FAQ: Buying Buck-Tick Tickets
Everything You Need To Know

Last updated: April 2015

I will add more questions and answers to this section as needed. If you have a question or suggestion for something you think I should add, or if you’re still confused, email me. But please read the whole guide carefully first.

Questions are listed below. Scroll down to read the answers to each question, or hit ctrl+f plus the number of the question you're interested in to find it even faster.

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01. What’s the difference between a hall tour, a seated tour, a live house tour, and a standing tour?

02. When and where do Buck-Tick announce their tour dates?

03. Where are Buck-Tick tour tickets sold, and how can I buy them?

04. I want to buy lots of tickets, but I don’t have much money. Do I have to pay for the tickets right away, or can I pay later?

05. How do I pay for the tickets if I don’t live in Japan?

06. I want to buy tickets, but the website is all in Japanese and I can’t read any of it! Help me!

07. I am not a Fish Tank member, but I want to buy tickets through Fish Tank. What should I do?

08. I just joined Fish Tank, but I don’t understand the Fish Tank ticket system. Can you explain it to me?

09. What are my chances of winning the ticket I want in the Fish Tank presale lottery?

10. I entered the Fish Tank lottery, but I didn’t win the ticket I wanted. What do I do now?

11. I lost all the lotteries and the general admission sales, but I still reeeeally want to go to the show! Are there any options besides buying tickets on auction?

12. I bought my tickets through Fish Tank, but I live overseas and I won’t be arriving in Japan until shortly before the day of the concert. How do I pick up my tickets?

13. I want to bring my friend to the show, but she/he isn’t a member of Fish Tank. Can I use my Fish Tank membership to buy tickets for both of us?

14. I used my Fish Tank membership to buy a pair of tickets, one for me, and one for my friend who isn’t a Fish Tank member. Does my friend need to show ID at the door?

15. I want to bring my friend to a Fish Tanker’s Only show, but she/he isn’t a member of Fish Tank. Is this possible?

16. I have a ticket to the Fish Tanker’s Only show this Saturday, but I’m sick and can’t make it. Can I give my ticket to another Fish Tank member so she can go instead of me?

17. My friend and I are attending a Fish Tank Only show together. She has a low line number, but she hates crowds and doesn’t want to stand in front. I have a high line number but I want to get as close to Imai’s sweaty, hairy guitar as humanly possible! Can we trade tickets, so I go in early and secure my spot in the front, while she hangs back and takes her time?

18. Can you tell me the story of the Great Picture Ticket Kerfuffle?

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Q01. What’s the difference between a hall tour, a seated tour, a live house tour, and a standing tour?

A. I already wrote about this in the Japanese Concert Guide. Detailed information about hall tours (also called “seated tours”) can be found here. Detailed information about live house tours (also called “standing tours”) can be found here.

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Q02. When and where do Buck-Tick announce their tour dates?

A. In principle, all Buck-Tick’s tour dates are announced in print in the Fish Tank newsletter before they’re announced anywhere else. Tour dates are usually announced 2-4 months in advance of the tour itself, in whichever issue of the Fish Tank newsletter falls closest to that time frame. The Fish Tank newsletter is published quarterly, at the end of March, June, September and December, with the ticket sales announcements for The Day in Question typically appearing in the September issue. A week or so after being announced in the Fish Tank newsletter, tour date announcements will be posted on Buck-Tick’s official web site, as well. In addition, Fish Tank members registered for the Fish Tank mail magazine will receive information about tour dates by email. Also, I announce the new tour dates on Blog-Tick, so if you’re not a member of Fish Tank, be sure to check Blog-Tick for the latest info.

Occasionally, special events may be decided too quickly to be announced through the Fish Tank newsletter. In this case, the initial announcement will be made through Buck-Tick’s official website only.

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Q03. Where are Buck-Tick tour tickets sold, and how can I buy them?

A. Tickets to Buck-Tick’s tours are sold through two main outlets: Fish Tank (the official fan club) and major Japanese ticket brokers (Ticket Pia, Lawson Ticket, and sometimes other companies as well.)

However, Fish Tank members get priority when buying tickets—ticket sales open to Fish Tank members well before general admission sales open. Fish Tank conducts ticket sales via a web-based lottery system. Following the end of the Fish Tank ticket lottery, the Buck-Tick official web site will usually hold a general admission ticket lottery. Following this, there may or may not be subsequent ticket lotteries held by Ticket Pia and Lawson Ticket (it depends on the specific show.) Then, at last, the tickets will go on general sale through Ticket Pia, Lawson Ticket, and sometimes other outlets. General admission sales are conducted on a first-come, first-serve basis. General admission tickets usually sell out VERY quickly, especially for shows in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka. For more information on ticket lotteries, check out the Shopping Service section on concert tickets.

