looking at a Hiroshima Carp game (on June 7 to be exact) as they appear to offer a great opportunity to experience the true JP baseball culture in a nice stadium. Obviously they sellout in advance but what's the best angle to get aftermarket tickets for someone based in the US? Looks like Viagogo has some tickets but reviews on their service are alarming. Stubhub looks like it might be a choice but there's no tickets for 6/7 currently listed. Should I ask our hotel concierge (Sheraton Hiroshima) in advance or wait until arrival?

I'd prefer to secure tickets ahead of our trip and am looking for any other suggestions. Thanks in advance!
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Old Apr 5, 2019, 8:29 am
  #152  
 
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Very timely re-up of this thread. I too am looking at tickets for the first week of June. Same issue about availability of tickets at ZOZO Marine Stadium (which I'm focused on because it seems like one of the few open-air stadiums). Showing sold out and none on the usual secondary-market sources online. Have not yet tapped the concierge. All of which is to say that I look forward to everyone's responses to hockeystl!

Cheers.

Al
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Old Apr 5, 2019, 10:10 am
  #153  
 
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Originally Posted by hockeystl
Greetings to my fellow FT'rs who have some insight into Japanese Baseball.

I'm looking to attend my first game with my daughter on our June trip to Japan. I initially planned a Tokyo Giants game at the Dome but after doing some research it appears that's a poor choice.
I can't speak to the secondary market in Japan but since this is your first baseball game in Japan, a Giants game at the Tokyo Dome is certainly fine. You'll get the atmosphere of the Japanese crowds and their chants, along with some of the different foods available versus many of the ballparks in North America. Unfortunately, every single game I've been to in Japan has been in a dome and while not ideal, I still had a great time at each game and stadium I went to. If the hassle to secure Carp tickets is too much, I think you'll still have a great time at the Tokyo Dome. While I'm not dying to go back, if the right opportunity presented itself, I would go see a game there again.

Looking at the calendar for that day, the Swallows are playing at Meiji Jingu against the Buffaloes if you prefer an open air stadium. Barring that, the Bay Stars v Seibu Lions game is in an open air stadium in Yokohama, which is not very far from Tokyo.

Lastly, if you are determined to go see the Carp in Hiroshima and none of us here offer up good enough advice about the secondary market, the subreddit for NPB is a great English language resource.
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Old Apr 29, 2019, 1:52 am
  #154  
 
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With Viagogo, All's Well that Ends Well (?)

Let me add my Carp ticket experience with .... the dreaded Viagogo.

I needed only one ticket, and the game was six days away, so I figured there would be one out there somewhere. But I was shut out using Loppi at Lawson's (and super dismayed when I put in a bunch of other way-future game dates, and there were no tickets for those games, either). Later, I looked on Stubhub - and there was nothing available.

Then Viagogo came up in a web search, and, lo and behold, there were a few random singles in a couple of sections. Along with the message about tickets going fast; you'd better hurry up; that kind of stuff. I had a fuzzy memory that Viagogo was iffy, but I really didn't know anything concrete at that point --- and those messages were working on me. I thought: Geez, maybe a few tickets really did just become available, and if I don't nab one right now, I won't get one. So I bought it. I panicked, and I bought it.

Two things: 1) The price ended up being much higher after they tacked on their service fee, which you don't see until the very end. I believe the ticket I selected was about 4,300, and the final screen showed a charge of 6,730. Yikes! and 2) Then I had time to look up reviews on Viagogo. My heart sank. It was only one ticket, so I wouldn't be out a ton of money, but now I figured chances of me actually getting this ticket and seeing the Sunday afternoon game on April 21, 2019 were minimal. And then I'd have to fight for a refund, contact my credit card company, etc. Blehhh.

Then came more woe. I bought the ticket on Tuesday, April 16, but the order doesn't confirm right away. You have to wait ... nervously. The next day, Wednesday, April 17, it was confirmed (some 24 hours after my order was placed!) but then it added information about shipping: It said the ticket was in "processing" mode and would ship on Thursday, April 18. Uh, OK. I needed to get the tickets by Saturday, April 20 at my Kyoto hotel, because I'd be leaving early Sunday for the game that day. The next day, in the afternoon of April 18, my ticket was still "processing" and hadn't shipped. Now I was really getting nervous. I sent customer service a note with my concerns, and (to their credit) they got back to me in short order and told me they understood how I "must be anxious" and that a "specialist customer support team" was "now monitoring your purchase to ensure your seller sends the tickets as soon as possible." They explained how sometimes teams release tickets late.

Well, that calmed me a bit. Sort of. But when it got to be earlhy afternoon on Friday, April 19, and my ticket was still "processing," I thought I was doomed. I contacted customer service again. Again, a quick reply (to their credit). I was assured, "I've just looked into your order today and I'm happy to say your seller has confirmed that you will receive your tickets no later than 20 April 2019. It's become common practice now for event organisers to only release tickets (or batches of tickets) very close to the event date - often the week of the event." The week of the event? It was now TWO DAYS before the event. Should I take comfort in their use of the word "confirmed"?

Long story short, later that afternoon, at about 3 p.m., I received an email from Viagogo saying my order was on its way to me via Japan Post Letter Pack Light, and it provided a tracking number. I was able to enter that number on a Japan Post website to get an email when the letter delivered (gotta love Japan efficiency, right?). The letter did arrive on Saturday, April 20 (one day before the game) at 11:23 a.m. When I got back to my hotel from a long hike and opened the envelope, I was beaming. The game turned out to be a great one, on a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon, with a packed house (of course) in a fabulous ballpark (my first visit there, but my sixth NPB venue) with incredible pre-game energy all around the stadium. The Carp scored six runs in the first two innings, hung on for a 7-4 win over the Yokohama DeNa Stars --- and I guess all's well that ends well.

