There are four stores across Japan (Tokyo/Harajuku, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka). The busiest one (as far as I know) is located in Harajuku, Tokyo. As I have only been to two of the stores I cannot comment on the others. The one in Kyoto is now closed.
The store has a section on Johnny's net that includes pictures of some of the goods you can buy, as well as maps, times, etc.,. They also have the prices for the goods. All pictures are 150-yen a piece.
General Information:
When you get to the store there may be a long line. This is especially true on the weekends on holidays. In Harajuku they will either have you line up outside in a park or give you a ticket. The tickets will be for a later time. In Harajuku it may be up to 8 hours later (if they even have tickets late), but sometimes it can be for just one hour later. In any case, when you do come back show your ticket to the person who gave it to you or another staff member. In Harajuku, even with the ticket you may have to wait in line to get inside. Sometimes if the Osaka store is busy, they will give you a ticket as well.
Once you are inside the store you will want to grab one or more of the pieces of paper they have provided (see an example here and here). They will have a list of numbers, either 1-800 or starting with 801. The numbers will be on the left side and to the right there will be a blank spot (please examine the sheets above if you are confused). Above the numbers there will be a blank spot. You will need to write the name of the corner (either the group or the event) in the box. You can only use one piece for each group. If you want to buy pictures for more than one group you will need to get a few pieces of paper. Countdown is a separate “group.” Also – not all groups have pictures past 801 so you may not need that piece.
Now that you have your paper (and a pen/pencil – the store will have some provided), go to the glass cases. There you will see the pictures with a number on them. When you see a picture you want, find that number on your piece of paper. You will write it in the blank space to the right of the number. Write down the number of copies you want of that picture.
At the bottom of the front side is a place to put the total of the number of pictures you want. Count every picture on the front and back side and then put that number in that box.
At the bottom of the back side is a blank box. If you want convert goods (uchiwas, towels, posters) you will write that in that area. Make sure to label it the same as the item (for example Fall Tour or Countdown) and then the person’s name.
Inside the store you can also buy miscellaneous goods such as CD/DVD holders, ticket holders, penlights, fake nails, and more. These will be sitting out on shelves and you can just grab them (see Johnny's net for pictures).
Depending on when you go to the store there may be a line to check-out. Once you get to the front they will take your sheet and amaze you with their incredible number typing skills. It’s really amazing.
How to get there:
As I said earlier I have only been to the store in Harajuku and the store in Osaka. Maps and more information to come soon.
Harajuku:
The easiest way is to take the JR Yamanote line to Harajuku station. You can take either exit from the station, but it is closest to the Omotesando exit. Go across the street (you will be walking towards the Snoopy’s) and head right. Take a left at that first big street (there will be a pedestrian bridge right there, and it is just a few steps from the station). You will see a tiny tiny park at a subway exit (the Chiyoda line, Meiji-jingumae station, exit 3). If you go on a crowded day there will be fangirls lined up and someone from the store. If that is case go to the store employee (usually a guy, should be in a jacket or noticeable shirt). Otherwise the store is a little ways down on the left side on the tiny side-street there. There is a store called "Play House" at the corner. It is just across from this small Indian-like clothing and goods store.
The hours for the store are 10 am to 7 pm every day.
Osaka:
From Shinsaibashi station, take exit 8 (making sure to go up all of the stairs). This will lead you to be right in front of a hotel. Go to the left and then take a left at that first street. You will be walking beside the hotel. The Johny's store is on that small street there. If you keep walking down the street and see a Mos Burger then you are on the wrong street. You need to go to your right one road. The store is pretty easy to miss, but it is on the right side of the street.
The hours for this store are 10:30-6:30 Monday-Friday and 10-7 on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
last updated Feb 21, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Johnny’s (JE) Stores
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
How to update your fanclub information
There are two ways to update your info.
First, when you get a slip to apply for concerts there is an extra piece of paper. You can fill it out with the new information and send it in.
Otherwise you can grab a blank post card.
1) FC name and #
2) Current Address
3) Name
4) Current Phone Number
5) Where you want changed: XXX (name of thing you want changed) XXXX-XXXX
を追加してください。
Send it to 〒107-8534
東京都渋谷区渋谷1-10-10 ミヤマスタワーB1F
JFC (the name of the fanclub you are in) 「登録内容変更届」係御中
You can type all of it and print it off on word if you want. When I updated my info I never got anything saying it was done, it just happened.
last updated February 17, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
How to join Fanclub Mail Magazines and get Info E-mails
In addition to mailing small fanclub newsletters to you, as a member of the fanclub you can sign-up for regular E-mail updates. These updates will include things like filming information, when you can call to see if you hit tickets, weather reports, how to apply for tickets, etc.,
Note: to sign up for this you must be a member of that fanclub. You must also use a paid e-mail address (so your keitai/cell/hand phone address is OK)
Go to the Family-club site and chose your fanclub. You will then need to log-in with your information.
The first thing (会員番号) is your eight-digit fanclub number. Since you have already selected which fanclub you are in, there is no need to put the letter in front. An example number: 00123456
Your password (パスワード) is the last four digits of the phone number you used when you signed up.