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Q04. I want to buy lots of tickets, but I don’t have much money. Do I have to pay for the tickets right away, or can I pay later?

A. Immediate payment is required for concert tickets. If you purchase your tickets through Fish Tank and fail to pay, your membership will be revoked. If you purchase your tickets through Ticket Pia and fail to pay, your Ticket Pia account will be suspended. No money, no tickets.

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Q05. How do I pay for the tickets if I don’t live in Japan?

A. If you’re a Fish Tank member living overseas, and you bought your tickets through the Fish Tank lottery, the cost will automatically be charged to your credit card. In some cases it may also be possible to use your credit card to pay for tickets purchased through Ticket Pia or Lawson Ticket, but they often do not accept credit cards from overseas.

However, Ticket Pia and Lawson Ticket usually offer a second payment option: convenience store billing. If you choose convenience store billing as your payment method, you receive a confirmation number, which you take to a nearby convenience store and pay for your ticket at the register. Since this system only works for Japanese convenience stores, obviously, if you live overseas, you can’t take advantage of it unless you can get someone already living in Japan to go to the convenience store and pay your bill for you…Cayce to the rescue! If you need help paying for a ticket via convenience store billing but you’re not in Japan, contact me RIGHT AWAY and I will help you. Usually, with convenience store billing, you need to pay within THREE DAYS, or risk forfeiting your ticket and your Ticket Pia account. Also remember, all payment deadlines listed are Japan Time, so depending on what time zone you live in, you may have even less time than you think. Therefore, if you need my help with tickets, it’s preferable if you contact me well before the tickets go on sale.

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Q06. I want to buy tickets, but the website is all in Japanese and I can’t read any of it! Help me!

A. As part of Not Greatest Shopping Service, I am willing to act as a proxy for buying tickets if it’s too much and you don’t want to deal with it on your own. If you would like to engage my services in this regard, email me (themadaristocrat at gmail.)

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Q07. I am not a Fish Tank member, but I want to buy tickets through Fish Tank. What should I do?

A. To buy tickets to a Buck-Tick show through Fish Tank, first you must join Fish Tank. However, don’t wait to join until a tour is announced, because at that point, it will be too late! If you are hoping to buy your tickets through Fish Tank, join as soon as possible and wait for the next tour to be announced. Fish Tank Web now accepts online applications and payment from international credit cards, so becoming a member is fairly straightforward, though all Fish Tank correspondence is conducted in Japanese only.

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Q08. I just joined Fish Tank, but I don’t understand the Fish Tank ticket system. Can you explain it to me?

A. Tickets are sold through Fish Tank via a web-based lottery system. Basically, it works like this: you log in to Fish Tank Web and submit an electronic application, stating the shows you’d like to attend, and the number of tickets you want for each show. For most shows, you will be allowed to purchase up to 4 tickets, but for some shows, you may be limited to 2 tickets only. There is no limit on the number of shows you can attend per tour. If you want to attend every stop on the tour, feel free! However, bear in mind that 1) since this is a lottery, you may not win tickets to all the shows you apply for, and 2) if you do with the tickets, you’d obligated to pay for them, otherwise you will be banned from the fan club. So don’t apply for more tickets than you can afford.

Also, for any given show, there is no such thing as winning halfway. So for example, if you applied for two tickets to a show at Zepp Tokyo, you will either win both tickets, or you’ll lose the lottery and win zero tickets. If you apply for two tickets to the same show, you will never win one and lose the other. If you apply for two tickets or more, the seats/line numbers will be consecutive.

As stated above, ticket lottery applications are submitted through Fish Tank Web. After a tour is announced, the opening date for applications will be printed in the Fish Tank newsletter and on the Buck-Tick official web site. Usually, applications will open 1-2 weeks after the tour is announced, and stay open for a period of 10 days to 3 weeks, depending on the tour. You may submit your application at any point during the application period. Also, there's been some cause for confusion as Fish Tank has changed the ticket application system yet again. Under the current system, you must apply for each concert individually. So for example, if you want to go to the show at Takasaki Arena by yourself, but then you want to go to the show at the Nippon Budoukan with a friend, first, you submit an application for one ticket to Takasaki Arena. Finish the application process, then start again from the top page, and submit a second application for two tickets to the Nippon Budoukan. However, it's possible the system may change again. Always read the fine print, or email Cayce to check if you're confused.

The results of the lottery are typically announced about a week after the application period closes. You can log in to Fish Tank Web to check your results, but this isn’t necessary, as you will also be notified automatically by email. If you won, the email will come with the subject heading [当選のご案内], but if you lose, the subject heading will be [抽選の結果]. A separate email will be sent for each show you applied to. Lotteries for each show are conducted independently, so it’s possible to win some shows and lose others. If you're paying by credit card, your credit card will be charged in conjunction with the announcement of lottery results. Make sure your credit card is authorized for international transactions beforehand. Also, don't worry - you won't be charged for shows you didn't win tickets for. You'll only be charged for the tickets you actually won.

