In order to stop cluttering up the news thread regarding the anniversary concert, I'm starting a thread for discussion by members who are interested in attending Scandal's 10th anniversary concert next August. (Yes, I know it's early, but international travel can sometimes take a lot of planning. I know that some of us have already begun investigating things such as airfare, hotel prices and availability, etc.)

So, I'm curious how many people are interested in going.

For people who don't have much experience with international travel, specifically to Japan, post your questions and concerns for more experienced travelers answer.

For more experienced international travelers, specifically to Japan, please offer advice, especially things that less experienced travelers to Japan may not have considered. Experience with Osaka would be a plus, of course. 


Personally, I really want to go to this concert. I've already started investigating travel arrangements.

One interesting thing I discovered was that it was cheaper to schedule the flight in pieces online (Atlanta to LA, then LA to Japan) than it was to use the online services to schedule the flight all at once (Atlanta to Japan). Even if the Atlanta-Japan scheduled flight had a layover in Los Angeles, it was $500+ more expensive than scheduling each leg separately.

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Mod edit:

If you're wondering how to purchase tickets for this event, please check this post:

https://www.scandal-heaven.com/t12113p50-2016-scandal-10th-anniversary-concert#736231

saldiven wrote:For more experienced international travelers, specifically to Japan, please offer advice, especially things that less experienced travelers to Japan may not have considered. Experience with Osaka would be a plus, of course. 

I've travelled to Osaka but have never flown into Kansai International (KIX) - if one wants to just go to Osaka straight on without bothering to take the shinkansen from Tokyo (which isn't cheap), this is a good option.

Travelling within Osaka is easy as it has an extensive rail and subway network. As for accommodation, the net is your best bet to search - and I'd recommend using something like Tripadvisor as it pretty much narrows down the search according what you want (budget, distance to nearest rail/subway station etc) and the reviews are by other travellers and not some travel critic. Of course, the location of your accommodation of choice may be swayed by where exactly the concert will be held. Japanese concerts tend to finish relatively early so that you don't have to worry about catching the last train back.

One thing Osaka is well known for is the food. There's loads of it about. I'll stop rambling now but I'll be happy to (try) answer any questions. ^^

I kinda really want to go but I'm not sure I'll be able to... I mean, money isnt the problem neither time since im finishing school this year and if I want to go to Univ it would only start later anyway but...

I've never traveled outside of Québec. My spoken English wasnt practiced in the last 2 years (it wasnt bad and im gonna have englsih class this year in school so i should be fine). I dont speak a single word of Japanese. And I would prolly be alone there too. I also dont even know if I can get tickets (i know they arent out now but I just dont know it work in Japan for that prolly not as easy as it would have been when i wanted to go to LA :v (which i didnt do in the end))

But I just really really wanted to go if I can't go to anything else this year (basicly if nothing in North America for SCANDAL this next 365 day) I just need more info prolly in general to know if that would be possible or not...

The whole ticket thing is a concern, of course. With a trip like this, getting the airfare sorted out will probably need to be done well before the tickets are put on sale in order to get the best rates.


The band said this was going to be their biggest concert ever, so hopefully getting tickets won't be too difficult, from an availability standpoint.


Just thought of something else that more experienced travelers could help with:  How does one manage getting tickets for this kind of event from overseas?

Edit: Interestingly, after talking to my boss about it, she's actually not against the idea of me taking 1.5 to 2.0 weeks off next August to take this trip. I just need to let her know as early as possible to make sure we have appropriate coverage of my job duties during that time.

One obstacle overcome already

saldiven wrote:Just thought of something else that more experienced travelers could help with:  How does one manage getting tickets for this kind of event from overseas?

A bit of chicken-and-egg question, this.

When I did this in January, I was hellbent on seeing them in Japan, regardless of the cost (but within reason).

It was like this for me: Tentative booking of my annual leave --> Get concert tickets --> Buy plane ticket

So, if I failed in getting tickets I could just cancel my leave. I wasn't too bothered in getting the best deal for a flight as I kinda knew I'd probably save a few pounds on the fare if I had booked the ticket any earlier but it wouldn't be that much of a saving.

As for getting the tickets, there are many ways but I will just tell you how I got mine for the Maebashi show (I bought my Tachikawa concert tickets myself from a convenience store in Tokyo).

1. As a backup, I got a deputising service (fdjp.com) to buy me tickets when they were available on the general sale. We cannot choose where we sit and because I kinda bought it late, my seats were way at the back.

2. Here's the thing which you may or may not agree - I still went on to look for tickets but this time from Yahoo! Auctions. For some reason sellers do not tell potential buyers the exact location of the seats, but do give you an idea (eg between rows 12 and 16). At least you can figure out how close you'd be to the stage (it helps if you go to the venue's website and download the seating plan). The closer you are to the stage, the more expensive it'd be. And as this is an auction - there is no real guarantee, so you'd have to judge for yourself how reliable the seller is from the percentage of positive feedbacks they have (just like eBay).