Now you will need to go to the "U Page."
Here is what the "U Page" looks like. On this page you may need to scroll down a little to see the entire window.
After you have clicked on the button you will go to the next page.
In the second step they will send an E-mail to that address. If it is on your phone you will need to send it to your computer to enter the info. You will want to click on the link in the E-mail. If it is OK you will see the pages below.
last updated Feb. 11, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
How to buy JE (Johnny's) Concert goods
Each concert tour will have different goods, so I can’t say for sure what the concert you are going to will have. However, usually a few days before the first concert, Johnny’s net will have the goods list up. You can check on Yahoo Auctions! after the first show/shows to see if they have pictures of any the goods up. Johnny's Net now puts up some pictures of the goods so you can check there to see some samples.
Typical goods include (but they may not always be there): pamphlet, a penlight (of some kind), shopping bag, pictures (original a.k.a. studio, and if it isn’t one of the first dates, live), uchiwas, T-shirts and posters. Other goods range from towels (bath and face sized), jewelry, keitai straps, books, badges, and toys. But each group will have different kinds of goods, so never expect the same kind of thing.
A note on pictures - the picture sets at concerts usually contain only 4 pictures, and there is usually only one set per boy (a live and an original). Occasionally they will not have group live sets at the concert. Some tours have multiple sets as the tour progresses (for example the Kanjani8 47-prefecture tour). The JE store will have more pictures (both original and live) that you can purchase. Often the JE store will not have the pictures they sold at the concerts.
Getting goods differs on venue, time in the tour, and really random things. Sometimes the goods line isn’t bad, sometimes it is horrible. Generally, if it is early on in the tour, the line will be bad. If it is for a dome concert, the line will be bad.
Many people will line up for hours before the goods line actually opens (that time is announced on Johnny’s net along with the information about the tour. Don't expect the time to be added until 1-2 days before the concert though).
Speaking from personal experience, this may not always be necessary, but you never can tell. For some concerts (such as SMAP), you almost need to. For others, you may wait for four hours at the beginning, and someone might come much later and only wait thirty minutes. Often, if you can go while the concert is going on, getting the goods is easier since most of the fans are inside the venue for the concert. This is not always possible though, so do not count on it.
Sometimes you can purchase goods inside the venue, but you may miss the show if you do this as well. It depends on the venue.
For musicals and plays, the goods line is usually inside the venue and you need a ticket to get inside. For other concerts, especially arenas and domes, the goods are often outside and anyone can join the line.
Also note that goods frequently sell out. Popular items will go first. Sometimes they are restocked later in the tour, sometimes they are not. Sometimes they will be available in the Johnny's store, sometimes not. In the past, they used to sell some goods on JWeb, but they haven't done that recently.
The goods line itself isn’t really that confusing. You will wait in line, and then get to the goods area. Typically, the goods area is broken down into sections, with different registers open for each section. The best way to tell is to look up above where you are standing and they will have pictures of what is being sold at that station. If there are not pictures above the sections then all of the goods can be purchased in one line (this seems to be a recent trend, at least for some arenas).
Generally you can buy the shopping bag at every station, and the pamphlet is usually at a few places as well. When you go to buy your goods, some places will have a picture of the goods so you can just point, other places you will need to say what you want. You will always need to say how many. I tend to hold up the number of fingers when I say it just so there is no confusion. Note that as a general rule there is a limit of five of any one good per person, although that can be different. If an item is really popular they will limit it to something else (that will be marked or they will simply tell you when you go to buy the goods). If they do limit the item it is usually between 1-3 of any kind.
Sometimes while waiting in the goods line the staff may hand you a sheet with the goods being sold. They will have pictures of the goods, along with the prices. Also, many places are now using scanners to ring up the goods, which means that you will get a receipt (and it eliminates the need for the people to count and use calculators). This is a welcome addition if you are buying many items, but not so welcome if you only want one thing. Note - this is not true of every venue.
Also, make sure to say the artist’s full last name, not their nickname. Many times the people working in the goods lines are not fans. For example, do not call NEWS's Yamapi by that name, call him Yamashita, or use his full name. The two exceptions would be SMAP (I am sure they know the names of the SMAP members, but you never know) and KinKi Kids (because you need to say which Domoto you want – Tsuyoshi or Koichi).
Sometimes they will sell the concert goods in the JE store. You can also buy from
Yahoo Auctions!, or other similar auction sites, although the majority of the sellers will only ship to Japanese addresses.
last updated February 7, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
How to read your concert ticket
Now that you have your concert/show/play/whatever ticket, you will need to know where your seat is.
You may want to open this site and find your venue. Most venues are listed and have maps.
The seating information is listed in two places. It will be on the right-side in that area they will detach when you go to the show. It is also listed on the bottom of the ticket. The seats are obviously different for every venue, so it is always good to have that site ready. When you get to the venue you can always have a staff member help you to your seat if you can’t seem to find it.