I am not "recommending" or "not recommending" Viagogo, just sharing my tale. Oh, also, one last thing: the ticket turned out to be a face value of 2,100. So I paid more than three times than that. But I got to see a game in Hiroshima, which friends in Japan tell me is semi-impossible, so I'm not complaining.
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Old Apr 29, 2019, 5:45 am
  #155  
 
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Thanks for sharing and I'm super glad it worked out for you! Where did you sit? How was the experience?
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Old Apr 29, 2019, 5:54 am
  #156  
 
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Update to my situation. After reading the horror stories about using Viagogo and seeing very little on StubHub (mostly tiks in unreserved seats or the silent sections) I decided to reach out to Michael at https://www.japanballtickets.com/

He replied within a few hours and walked me through the process. I ended up selecting a pair of Infield reserved seats for our preferred game on 7JUN. They weren't cheap after the service fees and markup it worked out to about $140 USD per ticket (retail is 3600Y).

I know I paid a premium but Michael was quite professional and I now have the peace of mind that we'll 100% have a nice pair of seats without any stress of possible Viagogo issues or a shady third party reseller. This is a once in a lifetime visit for me with my daughter so the upcharge was worth it IMO.
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Old Jun 13, 2019, 6:11 pm
  #157  
 
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Originally Posted by jphripjah
I just bought tickets for a Seibu Lions game in late May. I selected "pay now, pick up at 7-11."

I have done this before, but never 60+ days before the game.

Is there any sort of deadline or cutoff for when I can collect the tickets, like does it have to be within thirty days of purchase or anything like that?

I plan to collect them in mid-May about ten days before the game and I imagine that would be no problem, but I just wanted to make sure.

I did look at the emails they sent and didn't see a deadline.
To follow up on this, did you have any issues picking up the tickets at a 7-11 well after buying them? Thanks!
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Old Jun 14, 2019, 5:30 pm
  #158  
 
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Originally Posted by TimesTwo
To follow up on this, did you have any issues picking up the tickets at a 7-11 well after buying them? Thanks!
No, it was no problem. I picked them up 3+ days before the game though, not sure if they can be picked up at the very last minute.
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Old Jun 15, 2019, 2:17 pm
  #159  
 
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Originally Posted by jphripjah
No, it was no problem. I picked them up 3+ days before the game though, not sure if they can be picked up at the very last minute.
Thanks. As it happens, I wasn't in front of a computer when tickets went on sale but my partner was, so she got them and wound up selecting will call. As an aside, she was on the website the very second tickets went on sale and she barely managed to get seats in the nosebleeds, last row, and not on the day we wanted. We were hoping to get the best seats available on the website but no dice. We were lucky to get anything at all. I had no idea it would be that difficult.
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Old Jun 16, 2019, 12:49 pm
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Originally Posted by TimesTwo
Thanks. As it happens, I wasn't in front of a computer when tickets went on sale but my partner was, so she got them and wound up selecting will call. As an aside, she was on the website the very second tickets went on sale and she barely managed to get seats in the nosebleeds, last row, and not on the day we wanted. We were hoping to get the best seats available on the website but no dice. We were lucky to get anything at all. I had no idea it would be that difficult.
What stadium and which opponent?
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Old Jun 16, 2019, 1:02 pm
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Originally Posted by jphripjah
What stadium and which opponent?
At the Tokyo Dome - Giants v the Hanshin Tigers. These seats go fast!

Last edited by TimesTwo; Jun 16, 2019 at 1:09 pm
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Old Jun 16, 2019, 2:13 pm
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Originally Posted by TimesTwo


At the Tokyo Dome - Giants v the Hanshin Tigers. These seats go fast!
Yeah I bought tickets for a Saturday Giants v Carp game right when they went on sale to the public. Only nosebleed seats were available.
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Old Jun 16, 2019, 4:09 pm
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Originally Posted by jphripjah
Yeah I bought tickets for a Saturday Giants v Carp game right when they went on sale to the public. Only nosebleed seats were available.
How was the view?
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Old Aug 22, 2022, 10:35 pm
  #164  
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When do tickets go on sale for 2023 and when are the schedules typically posted?

Hoping Japan will be open for individual tourists next year
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Old Aug 23, 2022, 7:57 am
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Originally Posted by Boraxo
When do tickets go on sale for 2023 and when are the schedules typically posted?

Hoping Japan will be open for individual tourists next year
Usually, the schedule for the baseball season is announced to the public in December, and ticket sales start in the second half of February.

However, it has already been announced by the league that the first Pacific League game of the season will be on March 30, 2023 and the first Central League game of the season will be on March 31, 2023. Cross league games will be May 30 - June 22. All-Star Game will be on July 18. Climax Series starts on Oct. 14 and the Japan Series starts on Oct. 28

P.S.
Your question regarding where the schedule will be posted. The schedule will be posted on the league's website, Nippon Professional Baseball Organization. However, I do not know if the English site is always updated on time. It is not unusual to see websites or other information sites in Japan that the site in Japanese always has up-to-date information but the English site can lag behind for close to a week or more.
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Last edited by AlwaysAisle; Aug 23, 2022 at 8:12 am
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