Before the concert

The information listed here is intended for the actual day of the concert. Most of it isn't important in actually enjoy the concert, but will help prepare you for living the experience for the first time.

=Getting to the venue=

You should check for the concerts location and maps/directions before buying a ticket. As traveling by train is the cheapest&quickest option for tourists and the main mode of transportation by the general public, you should at least know the nearest train station. If this information isn't listed in the List of popular venues, you can find more information in Finding the venue. Try to use the help of the internet with mapping and directions tools listed under the Useful Links.

Arrival time at venue
You should ensure to arrive at least an hour before opening time, if you want to buy goods. Even two hours early won't be wasted time - it might take that long to work your way to the goods table. See below for more information on buying goods. Other than that opening time of one hour before concert start is generally sufficient; there is normally enough time to enter the venue and find seats, even if the concert is for 15 thousand people.

=Entry into the venue=

Shortly before the opening time, lines will form to enter the venue (there may be be other lines for buying goods outside, so be sure you're in the right one!). The bigger the concert, the more lines. Everyone entering the hall will have to pass two stages. Occasionally the stages are in the opposite order, depending on the situation.

First, a staff person will ask you if you carry any camera or other video/audio recording device, and ask to look through your bag (bag/backpack/handbag/...) if you have one. You have the option to hand over your camera in exchange for a tag, which you can use to reclaim the camera after the show at a desk near the front door. This also applies to smaller events like handshakes and mini lives. Cellphones of any kind are allowed, though you cannot use them once inside. Most of the time the searching procedure is fairly lax, but for more important events they are far more serious, checking deep into bags and doing body pat-downs. Try approaching them with an already opened bag to speed things up.

If you want to avoid a search, put your camera and other items you won't need in a coin locker. There tends to be plenty of them at vending machines train stations nearby and sometimes at the venue (especially if it is a live house, which does not have seating). Depending on the concert size and time until start, they may be all in use, so be sure to be early.

After you passed the first step (which usually takes only a few seconds, it's not an airport after all), you will present your ticket to the next staff member. After they tear off the part of the ticket, someone will hand you one or more leaflets about the concert, tour goods, and other events by the same agency or concert organisation. It's often interesting to look through it while waiting in the inside goods line or waiting for the concert start, and for spotting any tour goods you might've forgotten to buy!

=Preparing for the concert/other things to keep in mind=

Besides actually watching and enjoying a show of one or more idols singing and dancing on a stage, there are more side activities to be done and being done at a Hello!Project concert.

Buying tour goods
There tends to be two table groups to buy at - one on the outside, and one inside. The one on the outside tends to be very busy, and it can take anywhere ten minutes to two hours to reach the goods table. The inside table usually isn't as busy, but the time spent waiting in line there eats into preparation for the show itself, and you might even find yourself still in line as the show starts!

Buying goods and glowsticks itself is easy. They have pictures of all tour items on all goods tables. Just point at the pictures and maybe hold up one finger to say that you want one of it. Some items are available for specific members, so you also have to say the member's last name or you will get asked for it. Printing off the goods list beforehand (see below) and referring to it can help speed up this process.

One popular Hello!Project tour good is the random items of photos/clearfiles/mini posters. They are available on the goods table and the customer has to chose them out of the box (so the agency isn't at fault when a buyer doesn't get his/her favourite member!). These items are packed into envelopes so you can't see the contents and are usually priced at 500 yen per piece. If you end up with results you're not happy with and want different ones or even a complete set, see the next paragraph about trading at concerts.

To plan ahead, you can check the official website which lists all goods available for the current and last few tours:


 * http://www.helloproject.com/museum/tour/

Be careful as, sometimes the announcement of limited items (especially for goods unique to that date/venue/occasion) are only put up on the tour goods page a few days before the concert. Make sure you check back before the concert so you won't miss anything.

Trading
In front of most Hello!Project events people gather hours before opening. As tour goods are sold earlier, trading of them also starts early. You will find many fans sitting on the ground with a large collection of photos laid out in front of them. Most items being traded are the random photo collection items of the tour.

If you want to trade but don't know the language, try to show every picture you will be willing to offer and point on one of the items on the floor. Usually the local fan will be surprised (and happy) to see a foreigner taking part in the trading activities and will point out any photos they wish to trade. Depending on the member and the pictures rarity, it may be worth more or less (the more established/popular girls tend to be worth much more than the newer/less important members).

Glowsticks
To be visible to the artist/idol on stage (and generally fit in with everyone else) one needs to wave with glow sticks. The more and the brighter the better, but for starters one or two will be enough. Even if it's your first time, it's not hard to just follow everyone else's movements. Seeing a dark hall full of glowsticks being swung in unison is quite a sight to see, and maybe inspire you to join in even more next time.

The cheapest glowsticks can be bought at most 100yen stores, just look for them in the kids/toys section. As glowsticks are available in all sizes and colors, they are pretty easy to find. They are called pen light in Japan, but packaging mostly writes concert light, glowstick or something like that. Most stores carry different types of glowing gear - 6", 8", occasionally obscenely large 12", wristbands (often 3-4 bands for 105 yen), earrings, etc. If you don't know what colour to get, you can check the tour goods online - these tend to reflect the girls' assigned colours (especially the t-shirts/towels). 100yen stores can be found in most busy shopping districts. Otherwise, you can get glowsticks for 300 yen a piece at the concert's goods table. They are sold at all Hello!Project events.

Exercising/working out
Besides just waving or swinging glowsticks, there is more being done (mostly in the general seating area, not the family seats). You'll be surrounded by shouting, jumping, dancing along, specialized wotagei (fan dances), and clapping like there is no tomorrow.

If you're the calm, composed type who'll sit/stand and casually watch on, skip this paragraph. Depending on how much you want to do or how much you want to be a part of the crowd (as the listed activities are very common at Hello!Project concerts), there is a lot to prepare for. sports drinks/water are essential, both to replenish fluids and to ease the strain on ones voice. Get them at a convenience store before the show. The temperature in the crowd on first floor/arena can get quite hot, and you'll be exercising for a solid hour and a half or more. If you're extra crazy and plan to jump around, stretch before (and afterwards!) - your body will thank you for it. Nothing worse than a weekend full of concerts and barely being able to walk because you pulled something! You'll find many other of the attending fans stretch in the minutes before the concert starts, and they'll probably be impressed with how hardcore you are.

Remember that at most events you have a set seat assigned to your ticket. Try to stay in these boundaries like everyone around you. While the staff usually watch the crowd for security reasons and cameras, they sometimes point at people in the crowd if they dance a bit too far off.