Online Meet-and-Greet: Beginner's Guide (forTUNE music & forTUNE meets)

⚠ Disclaimer - read first before proceeding!!! ⚠

Although anecdotal evidence will confirm that joining from outside Japan indeed is/has been possible, this service is intended only for Japan residents, so please proceed at your own risk.

Introduction

Now, a while back there was a similar guide on Reddit but it was kind of padded, and unfinished, which I thought was understandable since there’s so much information presented to the user. As such, this guide will be written as succinctly as possible: from scratch to the video call with the member. I will only include what’s absolutely necessary; I won’t be explaining what EVERY text you encounter means since it will only drag things out. Fortunately, forTUNE music (no pun intended) is ‘machine translator-friendly’ for the most part, so I highly suggest you have a browser tab or extension ready to satisfy your curiosity. And in particular try to go through the ‘How to Use’ and ‘Q&A/FAQ’ pages; this will solve most of your questions down the road, trust me.

It may look daunting at first with the non-English interface, but the process itself is pretty straightforward when you get down to it.

Requirements

Identity verification document. For this guide we will be going with passport.
Proxy address. This is where the packages will be sent. forTUNE does NOT deliver internationally. You can use services such as tenso and forward2me.
Credit card. According to the Q&A, the following cards are accepted: JCB, VISA, Master, Diners and American Express.
‘forTUNE meets’ installed on your Android/iOS device. You will need a Japanese Apple ID or Google Play account. (Links: iOS App Store | Google Play Store )
Confidence with your Japanese. Get to the level where you think you can communicate what you want and can understand the possible responses. (More on this later on Part IV.)
18 years old and above. Minors can technically participate, but there are additional requirements such as parent/guardian identity verification and consent which will NOT be covered by this guide.

Part I: Creating a New Account

If you haven’t yet, visit the forTUNE music website.
Click the hamburger button and a pane should drop down. Click ログイン/新規登録.
There are two columns. Click 新規登録 to the right.
This is the ‘terms of use’ page. Tick the two checkboxes on the bottom and click 同意して次に進む.
You should now be on the account creation page. A lot of fields here so let’s do this one-by-one.
- 氏名 (漢字): This asks for your ‘kanji’ name but obviously that wouldn’t be applicable to you and me, so provide your REAL NAME here – the name as it appears on your passport. It should be divided into two textboxes: type your surname in the left one (姓) and first name in the right one (名).
- 氏名 (フリガナ): The above name – your real name – in katakana. Use any online conversion tool such as this. Same format as above, last name left and first name right.
- メールアドレス: Email address.
- 確認のための再入力 (1/2): Type email address again for confirmation.
- パスワード: Password. Must be 8-12 characters. Only accepts letters and numbers.
- 確認のための再入力 (2/2): Type password again for confirmation.
- 郵便番号: Postal code. The format is XXX-XXXX so in this case 210 goes in the left textbox and 0006 in the right. Then click 郵便番号で住所を入力 to automatically fill up the next two fields (address down to city/town level).
- 丁目・番地・号: Choume/‘block’/building number. Those remaining digits at the end. In our example it’s ‘2-11-17’ without the quotes.
- 電話番号: Telephone number.
- 性別: Gender. 男性 is for male, 女性 is female.
- 生年月日: Date of birth. You will be asked for this in case you forget your password.
- メールマガジン: Receive email newsletter – first option is yes, second option is no.
- Click 入力内容を確認する to proceed.
You will be asked to verify if what you’ve entered is correct. Left button to go back; right button to proceed and have a confirmation email sent to you. Open this new email, the title usually containing the words 会員仮登録, and finish the process by clicking the link provided. (There should be only one link in the email body, not counting the signature thingy.)

Part II: Applying for Tickets

Note: All dates are JST!!

Applications are only open for a certain period of time. But when do they start? How do you get notified? Either via X/Twitter (@fortunemusicJP) or by going to the Artists page on the website, ticking the ‘mail’ button beside Nogizaka46 to receive email notifications. Yeah, the X way is easier. Hehe. Just look for the keyword 受付開始. Besides, information spreads faster on X especially during the day of the event when fans are quick to give reports.

Usually, application periods are announced in batches of three: one day (or in some cases two) a week, for three weeks. And there’s only one application landing page per single so you can just bookmark.

