How to Buy Concert Tickets in Japan: 2026–27 Tourist Guide

Here is how to buy concert tickets in Japan: for most big shows you enter a lottery (fan club first, then pre-sales on e+, Ticket Pia or Lawson Ticket), pay within a few days if you win, then collect a paper ticket at a convenience store or an e-ticket in an app. As a tourist, your best routes are the overseas-friendly sales pages, a Japanese phone number that can take calls, and official resale only.

This guide covers every stage, from fan-club lotteries to the anti-scalping law. It also covers the things most guides skip: which resale site shut down in 2025, the 13-digit pickup numbers, holiday delivery freezes, and the big 2026–27 shows that are easiest to buy from abroad.

How do concert tickets work in Japan?

Japan sells popular concerts by lottery (抽選, chūsen), not first come, first served. You apply in a set window, wait for a results email on a fixed day, then pay quickly. Miss the payment deadline and the seat goes back into the pool.

Most big tours release tickets in the same order. Each round has fewer and worse seats than the one before, so the earlier you get in, the better.

Stage	Who can apply	What tourists should know
1. Fan-club pre-sale (FC先行)	Paid fan-club members	Best odds and seats. Read the joining terms before paying: some ask for a Japanese address or phone number.
2. Official pre-sale (オフィシャル先行)	Anyone registered on the artist or promoter site	Often run on an e+, Pia or Lawson page linked from the artist’s site. Follow the artist’s newsletter and social accounts.
3. Play-guide pre-sale (プレイガイド先行)	Free members of each ticket site	Separate lotteries on e+, Ticket Pia, Lawson Ticket and others. You can usually enter several.
4. General sale (一般発売, ippan hatsubai)	Anyone	First come, first served, often from 10:00 Japan time. Big shows can sell out in minutes or skip this stage.
Official resale (公式リセール)	Registered users	Face-value tickets from fans who can’t go. Usually opens in the last weeks before the show.

Seat numbers are often only revealed when the ticket is issued, sometimes a few days before the show. That is normal, not a sign of a scam.

Which ticket sites can tourists use to buy concert tickets in Japan?

Japan’s ticket agencies are called play guides (プレイガイド). Four dominate. Each has different rules for people outside Japan, so it pays to know which one your show uses before you start.

Site	English or overseas page	Key rules for overseas buyers
e+ (eplus)	Yes: eplus.tickets, a separate site for overseas customers	Credit card; Alipay and WeChat Pay only for first-come sales, not lotteries; tickets as a QR code or 7-Eleven pickup in Japan
Ticket Pia	English menus plus an English event list for international shows	Phone verification by call for new members and many purchases
Lawson Ticket (Loppi)	English top page and a guide for non-Japanese customers	From abroad: general-sale tickets only, no membership, credit card or store payment only
Rakuten Ticket	No; the site is in Japanese	Rakuten Points can be used for ticket payment; best left to buyers with a Japanese Rakuten account

e+ (eplus): the overseas site

e+ runs eplus.tickets for overseas customers. Its payment page lists credit card, plus Alipay and WeChat Pay for first-come, first-served sales only (not lottery applications). If you use a debit card, check your balance first, because lottery payments are taken later.

Tickets arrive as a QR code (show a screenshot or a printout) or as a 7-Eleven pickup in Japan. At 7-Eleven you give the cashier your 13-digit payment slip number; the multi-copy machine is not used. Handling fees vary by show, and the site is closed from 2:00 to 8:00 on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month for maintenance.

Ticket Pia: English event list for international acts

Ticket Pia’s English menus cover the main site, but the easiest entry point is PIA’s English event list, which sells international tours and classical concerts to buyers abroad. In November 2026 it listed shows such as Diana Krall, Megadeth at the Nippon Budokan and TOTO in Osaka (see the table further down).

Pickup options on the Japanese site include 7-Eleven and FamilyMart paper tickets, e-ticket apps (MOALA, tixeebox and the Tixplus app), and delivery to a Japanese address. Pia’s delivery guide says postal delivery is suspended from 16 December 2026 to 5 January 2027, so pick a store or e-ticket for New Year shows.

Lawson Ticket: general sale only from abroad

Lawson Ticket is honest about its limits. Its guide for non-Japanese customers says only general-sale tickets can be bought from overseas, no membership can be created from abroad, and existing members cannot log in from outside Japan. Its English FAQ adds that advance-sale registration is for residents of Japan only.

From abroad you can pay by credit card or by store payment at a Lawson in Japan. Overseas-issued cards may be refused, delivery is not available, and e-tickets need a smartphone contracted in Japan. Store payment is usually due within three days, and an unpaid booking is cancelled automatically.