I bought them on Yahoo! too but I couldn't get rid of my tickets from option 1. I could've sold them but I knew no one who was going to the same show.

As you can see, it's how much you're willing to spend on seeing them. The tip on paying a bit more on Yahoo! I got from someone on S-H. If I was gonna spend £550 on a return flight to Tokyo, paying 1000 yen more for a ticket should be worth it.

This is only how I did my ticket purchase, but I hope this helps. It'd be interesting to see how others get theirs. BTW I've not gone into the finer details of buying tickets on Yahoo! Auctions but we'll cross the bridge when we get there.

So I keep revisiting the though of going to this concert. Really, it's going to be a celebration!

I had so much fun when Scandal came to visit us in Los Angeles. Imagine the fun of a "Road Trip" to visit them in Japan. 

It's definitely a trip to share with fellow fans.  

Thinking about it.....

I've been thinking about attending their 10 anniversary live. It would be a choice between Budokan or the 10th anniversary since I very well cannot afford both. Due to reasons though, I'm more strongly considering the 10th anniversary live over Budokan now.

I've never traveled outside the country though and unfortunately, there's a possibility that I'll end up having to travel to Japan and be in Japan alone - which is a scary enough thing by itself because I wasn't intending on being in Japan alone. So I may be back to ask questions every now and again. I've got a lot of knowledge from the planning I was doing on Budokan but there's always more knowledge to gain. =^.^=

Airi-chan wrote:I've been thinking about attending their 10 anniversary live. It would be a choice between Budokan or the 10th anniversary since I very well cannot afford both. Due to reasons though, I'm more strongly considering the 10th anniversary live over Budokan now.

Also, the weather is waaaay better in August than it is in January!

So my only concern for now is this, like what Saldiven said, it would be better to not use online travel services but how to find nearest hotel for the stay? 

This will be my first ever out of the country travel if so, I just have to know the total expenses back and forth, even the best alternatives when going there.

this gotta be more exciting since this will be their biggest concert, and have to witness it no matter what

Thanks Saldiven for this thread! hope I will get the necessary details for me to prepare for this

ryoseki kun wrote:... how to find nearest hotel for the stay?

Google ^^.

Seriously, it's not that difficult. Type "cheap sleeps in osaka" gives you a myriad of websites.

I've mentioned the Tripadvisor site earlier on - it lists a lot of different hotels, and you choose the ones that suit your budget/area you wanna stay in. The reviews provided by previous travelers should help you make an informed decision.

If you want it super cheap, hostels are good - check out http://www.hostels.com/osaka/japan. As low as USD12 a night.

Of course, as for your nearest hotel query - you'll have to wait until the announce where exactly in Osaka the concert will be.

Thanks for this  actually I'm looking first for the cheapest flight from and to  PH and the cheapest one (on a n average) is 15000php, now I'm thinking on how much will be my pocket money if I stay for 4days

ryoseki kun wrote:...I'm thinking on how much will be my pocket money if I stay for 4days

Just to give you an idea, have a read of the comments on daily expenses when staying in Osaka:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g298566-i2803-k4515592-Visiting_Osaka_how_much_to_budget_for_daily_necessities-Osaka_Osaka_Prefecture_Kinki.html

I plan on going with @neopode, @JerellxScandal, and our friend Henry. To whomever else is going, it would be awesome if we could meet up that week if you're staying in Tokyo! That would be surreal  .wow.

It could be a good occasion to meet each other ^^ ! 
I'd love to be part of it too, it would be amazing !!! 
But i have to see if i can get enough money or not. I've never left Europe before so it would be the biggest trip of my life x)

For those who where asking about getting tickets from overseas:

It seems to be quite difficult to get tickets because you need to know someone in Japan or to have an adress in Japan to receive your tickets. 
    BUT some people know it's difficult for overseas people to get tickets. So they had the great idea to created a website where you can ask them to get you a ticket and then if they succed, they send it to you =)
I've never tried this myself and it can be a bit expensive in the end, but it could be a good solution if you don't know anyone in Japan.
I'm not allowed yet to post links on the forum, so if you want to find the website just write "Japan concert tickets" on Google and you should be able to find it.
I hope we'll be able to get there, it's going to be a big event .dance. !!!

Oritasu wrote:It could be a good occasion to meet each other ^^ ! 
I'd love to be part of it too, it would be amazing !!! 
But i have to see if i can get enough money or not. I've never left Europe before so it would be the biggest trip of my life x)

For those who where asking about getting tickets from overseas:

It seems to be quite difficult to get tickets because you need to know someone in Japan or to have an adress in Japan to receive your tickets. 
    BUT some people know it's difficult for overseas people to get tickets. So they had the great idea to created a website where you can ask them to get you a ticket and then if they succed, they send it to you =)
I've never tried this myself and it can be a bit expensive in the end, but it could be a good solution if you don't know anyone in Japan.
I'm not allowed yet to post links on the forum, so if you want to find the website just write "Japan concert tickets" on Google and you should be able to find it.
I hope we'll be able to get there, it's going to be a big event .dance. !!!