As you can see on the above ticket, there is a lot of information. The name of the show, the date and the time, the venue name, etc., The information at the bottom of the ticket is the code for the show, the fanclub number, a set of numbers I left out, the name of the person, and then the price of the ticket. Please note that I heavily edited the above ticket (as should be obvious) to protect any identities so that no one gets in trouble with the fanclub. But, you can get a general idea about the ticket from that.
Arenas and Halls:
Usually, but not always, there is only one entrance. Look for where all of the fangirls are lined up and that should be it. There will also be several staff members to tear your ticket, check your bag, etc., Once you get through that (read here for more information), you will need to find your seat.
Domes and halls/arenas/middle sized venues are generally arranged as such: Arena means the floor area, stands is the seats. Note that Yokohama Arena is really weird. The place usually called arena is instead labeled as center. The first floor of stands is called arena. The second floor of stands is called stands.
Your ticket will have several kanji along with numbers, alphabet letters or hiragana/katakana.
階 is floor (not all halls or arenas will have more than one floor)
東西北南
means east/west/north/south (only some arenas have this)
列 is the row
番 is your seat number
Here are some example tickets with the information translated.
Because Yokohama Arena labels their seats differently, I have three separate tickets edited for you.
Domes:
A dome concert ticket will have more information because the places are just so much bigger. There are multiple entrances (gates), so they have to tell you that along with all of the other information.
ゲート is the gate. This will be the first place you need to go because it is the entrance you will use. There will probably be a line of people waiting to get inside.
塁側 is base side (i.e. first base, third base)
通路 is the aisle. Generally the gate will get you close to your aisle number. They should be translated into English, but again, if you need help don’t hesitate to ask a staff member.
列 is the row
番 is your seat number
Tickets from playguide will have a little extra info on the dome ticket.
Here is that ticket with the seats explained.
last updated February 4, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Calling to see if you hit for Johnny's tickets
Once you have joined the fanclub and applied for tickets, your next step is to wait. If you are on the fanclub E-mail list you will get an E-mail when it is time to call and see if you hit for concert tickets.
At that point it is all out war. Calling on the first two days that they release the news is hard. I have tried for 5 hours before. If you call at weird times (very early in the morning or during the work/school day) you can sometimes get through easy. Remember that the line is closed from 1 AM until 6 AM so you can't call then.
Before you call make sure you have the following things at the ready:
When you call, you will get one of two messages:
One starts "tadaima, taihen komiate imasu. shibaraku omate okakini...". That means that the line is busy and that you need to wait to call back. Or, hang up and keep trying, whichever you prefer.
The second message starts off by welcoming you to Navi-Dial. They will then transfer you to an automated system. This means that you got through!
Now that you have gotten through they will explain the cost of the system (it varies depending on the time you call, but if should be less than 100 yen per call (usually around 20-75 yen)) and that you must be a fanclub member.
They will list the artists, and you will need to select which group you are calling for. You do not need to listen to the entire message.
0 - Hey!Say! JUMP
1 - Shontentai
2 - SMAP
3 - TOKIO
4 - KinKi Kids
5 - V6
6 - Arashi
7 - Tackey & Tsubasa
8 - You&J (News, KAT-TUN, Kanjani8)
Enter the number for the fanclub followed by the number key (#)
The next thing you will hear is a confirmation. If the fanclub name is right, then push 1. If it is wrong, push 3.
Next you will need to enter your 8-digit fanclub number followed by the # key.
example: 12345678#
Then you need to enter the last four digits of the phone number you signed up with, followed by the # key.
So, if my number is 080-1234-5678, then I would enter 5678#
The voice will tell you how many ballots you have to check.
For one ballot: Genzai kakunin dekiru chusen kekka wa ichi ken desu.
They will then tell you to enter 1 to check your results.
They will start by telling you the results of your ballot. If you have more than one ballot, listen closely as they will tell you which sheet they are using. It will start with your first choice listed on your ballot.
Anata no dai ichi kibou kouen kodo (your first choice here) no chusen kekka wo otsutae shimasu.
If you hit, they will start by telling you the kouen code (it is a five digit number, the number you put on the form when you applied for tickets, the first two are the month, the second two are the date and the last one is the show number for that day - so 06121, would be the first show on June 12). **Note - this code may be different from your first choice and what they tell you when they say that you hit LISTEN CAREFULLY**
They will then say the date and time of the concert (so, a 6 PM concert would be 18:00 or ju-hachi-ji, zero-pun). The last bit is how many tickets you got (a number followed by mai, so 4 tickets would be yonmai).They will repeat the information back to you.
There are two other messages you can get.
One: You missed.
The last time I got this message it was something like:
Chiketto wo tori suru koto ga dekimasendeshita. Gohenkin wo omachikudasai. (Sadly you didn't get any tickets. Please wait for your refund).
Second: You are calling too early. Either you got the time to call wrong, or you didn't hit for your first choice and your second choice isn't ready yet (in which case you will have to call again).
That message should start with "Genzai chuusenchuu desu." (We are currently selecting the winners").
If you hit, tickets should arrive 2-3 weeks before the show. Refunds usually come around that time as well.
last updated February 1, 2011