Fan clubs and artist sites

For J-pop, K-pop and anime acts, the fan club is where most tickets go. Many official artist sites and fan clubs now have English menus and English FAQ pages, but each sets its own rules on overseas members, so read the joining terms before you pay a fee. Tickets won this way are often e-tickets tied to the member’s phone number.

Do you need a Japanese phone number to buy concert tickets in Japan?

Often, yes. The problem is not just signing up: many sites verify you with a phone call or SMS, and e-ticket apps check that your number matches the one used to buy. A data-only travel eSIM loads the website but cannot pass a call check.

• Ticket Pia: its phone verification page says you call a 050 number shown on screen; the call cuts off after one ring and the page moves on. It is needed for new membership, a changed number, some purchases, receiving shared tickets, resale purchases and app login. The call is free, a phone without a calling contract cannot be used, and one number can be verified for one member only.
• e+ Smart Ticket: to download an e-ticket into the e+ app you enter the mobile number registered when you applied, then make a short free call. Per e+’s guide, the line drops after one or two rings and the ticket downloads.
• Lawson Ticket: e-tickets need a smartphone contracted in Japan, per its English FAQ.

Japan Pro Tip: verify your phone the week before a sale, not on the day. Pia itself warns that verification can fail on sale day because of congestion.

How do you pay for and pick up tickets at a convenience store?

Convenience stores (konbini) are Japan’s ticket counters. You can often reserve online, pay in cash at the till, and collect a printed ticket in the same visit. The steps differ by chain, and the numbers are not interchangeable.

Store	How it works	Watch out for
7-Eleven	Give the cashier the 13-digit number from your confirmation (e+ and Ticket Pia)	No machine needed; the number must be for the right site
FamilyMart	Enter the 13-digit reference number (引換票番号) at the multi-copy machine, take the slip to the till within 30 minutes	For Pia: don’t use the payment slip number; wait 1 hour after paying before pickup; ¥165 per ticket
Lawson and Ministop	Use the Loppi terminal for Lawson Ticket bookings, then pay at the till	Store payment is usually due in three days; lost tickets are not reissued

Two more rules catch people out. First, paying at the store does not always print the ticket: with Pia you may still need to choose a pickup method on the My Ticket page. Second, many shows set a pickup start date, so a ticket bought in October may only print a week before the show.

Pia’s FamilyMart guide also notes that pickup is unavailable every Tuesday and Wednesday from 1:30 to 5:30 for maintenance. Plan any late-night pickup around it.

How do digital tickets and ID checks work?

Big shows in Japan are moving to e-tickets in apps, partly to stop touts. The ticket lives in the app under the buyer’s phone number, and a companion’s ticket is sent to their own app (often by LINE or email).

ID checks are strict at the top end. COUNTDOWN JAPAN 26/27, the five-day year-end festival at Makuhari Messe, says on its ticket page that entry uses face recognition, that you must bring an original government-issued photo ID, and that all tickets are e-tickets in the official J-Fes app, issued in late December. It also charges a ¥550 system fee per ticket and ¥330 per convenience-store payment.

• Book in the exact name on your passport, in the same order.
• Bring the original passport, not a photo of it.
• Charge your phone and keep the ticket app logged in; screenshots are not accepted for many app tickets.
• If a friend in Japan buys for you, the ticket may be in their name. Check the show’s rules on companions (同行者) before you rely on this.

Is concert ticket resale legal in Japan?

Only through official channels. Japan’s ticket resale law (特定興行入場券の不正転売禁止法) came into force on 14 June 2019. It covers “specified” tickets: ones that say resale without the organiser’s consent is banned, show a date, venue and seat or entry right, and note that the buyer’s name and contact details were checked.

Reselling those tickets above face value as a repeated business, or buying them to do so, is banned. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s consumer guide gives the penalty as up to one year in prison, a fine of up to ¥1 million, or both. It also warns that resold tickets may not get you in, and that some resale sites pose as official ones.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs oversees the law. In practice, a ticket in someone else’s name, bought from an auction or social media, is the most likely way to be turned away at the gate.

Official resale options in 2026

• Ticket Pia resale: resells your unused ticket at face value. Per Pia’s resale guide, the seller pays a 10% fee plus a ¥275 bank transfer fee when it sells. Applications close the day before the show, and not every show takes part.
• Tixplus Trade (チケプラトレード): the official trade service of the Tixplus e-ticket app, used by many J-pop acts. Listings appear on trade.tixplus.jp.
• Event-run resale: some organisers run their own. COUNTDOWN JAPAN 26/27 plans one resale in December, matched automatically by lottery, with no guaranteed match.