For the purpose of this guide, we will refer to the landing page for current single as of this writing (click here).

You should first see these three dates. These are the application periods. Scroll a bit further down till you get to the イベント概要 (event summary) section. Three things of note here:

日程: The M&G dates.
オンラインミート＆グリート（個別トーク会）スケジュール: 部 or ‘sessions’ a M&G date will be divided into. Each has four time values here, from left to right in chronological order: time when reception/queue opens, time the members start talking to fans, time when reception closes, and time the session closes altogether.
参加メンバー: A list of participating members, and non-participating ones below that (including reasons for non-attendance).

Machine-translate the rest if you want, but then back to the top: if you’re on this page during any of these date ranges, the label to the left of the current date should be 受付中, meaning ‘currently accepting applications’. Only then we can proceed.

Click 受付スケジュールへ. The browser will scroll downward to a panel titled with the appropriate date, and inside is a progress bar of some sort. (If there are multiple dates, clicking this will bring you to the right one quicker instead of manually scrolling down.)
Click お申込みはこちら.
Looks familiar, doesn't it? This is it, you'll be spending a lot of time making decisions here. Scroll down and there should be expander panels for each M&G date, and expanding one reveals a grid with member names on the leftmost column and a column for each ‘session’ as noted earlier. I sense you have a lot of questions, so for starters:
- A panel/date labeled 受付終了 is no longer open for applications.
- This is a lottery system too, but you will only pay for what you end up winning. This is the main difference between the Zenkoku Online M&G Event – the one that uses serial codes – where you have to apply AFTER having already bought the CD.
- How long is 1 ticket? I’ve never measured myself. Factoring in the beginning countdown and the ending mini-freeze to the fadeout, the consensus is around 7-8 seconds of interaction. And oh, you have to consider latency too.
- 抽選結果 at the top of the page is when the results will come out.
- The 応募上限 part tells you certain limits. Machine-translating this doesn’t produce helpful English so this might help you better understand:
  1回の応募につき1人[A]種類まで、1種あたり[B]枚まで(最大[C]枚まで)。お1人様[D]回まで応募可能。
  - A: The number of dropdowns you are allowed to set to more than ‘1’
  - B: Dropdown max value: we will now refer to ‘ticket’ as the unit here
  - C: Max tickets you can win in one application: A times B
  - D: Application limit, i.e., up to how many times you are allowed to submit an application (for higher odds), per round
  Got the idea? These values start low and increase as rounds go on.
As this is your first time, I recommend you get something only to get your feet wet with, familiarize yourself with the process. Don’t go ham just yet! Of course at the end of the day the decision is yours.

And yes! The more popular the member, the faster they sell out, so take this into consideration. For reference, Endo Sakura, Kaki Haruka and Inoue Nagi (centers of previous singles) sold out all their slots in two rounds during the last single.
Okay. Apply by selecting your preferred M&G date(s) and member(s), and corresponding dropdown values (ticket count). When done, ‘add to cart’ by clicking カートへ進む.
This is a little summary page. Double-check stuff. The bottom, bolded figure (合計) is the total value of your application. Scroll down until you see 下記をご確認の上、チェックしてください。 and six checkboxes. Tick them all. Machine-translate if you want.
On the 小学生以下ですか？ part, select いいえ. This is asking if you are an elementary student or below... You aren’t, right?
Click 次へ.
You should now see 最終内容確認 and some red text like some sort of a warning. This is the LAST page before our application is sent, so triple-check everything: the members you’ve applied for, the total, heck, even your name!
IMPORTANT: You have to pay all the tickets you will win. Not doing so will jeopardize your account and may result to a permanent ban. Even though this is by lottery, you have to be prepared to pay the total application amount at the most.
Whenever you’re ready, click 上記の内容でお申込みを確定する. You will be presented with a page saying お申し込みありがとうございました. Congrats! This is them thanking you and confirming your application. Your application number is also displayed here, you can ignore it; everything will be listed in your profile anyway.

Part III: Application Results and Making Payments

Results are announced at the time displayed by the 抽選結果 label on #9, usually after 6:00 PM the day of the application cutoff. You will receive an email too.