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Q09. What are my chances of winning the ticket I want in the Fish Tank presale lottery?

A. In general, your chances are pretty good. Based on my years of tour-going I’d say that most Fish Tank members win most of the tickets they want, most of the time. However, your chances may be less good for shows at smaller venues, especially in the Tokyo area, especially on weekends. The Shibuya Kokaido and Akasaka Blitz can be especially difficult.

If you want to improve your chances of winning tickets, the best thing you can do is plan on attending shows outside of central Tokyo. Japan is far more than just Tokyo and attending shows in other cities can be far more interesting than staying in the capital. But even if you’re determined to stay in Tokyo no matter what, you can strategize carefully if you look at a map—cities like Yokohama, Omiya, Kawaguchi, Chiba, Yokosuka, Takasaki, Utsunomiya, and Shizuoka are all common stops on Buck-Tick tours and each is no more than two hours by train from central Tokyo.

It’s also worth noting that if the band play two back-to-back shows at the same venue, and you applied for tickets to both, it’s common to win one but not the other, especially at standing venues, so be prepared for that possibility. Beyond that, the second day is always more popular than the first day, so if you don’t care one way or the other, go for the first day.

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Q10. I entered the Fish Tank lottery, but I didn’t win the ticket I wanted. What do I do now?

A. When the Fish Tank lottery closes, typically there will be a second lottery, sponsored by the Buck-Tick official website. You do not need to be a Fish Tank member to enter this lottery. Following the official website lottery, there may be one or more presale lotteries held by Ticket Pia (though this isn’t a given.) If you lose all these lotteries, you have no choice but to try for general sales. It can be difficult to get tickets through general sales from outside Japan, but if you need help with this or with any of the other lotteries, contact Cayce. We will help you.

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Q11. I lost all the lotteries and the general admission sales, but I still reeeeally want to go to the show! Are there any options besides buying tickets on auction?

A. Contact me, and I will try to set you up with another fan who has an extra ticket to sell (not guaranteed, but more common than you might think.) If that fails, you can always try showing up to the venue a few hours before the show and standing outside with a sign that says [チケットを譲って下さい] (“please sell me a ticket.”) This method isn’t guaranteed to work but I have tried it in the past with good results. True story: on the Anarchy hall tour, one of our readers used this method and ended up with a ticket for a fourth-row seat, up close and personal with Imai’s sweaty, hairy guitar! Miracles have been known to happen!

If everything else fails, you can try buying from a yakuza ticket scalper (dafuya), though generally they are only present at hall tours and not at live house tours, and their prices are outrageously high, so bring a BIG wad of cash if you want to try for this method.

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Q12. I bought my tickets through Fish Tank, but I live overseas and I won’t be arriving in Japan until shortly before the day of the concert. How do I pick up my tickets?

A. Your tickets will be held for you at the venue box office. To pick up your tickets, you will need to present your Fish Tank ID card, passport or Alien Card (zairyu card), and a printout of the email you received, confirming your ticket purchase. It is very, VERY important that you bring these ID cards along with the confirmation email—no ID, no tickets!

If you purchased tickets for multiple stops on the same tour, you will receive all the tickets for shows within the next three weeks at the first venue. If you will be attending concerts over a period of more than three weeks, tickets for the later shows will be held at the first later venue. So for example – if you’re attending shows in Tokyo, Yokohama, and Nagoya in July, and then you’re attending Niigata and Sapporo in September, you can pick up the tickets for the first three shows at the Tokyo venue, and pick up the tickets for the Niigata and Sapporo shows at the Niigata venue.

Be aware that venue box offices may not open until the venue doors open. So for example, if the venue doors open at 5PM, the box office may not open till 5PM, either. It depends on the venue.

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Q13. I want to bring my friend to the show, but she/he isn’t a member of Fish Tank. Can I use my Fish Tank membership to buy tickets for both of us?

A. Absolutely! In most cases, for general admission shows, a single Fish Tank member is allowed to buy up to four tickets per show, so you can bring up to three friends if you so choose, though in some cases, for shows at small venues like the Shibuya Kokaido and Akasaka Blitz, you may only be allowed to purchase two tickets per show.

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Q14. I used my Fish Tank membership to buy a pair of tickets, one for me, and one for my friend who isn’t a Fish Tank member. Does my friend need to show ID at the door?

A. No, your friend doesn’t need to do anything except present the ticket at the door when entering the venue.

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Q15. I want to bring my friend to a Fish Tanker’s Only show, but she/he isn’t a member of Fish Tank. Is this possible?