One thing older guides still get wrong: Ticket Torade (チケトレ), the industry-backed resale site launched in 2017, closed on 30 June 2025, as Impress Watch reported. The old tiketore.com address no longer belongs to a ticket service, so do not enter card details there.

How to buy concert tickets in Japan: 7 steps for tourists

1. Find the ticket page. Start from the artist’s or promoter’s official site and note which play guide sells each round.
2. Check for an overseas route. Look for eplus.tickets, PIA’s English event list, or an “overseas” or “international” sale on the official site.
3. Sort your phone. Get a Japanese number that can make calls if the site needs verification, and verify days before the sale.
4. Register in your passport name. Japanese forms often ask for a name in katakana as well; keep the spelling the same everywhere.
5. Enter every lottery you can. Fan club, official and each play-guide pre-sale are separate draws.
6. Pay fast. Payment windows are short; Lawson Ticket’s store payment is usually three days.
7. Get the ticket and your ID ready. Note the pickup start date or e-ticket issue date, and bring your passport to the show.

If every round fails, wait for official resale and check the artist’s social accounts the day before. Some shows release same-day tickets (当日券, tōjitsuken) at the venue, but only when the organiser announces them.

Which big concerts are in Japan in 2026–27?

These are confirmed dates from venue, ticket-site and festival pages, plus two dome tours from published tour announcements. International acts on PIA’s English list are the easiest for visitors to buy; dome tours by Japanese and K-pop groups lean heavily on fan-club lotteries.

Dates	Show	Venue	Where to look
6–8 Nov 2026	Stray Kids World Tour <RUN IT JAPAN>	Tokyo Dome	Tokyo Dome schedule
15, 16, 18 Nov 2026	Tedeschi Trucks Band	Nagoya, Osaka (Festival Hall), Tokyo (SGC Hall Ariake)	PIA English list
20–21 Nov 2026	Fujii Kaze piano recital	Tokyo Dome	Tokyo Dome schedule
25–26 Nov 2026	Chotokkyu (超特急)	Tokyo Dome	Tokyo Dome schedule
26 Nov 2026 – 7 Jan 2027	Snow Man DOME TOUR 2026-2027 ALL SUITE (Nagoya 26–29 Nov, Fukuoka 4–6 Dec, Tokyo Dome 23–26 Dec, Kyocera Dome Osaka 4–7 Jan)	Five domes	Tour announcement (ORICON)
3, 4, 7 Dec 2026	Diana Krall	Nagoya, Osaka (Grand Cube), Tokyo (Kanadevia Hall)	PIA English list
26, 27, 29–31 Dec 2026	COUNTDOWN JAPAN 26/27 (179 acts)	Makuhari Messe, Chiba	Official ticket page
13 and 15 Jan 2027	Europe	NHK Hall, Tokyo; Grand Cube Osaka	PIA English list
10–11 Feb, 27–28 Feb 2027	XG WORLD TOUR: THE CORE FINAL	Tokyo Dome; Kyocera Dome Osaka	Tour announcement (ORICON)
22, 24–25 Feb 2027	Megadeth	Grand Cube Osaka; Nippon Budokan, Tokyo	PIA English list
22 Mar 2027	TOTO	Asue Arena Osaka	PIA English list

Dates can change, and the ticket page is always the final word. For gigs at smaller live houses, where tickets are easier and door sales are common, see our live music in Tokyo guide. For other events this month, see Tokyo events in November 2026, and for New Year’s Eve plans, New Year in Tokyo 2027.

Japanese ticket words you will see

Browser translation helps, but these words decide whether you won, paid or missed out. Learn them before sale day.

Japanese	Reading	Meaning
抽選	chūsen	Lottery
先行	senkō	Pre-sale
一般発売	ippan hatsubai	General sale
当選 / 落選	tōsen / rakusen	Won / not selected
入金・支払期限	nyūkin / shiharai kigen	Payment deadline
発券	hakken	Ticket issue or printing
電子チケット	denshi chiketto	E-ticket
同行者	dōkōsha	Companion
本人確認	honnin kakunin	ID check
当日券	tōjitsuken	Same-day ticket

For the sumo, kabuki and baseball side of event tickets, see our sumo tickets guide. Planning your first trip? Our first-time Tokyo guide covers SIMs, money and getting around, and the IC card guide explains paying at konbini without cash.

How to buy concert tickets in Japan FAQ

Sources and how we checked

Every rule, fee and date on this page was checked on 5 November 2026 against the linked official pages of e+, Ticket Pia, Lawson Ticket, Tixplus, Tokyo Dome, COUNTDOWN JAPAN, the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, plus published tour announcements for two dome tours. Ticket rules differ by show, so the notice on your own ticket page always wins. For general travel information, see JNTO.