Is the only requirement to have a shipping address that the tickets can go to? Because if so, there's always Tenso

Actually i don't know if it's the only requirement sorry =/ i've never bought tickets in Japan. I hope other members can tell us.

But if it's the case it would be a great idea =) i didn't know this website thanks

TENSO will only work to an extent where a Japanese site accepts your credit card but won't send the purchased item abroad, hence the need for a proxy Japanese address.

For tickets, you either need:

1. a deputising service that physically shops for you for a commission, on top of the postage. eg Rinkya, fdjp.com

2. an auction site ie Yahoo! Auctions. You still need a deputising service eg fromjapan.com is an example. Don't bother with Buyee (TENSO's bidding arm) as for some reason, you just cannot seem to bid/buy it now when concert tickets are concerned.

The above options are for when you don't have someone in Japan to help you out. Obviously.

kudo_maharizu wrote:TENSO will only work to an extent where a Japanese site accepts your credit card but won't send the purchased item abroad, hence the need for a proxy Japanese address.

For tickets, you either need:

1. a deputising service that physically shops for you for a commission, on top of the postage. eg Rinkya, fdjp.com

2. an auction site ie Yahoo! Auctions. You still need a deputising service eg fromjapan.com is an example. Don't bother with Buyee (TENSO's bidding arm) as for some reason, you just cannot seem to bid/buy it now when concert tickets are concerned.

The above options are for when you don't have someone in Japan to help you out. Obviously.

What did you mean about Tenso? From my understanding and use of the site, it provides an address that domestic Japanese goods can be shipped to, then you pay for the international shipment separately.

You got that right about what TENSO does but the problem is concert tickets are usually bought on e-plus, Pia, Lawson etc. which requires picking up the physical ticket at an appointed agent (usually a convenience store). At best, depending on the artiste, if you get your tickets posted to you, payment is via internet banking.

So, unlike shopping at the Kitty Store, or Sony Music Shop, you cannot use TENSO for buying concert tickets.

I've seen SCANDAL in Japan earlier this year, and here's how I bought my tickets: https://www.scandal-heaven.com/t12113-2016-scandal-10th-anniversary-concert#722671

This website is superb - have a read: http://www.japanconcerttickets.com/howto/buying-tickets-abroad/

Oh ok i see !

Wow it must have been a lot of researchs, time and money ! But at least you were able to see them =) which concert was it ?

Great thanks for posting the link of the website !

Oritasu wrote:Oh ok i see !

Wow it must have been a lot of researchs, time and money ! But at least you were able to see them =) which concert was it ?

Great thanks for posting the link of the website !

I saw 'em on nights two and three of the HELLO WORLD tour in Tachikawa and Maebashi, respectively.

You are right - seeing them in Japan is a drain on the finances. Japan isn't exactly next to England for me. When I saw them in January, the trip was solely to see them and not an actual holiday (I was actually in Japan 6 weeks prior for my holiday hahahaha)...

https://www.scandal-heaven.com/t10960p360-scandal-world-tour-2015hello-world#686019

Back to the topic, though - kinda early days at the mo to speculate. The best scenario we as non-Japanese fans can wish for is for SCANDAL to actually consider an outlet for overseas fans to purchase the tickets for the August show. Big Japanese festivals like Fujirock actually have online ticket sales that do not follow the 'Japan only' rules (see http://fujirock-eng.com/ticket.html#purchaseticket_overseas) like what I described in my previous posts.

Wishful thinking, but here's hoping.

Wow you saw them twice, nice ! You can't see them everyday after all !
Haha that was a good plan, you killed two birds with one stone.
I was lucky they came to Paris.


You're right that would be in the worst case.
It would be great, much more easy and less expensive if there were tickets for overseas.
Let's hope, wait and see .please.


By the way, do you know if their tickets are usually quickly sold out in Japan ? Like within a few minutes ?

I can only tell you what I experienced from the Hall Tour I attended. It depends, the smaller cities like Maebashi didn't sell out quickly, although by the time the general public gets to buy them, it'll be difficult to get the better seats (well, it seemed like that for me - I got the last row even though I bought my Tachikawa tickets like within the hour it was on sale). This is because by the time the general public buys them, some tickets already have been sold to SCANDAL MANIA and CLUB SCANDAL members. This answer is relevant if you buy them the normal method, though.

If you're buying on an auction site - it doesn't matter, although if a show sells out quickly, it may mean the tickets on Yahoo! Auctions can be more expensive than usual as there will be more bidders wanting them.

Hopefully SH members who have been to the larger shows like the YokoAri or 360 ones in 2014 can answer your query.

@ kudo_maharizo
Thanks for sharing your experience and what you know !

Im planning to go with my friends from Indonesia as well

Anybody else wanna go too?