A. Absolutely not. Fish Tanker’s Only shows are ONLY open to members of Fish Tank. Each Fish Tank member is only allowed to buy one ticket per Fish Tanker’s Only show. If your friend wants to go to a Fish Tanker's Only show, he/she must join Fish Tank.

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Q16. I have a ticket to the Fish Tanker’s Only show this Saturday, but I’m sick and can’t make it. Can I give my ticket to another Fish Tank member so she can go instead of me?

A. No. Tickets to Fish Tanker’s Only shows are non-transferrable. If you can’t go, you forfeit your ticket. There is no possibility for a refund.

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Q17. My friend and I are attending a Fish Tank Only show together. She has a low line number, but she hates crowds and doesn’t want to stand in front. I have a high line number but I want to get as close to Imai’s sweaty, hairy guitar as humanly possible! Can we trade tickets, so I go in early and secure my spot in the front, while she hangs back and takes her time?

A. Yes, but you can’t trade tickets till after you’ve gone through ID check. Once you have been cleared at ID check and given a wristband, you’re allowed to trade tickets with someone else who also has a valid wristband. Though this is not in the official rules, I have never known it to be a problem.

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Q18. Can you tell me the story of the Great Picture Ticket Kerfuffle?

A. Ah, the Great Picture Ticket Kerfuffle: Fish Tank’s own fourth-grade girl drama come to life! The whole thing is so petty and immature I really can’t believe it happened at all, but some of you may still be confused by it, so allow me to explain.

One privilege of purchasing tickets through Fish Tank is that Fish Tank tickets are so-called “picture tickets”: large, glossy pieces of cardstock printed with a photograph of the band members’ lovely faces, along with the name and Fish Tank ID number of the purchaser. For years, all Fish Tank tickets were picture tickets. So for example, if you, a Fish Tank member, bought a set of four tickets, one for you and three for your friends, all four tickets would be picture tickets, regardless of whether your friends were Fish Tank members or not.

As a sane person, you wouldn’t think this would be the source of any sort of issue. After all, pictures are nice, but tickets are just little bits of paper which are useless after the show is over. They make nice mementos, but not really worth getting worked up over, right?

WRONG. Apparently, picture tickets are really, really important to certain fangirls, to the point that picture tickets started fetching higher prices on the ticket auction black market. Fish Tank expressly prohibits selling tickets through auctions, and when they caught on to the fact that the picture tickets were being sold at a premium, they made the decision to only issue one picture ticket per show per Fish Tank member.

Therefore, when fans received their Fish Tank tickets for Arui wa Anarchy –NPPNBDKN- in December 2014, they were dismayed to discover that if they’d bought multiple tickets, only one of those tickets was a picture ticket, and the others were standard Ticket Pia tickets. Included with this ticket shipment was a snippy (and I do mean snippy) note from Fish Tank declaring that picture tickets were a “privilege” offered by a “sense of gratitude” and that “sense of gratitude” did not extend to non-Fish Tank members. Cayce to Fish Tank: I don't think it's called “gratitude” if you’re paying for it.

Naturally, this decision pissed off a lot of fans. For one thing, many Fish Tank members had doubled up to buy tickets in consecutive pairs or groups…but in this case, only one person would get to go home with a picture ticket, despite all the ticket holders being fanclub members. But more to the point, the note from Fish Tank was inches away from being out-and-out rude, and rudeness really rankles in Japan, especially in official written correspondence. Reasonable Fish Tank members who didn’t really give a shit about picture tickets or auction dramas were put off by what they saw as an excessive display of mean-spirited stinginess from a fanclub they’d been supporting loyally for years. They complained.

To Fish Tank’s credit, when they heard the complaints, they realized they’d made a mistake, and changed the system accordingly. Now, when you apply for multiple tickets to the same show, you have the option of entering the Fish Tank ID numbers of any accompanying parties. If you win the tickets, each Fish Tank member whose ID number was listed in the application will be issued a picture ticket (though the name and ID number on the ticket will still be the name and ID number of the purchaser). However, if one of those Fish Tank members also applied for tickets to the same show separately, on her own, and she wins the tickets, too, she’ll only get one picture ticket—either the ticket you bought for her will be a picture ticket and the ticket she bought for herself will be a regular Pia ticket, or vice versa. How they decide which set of tickets contains the picture ticket and which one doesn't has not been adequately explained. One would hope that the picture ticket would be the ticket with the lower line number, but no way to tell for certain, as the system has only just been implemented.

So...is this petty? Yes, very. And we have the crazy collector fangirls to thank. The moral of this story is: before you act like a complete dipshit, spare a thought for the fact that, in addition to hastening your own self-destruction, you may be dragging the whole circus tent down with you, so for fuck's sake, think about people besides yourself just a little tidge before you act.

This goes equally for fangirls, hedge fund managers, and climate change deniers alike. I know you probably won’t listen and will continue to act like dipshits. But if you do, all I can say is, you suck.