Buying Tickets from Overseasfan clubs · lotteries · e-tickets · ID checks

The honest version first: buying tickets for a Sakamichi concert in Japan is a lottery system, not first-come-first-served, and it is heavily weighted toward fan club members. It is absolutely doable from overseas — fans do it every tour — but you need to understand the system and start early. (For overseas shows like the upcoming Sakurazaka46 Asia Tour, ignore all of this: those are sold normally on local platforms — see the overseas concerts page.)

01Step 1 — Join the Mobile Fan Club

Most tickets are allocated to the fan-club lottery rounds. Without membership your realistic chances drop to nearly zero. Each group has its own paid mobile membership:

02Step 2 — The Lottery Rounds

A typical tour runs several application rounds over ~3 months. Example — Sakurazaka46 national tour 2025 official (source):

1. FC lottery (1st round) — best odds, members only
2. FC 2nd round — remaining seats, members only
3. Official / partner pre-sales — e.g. card-holder rounds
4. General sale — first-come, brutal competition, often gone in minutes

Nogizaka46 runs the same shape through its Mobile membership, with general sale handled via Rakuten Ticket official (source).

General-sale platforms from overseas fan-reported

• eplus — most overseas-friendly; some events sell via its international site (ib.eplus.jp)
• Lawson Ticket — requires a Japanese phone number
• Ticket Pia — phone-number verification at signup/purchase (official note)
• Rakuten Ticket — Rakuten ID generally expects Japanese phone verification

Practical takeaway: don't plan around the general sale. The FC lottery is the route that works from abroad.

03Step 3 — Electronic Tickets

• Sakurazaka46 / Hinatazaka46 currently use Tixplus (チケプラ) e-tickets official (source). The app is available in non-Japanese app stores, and fans report registering with overseas phone numbers — but SMS one-time codes sometimes fail to arrive on foreign numbers fan-reported.
• Nogizaka46 currently runs tickets through Rakuten Ticket (e-ticket or 7-Eleven print), with NFT-based resale introduced in late 2025 official.

04At the Door — ID Checks Are Real

official Recent Sakamichi tours check photo ID for every attendee. From the Nogizaka46 2025 summer tour rules (source):

• One government photo ID — a passport is explicitly valid. Credit cards and copies are not.
• Name on the ticket must match the ID. No transfers, even between family or friends.
• Failed check = refused entry, no refund.

This is why everything above stresses applying in your own name. A ticket bought from a stranger online may simply not get you through the gate.

05Resale — Official Routes Only

• Japan's anti-scalping law (2019) makes for-profit resale above face value a criminal offense official (gov't source).
• Official resale exists and works: Sakurazaka46 uses Tixplus Trade (face value, lottery), Nogizaka46 uses Rakuten TICKET EXCHANGE official. These are legitimate second chances when a tour is sold out.
• Unofficial resale sites sell tickets in someone else's name — given the ID checks above, this is a real risk of paying and being turned away.

06A Realistic Strategy from Overseas

1. 3+ months out: join the fan club of your group in your own name (smartphone browser, overseas card).
2. Tour announcement: apply in the FC 1st-round lottery for a weekday show in a big arena if you can — odds are consistently better than weekend finals.
3. Missed every round? Watch the official resale (Tixplus Trade / Rakuten Exchange) in the final weeks — returned tickets cycle through it at face value.
4. Or wait for the overseas shows: local-platform, first-come sales with none of the above friction — see ASIA TOUR 2027.

Last verified: June 12, 2026