Martyn Posted January 10, 2015 Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 Hallo! I'd like to fulfill my dream this year and visit Japan. I want to attend three G1 Climax shows in Ryogoku and as much other events as possible during that time period. Because I am travelling all the way from other part of the globe to see G1, I dont want to seat in the back of the Sumo Hall. I am interested in ringside seats, but I dont know if there's a possibility of booking them in advance from Europe. Anyone have any experience in booking tickets for pro wrestling events in Japan? Any idea of how much would they cost and when they're going on sale? Unfortunately, I dont know anybody in that country so I will have to do everything by myself. Any kind of info and help will be greatly appriciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted January 10, 2015 Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 I live in Japan, but I don't go to shows so please double check the info I give you. My (limited) outstanding is that people either order the tickets through pia (which then deliver them to your home) or buy them at convenience stores. You can also buy them from the New Japan shop in Suidobashi. A certain amount of tickets are reserved for door sales, but I'm pretty sure that the best seats sell out the day the tickets go on sale. I don't think there's any way that you can really buy a ringside seat from Europe unless you were able to get it through pia and delivered to an address in Japan. I'm not 100% sure on that, though. You might want to get in touch with that Eric gaijin guy on Twitter because he got the 50,000 yen tickets to Wrestle Kingdom and was seated right behind the press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted January 12, 2015 Report Share Posted January 12, 2015 I am also curious as I am planning on going over either this year (if I can catch up in time and have the resources) or next year for the G-1 Climax. Let me know if there are any other tips. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJRogers Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Depending on when you go, also try to catch a baseball game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJH Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 One of the great things about visiting Japan is that most of the tourists spots are both really cheap and easy to access, and they do a much better job than here (the UK): the buses in Kyoto, for instance, before every stop, will tell you in Japanese, Mandarin, English and I think Spanish of what temples are nearby so it's nigh-on impossible to get lost; I can't remember going to any tourist-y spot that didn't provide an English guide. And the temples, the parks, are all dirt cheap. The Peace Museum in Hiroshima is like 50 yen (less than 50 cents). But even if you're just staying in Tokyo (though you should venture a little outside - Kamakura is a nice day trip and only an hour on the train), I found Tokyo amazingly cheap as a tourist - the metro is cheaper than our local rail (I don't think I paid more than Y200-250 [$2] for any journey, the Suica card machines have English in most of the major stations, and each stop is announced in English) and I spent far less on food than I've ever done in London or NYC. Assuming you're ok with hostels, I stayed at New Koyo for about $25/30? per night having heard OJ recommend it elsewhere. In other words, you'll be able to splash out on wrestling without breaking the bank on other stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbaugh Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 I was in Tokyo during the summer for work and decided to catch a show at Korakuen Hall. Just went to the Tokyo Dome complex, found the building (blue building off to the left of the main Dome entrance), took the elevator up to the 4th floor, and found the ticket guy. He was super patient with me as we leafed through a huge book showing all the upcoming shows and what tickets were available. Ended up seeing a very bad Wrestle 1 show that looked to be advertising Muta and Tajiri, that was really just those two in street clothes doing an in-ring promo to hype the next show. Even though the show wasn't good, I had a great time and it was fun to be at the venue. From what I've reading online, you can get definitely get tickets at all kinds of convenience stores, and I saw ticket kiosks at a Lawson and a Family Mart (which seem to be on every single corner) that were selling tickets to baseball games and concerts and such. Unfortunately, it rained non-stop every day I was there, and the Swallows play in an outdoor stadium, so I didn't bother trying to figure the machine out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantherwagner Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 New Koyo is 30 bucks? Price has tripled in a decade! It's just a bit far from things out there in Minowa. I'd rather pay a bit more and stay at a cheap hotel or hostel in Ueno or Nippori where there's a lot more life. I have been to Japan about ten times and never been to a wrestling show so I'm not the best person to answer this but I know that people buy tickets for everything at convenience stores just as others have said. There's a great pro wrestling magazine shop in Jinbocho called Shosen Grande. It looks like a regular magazine shop like many others you see everywhere in Japan but it has got an underground floor full of mags, books, DVD's and trading cards for wrestling, fighting and Japanese idols (basically either very young girls or girls that are 21 but look like they are 14) so you get a weird mix of odd people there sometimes. Nothing groundbreaking but they keep past numbers and special numbers of things that you won't find anywhere else. The entire neighbourhood is worth visiting for an evening if you want to find old magazines. Anything from Rikidozan times magazines, Inoki/Baba heyday magazines, 80s All Japan Women programs, 90s golden era NJPW/AJPW/UWFi/WAR/FMW stuff... if you have a favourite show from the 90s you may be able to find the original program there. I have the Dreamslam program and it's gorgeous. I don't even go there anymore or I'll end up with an overweight bag and a very poor man. Some of the magazines with Mil Mascaras and El Solitario in the cover cost hundreds of dollars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Does Shosen Grande sell anything online? Is there any way I can get any merch from them if I'm not going there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 They have a website shop but it looks pretty crap -- http://www.shosen.co.jp/shop/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 Thanks. Looke like a *very* limited list of wrestling items. If anyone local wants to do some shopping for me, let me know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WrestlingPower Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 It's been 10 years since I've been there but I have a fairly detailed Q&A I put together about how to find wrestling shops, etc. if anyone is interested. There used to be at least 6-8 shops within walking distance of Korakuen (Suidobashi section) and at least a handful of others we would frequent that took some guidance to find but I tried to document. Shosen used to have a bunch of stuff and there were 2-3 locations about 10-15 min walk of Korakuen. There's really not much reason to stay anywhere other than near Korakuen. The Mayfield crew always stayed at the YMCA hotel (which was called a "hostel" online by folks who didn't know any better) that was like 60ish a night. We stayed at Tokyo Green the first time I went there & it was 80ish. I don't know if "ka-to" (Kurt) is still on DVDVR but he still goes over each year & had a place on the other side of the Dome/mall that he had started staying in that was actually a closer walk than the Y. I'm sure it's easier to get around now than it was then. The last time I was there in 2005, the website for the subway & rail was pretty new & not all signage etc. had English. It sounds like that may have changed. No more mix & match on the kanji characters I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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