Click here to see a similar guide for Koshien Stadium Tickets
Tickets for the 2024 regular season go on sale on February 19
You want to take in a Hanshin Tigers game, but your best chance is while they are playing at their “home away from home,” Kyocera Dome Osaka. (This happens every year for one series in the spring and two more in the summer, as Koshien Stadium is vacated for national high school baseball tournaments.) Problem is, you’re not sure how to get tickets to those games. Look no further – your quest for the best tickets is about to be solved. Click on the photo below to get a better look at the seating at the ballpark (opens a new tab to Kyocera’s official site).
There are four main ways to get tickets if you do not speak or read Japanese:
Use the Lawson Ticket website
This website unfortunately does not offer service in English. You will need to use Google translate or something to navigate the site. Still, this site is your best if you’re living overseas, want to get your tickets by yourself and have fuller control over the seats you get. You still cannot specify your exact seats unless you are in the Hanshin Tigers fan club (which is only available to those with a Japanese address). You can get it down to a general section (ticket price range) but that’s it.
Advantages: You can say you got your tickets all by yourself without depending on others’ help and/or services. You save yourself money by not having to pay service fees. You can get your tickets as early in advance as regular fans in Japan, which makes planning your trip around baseball games (or vice versa) much easier than waiting until you land in Japan to decide.
Disadvantages: It requires time to get through everything. While directions are thorough, this method may intimidate less confident online shoppers. Also, using this method still requires to you go to a Lawson convenience store to have the tickets printed/issued to you. (Trust me, though, you’ll want to visit convenience stores frequently while in Japan!) When there, you may need to use a machine that has no English interface in order to get your physical tickets (which are needed to get into the game). As written below, you can always count on the kindness (though not the English skills) of the convenience store clerks!
Contact Japanballtickets.com
For a nominal service charge ($59 US, unless you make what is considered a “large order”), they will take care of all the details for you. You choose your date, the number of tickets, and the general area you want to sit in (or price budget). They get you the tickets and arrange for them to be delivered to your hotel when you arrive in Japan. Doesn’t get much easier than that!
Advantages: On top of everything you just read, they will help you get a refund in case the game gets rained out. The payment options include PayPal, which Kyocera Dome itself does not accept. You get excellent English-speaking customer service in case you have any questions. You can also get tickets for sumo through this site! (And the service charge is still the same!) Finally, you can place your order any time during the year. Though they will not be able to get the tickets any earlier than the general public, at least they will make the purchase as early as possible, ensuring you the best tickets your money can buy.
Disadvantages: You have to make the request at least 4 days before the game. You have to pay a service fee. (But since time is money, it’s actually very reasonable.)
Wait until you arrive in Japan and go to a local convenience store
Lawson, Family Mart, 7-11, and the rest. They almost all have machines that can issue you tickets to any sporting or entertainment event in the country – provided there are still tickets available! Just step up to the machine, and look lost and puzzled as to what to do. (The machine interfaces are in Japanese only!) If things go the way they should in Japan, a store clerk will help you navigate the system, though their English is quite likely minimal. Communication might be tough, but you’ll get through it, buy tickets, and have stories to tell at the end of your trip.
Advantages: You don’t have to plan ahead and worry about whether or not you’ll be in Osaka on that particular day of your trip. You don’t need a credit card to get these tickets. (Of course, you will need Japanese cash or some form of cashless payment service.)
Disadvantages: There is a greater chance that the game will be sold out if you wait until you arrive in Japan to buy the tickets. Your store clerk might not know English or baseball, and that could lead to problems getting the types of tickets you want. (They will also likely not be able to explain to you what part of the stadium your seats will be in.)
If all else fails…
Scalpers
You will probably notice people (usually middle-aged or older men) standing a few meters from the escalators that take you out of the station, looking for someone to sell their tickets to. And that someone just might be YOU! If you make eye contact with them, they will probably try to get you to buy their tickets. And if you do, your hopes of getting into a game have been salvaged! Pay cash, get tickets, follow the crowd towards the dome, and you’re in!
Advantages: If you tried any of the above options and they didn’t work (because the game was already sold out, or whatever), then this saved you from leaving Japan without having seen a baseball game.
Disadvantages: You might not notice them. They might not notice you. They might not be there. They might not have enough tickets for your group. OR, you might have to get a couple of tickets here, a couple of tickets there. Anyways, this option is really last-resort and higher risk. (Not of being ripped off or cheated out of your money… just of not getting tickets.)
So there you have it. Good luck!