Ticket Information

Tickets to Hello!Project concerts follow the same ticketing standard as other Japanese music acts. The different types, and the information they contain, are listed below.

=Types of Ticket=

General
General seats (一般席) are the standard seat type. This type of ticket is available to the general public, and covers the majority of seating in the venue. For Hello!Project concerts, it's best to consider these "anything goes" - people will be standing, and will often shout, dance, and be very energetic.

Family
Family seats (ファミリー席) are also available to the public, but have a strict rule of sitting only. These are seats intended for families and children, so behaviour is much more sedate than in the General seating. These tend to on the balcony (for concert halls). The last few rows of Family seats often stand anyway (possibly bought by fans desperate for a ticket), but don't count on it.

Standing
Standing (スタンディング) tickets can usually only found at small venues, such as nightclubs or live houses. These tickets are either on a first-come-first-serve basis, or are numbered for an orderly entry into the venue (though once staff lead concertgoers into the venue, it can become a race for the front). These locations occasionally have a second floor with assigned seating.

The following types are unique to Arena and Stadium venues.

Arena/Centre
Arena (アリーナ) and Centre (センター) tickets refer to the same area; the 1st floor of the venue, often surrounding/being surrounded by an extended stage/walkway. These tickets are highly prized, as they offer the best possible chance to be close to the performers in this type of venue.

These seats are often divided up into Blocks (ブロック), for ease of arrangement- usually using the alphabet, so A block is the front, B the next, up to the back of the floor. This number is coupled with either a row and/or seat number.

Stand
The Stand (スタンド) (not to be confused with "Standing") sections are the seats that surround the arena. They contain the General/Family sections, and are be divided into numerous sections and blocks, with row and seat numbers that may span the entire seating area.

=Common Terms=

There are standard terms used for seating, regardless of ticket type or location.


 * 階 = floor/level
 * 列 = row
 * 番 = seat

Note: Japan uses the American system of floor labelling, so the ground floor is the first floor. This is opposed to the Commonwealth system where the first floor is above the ground floor. (read the Wikipedia article for more information)


 * 昼 = daytime (shown for early/afternoon show if two shows on one day)
 * 夜 = evening (shown for evening/night show if two shows on one day)


 * 開場 = hall opening time
 * 開演 = concert start time


 * 北 = North
 * 南 = South
 * 東 = East
 * 西 = West

The compass directions are often used to differentiate between different sections of an Arena/Stadium.


 * 扉/ゲート = Door/Gate

Often Arenas/Stadiums will have specified doors/gates for certain sections. There will always be signs and maps to these locations, but staff are also on hand to point you in the right direction. They will point you in the right direction if you show them your ticket (a lost foreigner stands out!).

=Examples=

Below is a gallery of images of different ticket types.

All tickets shown are 'used' and have the ticket stub torn off by staff before a concert. It attaches on the right side, and just shows the same information as the main ticket.

Fanclub ticket
These tickets have a unique design based on the concert tour. They also show the name and the telephone number of the person who bought the ticket (covered and not shown in the picture).

This is a ticket for the final concert of the Sexy8Beat tour by Morning Musume (モーニング娘. ) for the evening show with an opening time of 18:00 and start at 19:00 on the 6th of May 2007 (2007年5月6日). The concert was held at Saitama Super Arena (さいたま スーパーアリーナ). The ticket was for a seat on the lowest floor aka. Arena (アリーナ) in the B-2 block (B-2ブロック) for seat number 52 (52番).

Konbini ticket
These are tickets bought at convenience stores or ticket agencies. They are plain and show the name of the store chain or ticket agency.

This is a ticket bought at a LAWSON convenience store for the Hello!Project newcomers concert (Dai 1 Kai Hello! Project Shinjin Kouen ~Saru no Koku~ / ~Tori no Koku~, 第1回 ハロー！プロジェクト新人公演　～さるの刻～／～とりの刻) on the 13th of May 2007 (2007年 5月 13日) with opening on 18:00 and start on 19:00. The concert featured a lot of different artists from different groups (listed on the ticket under the concert name). The concert was held at the Shibuya C.C. Lemon Hall (渋谷C.C.Lemonホール). The ticket was for a seat in the General Seats section (一般席) on the first/lowest floor (1階) in the 13th row (13列) for seat number 31 (31番).

Agency ticket
These tickets are bought at PIA ticket agencies or at the hall before the concert.

This is a ticket bought at the concert hall a few hours before start for a concert by Goto Maki (後藤真希) named LIVE TOUR 2007 ~G-Emotion~. on the 14th of October 2006 (which was a Saturday = 土) with opening on 17:30 and start on 18:30. The concert was held in the Ichikawa City Cultural Center (市川市文化会館) in the big hall (大ホール). The ticket was for a seat in the General section (一般席) on the second floor (2階) in the 11th row (11列) for seat number 29 (29番).

Hall ticket
These tickets are bought from the hall itself. Depending on the hall, the company owning the hall may sell tickets directly to the public in advance without the need of a ticket agency.

This is a ticket for a concert of the Morning Musume Concert Tour 2006 Aki ~Odore! Morning Curry~ (モーニング娘. コンサートツアー2006 秋 ～踊れ！モーニングカレー～) for the evening show with opening at 17:00 and start at 18:00 on the 15th of October 2006 (2006年10月15日). The concert was held at the Kobe International House International Hall (神戸国際会館(こくさいホール). The ticket was for a seat in the General section (一般席) on the first floor (1階) in the 7th row (7列) for seat number 10 (10番).