While anywhere on the website, click the hamburger button and then マイページ. There are multiple green buttons to the right; click 抽選申込履歴 (topmost) to view your application history. A glance on the values will give you a good idea on what these columns are, but we are most interested with the rightmost one, 抽選結果 (result):
- 当選: You won all tickets you applied for. Proceed to the next step. ✅
- 一部当選: You won at least one ticket. Proceed to the next step. ✅
- 落選: You didn’t win any. Sadly, you can’t proceed. ❌
Click the application number. On the resulting page scroll down to お申込み内容. The value under 応募数 is the tickets you applied for, 当選数 beside it is the number you won.
Back to the right-side green buttons, click お支払い方法の未登録一覧 (2nd from top).
Another table. The value under 合計金額 here is amount of the tickets you won – the amount you will have to pay. The date/time on the last column (支払方法選択締切日時) is the deadline for you to settle the payment. Now, click 支払う to bring up the payment page.
Time for the spending part so buckle up. Scroll down to the お支払い方法 (payment option) section. You will see three options:
- コンビニ・ATM・ネットバンキング
- クレジットカード払い
- 新しいカード情報を入力する
...but if you have been sticking to this guide, only the first and last options should be selectable. The middle one means ‘pay by credit card’ and is unselectable because we haven’t encoded any card information yet. This is on purpose – you technically can set this up as soon as you have an account – but I didn’t want you to be thinking about credit cards and all that THAT early. The first option is for settling it on konbinis or net banking services which of course you can’t do outside Japan. Now, choose the last option (新しいカード情報を入力する) and bring out your card.
We are now entering credit card info:
- カード番号: Card number. The two pointers below it say you have to (1) use half-width characters, which unless your keyboard is Chinese, Korean or Japanese keyboard layout should be fine as is; and (2) leave out the dashes or hyphens.
- 有効期限: Expiration/valid until date. Enter month and year.
- カード名義: Cardholder name.
- セキュリティコード: Security code. Again, in half-width characters.
- 画像認証: CAPTCHA.
Get your proxy address ready. Scroll to the お届け先 section, select 上記以外のお届け先 and fill out the fields. Proxy services like tenso have guides on how to enter their addresses, so I recommend you refer to those for the proper formatting. (Note: These fields are more or less similar to the home address during our account registration.)
IMPORTANT: Make sure this package will be received. DO NOT ENTER RANDOM OR NON-EXISTING ADDRESSES. These may also result to permanent bans.
If the package is not received during the designated date, forTUNE will contact you and ask new details so that the package can be resent, at the same time warning you about possible consequences. If you believe an honest mistake was made, you can follow the proceedings and explain yourself through customer service but you will have to be left to your own devices.
Make sure everything is correct. There are two credit transactions; we will be charged the first one (small amount) upon clicking the next button. Click 最終内容確認画面へ.
Finalize! We will be charged the second one (the bulk) as soon we proceed to the next page. When you’re ready, click 上記の内容でご注文を確定する.

FYI, the two transactions should be from SONY MUSIC and FORTUNE MUSIC.

Part IV: Downtime

Under normal circumstances, your M&G date will be weeks to months from now. There's nothing to do really but wait. You can skip to the next section (Part V) if you want.

Think carefully about how you want the call to go. Anticipate responses. You are essentially having a paid, time-constrained video call so make the most of it.

‘I might run out of things to say in Japanese, can I slip in some English?’ It is HIGHLY recommended that you (try and) talk in their native language; nevertheless, here’s some food for thought regarding Nogizaka members and English:

Seimiya Rei is currently the only member who can be considered fluent. English speakers should have no problem holding a conversation with her. (This is pretty much common Nogizaka knowledge at this point.)
Kuromi Haruka can speak ‘daily conversation’-level English. (Source: Nogizaka Under Construction Ep #252)
Nakanishi Aruno and Ikeda Teresa both hold Eiken Grade 2. (Sources: Nakanishi’s BLT interview | Ikeda’s blog)
Yakubo Mio took paid English lessons, specifically for fan-meeting scenarios. (Source: ‘Ryoushuusho kudasai, Nogizaka de.’)
Yoda Yuki is studying English in preparation for her post-Nogizaka46 life. (Source: Interview)
Okamoto Hina has attended English workshops by her foreign ballet instructors, so although she might not know words, she will be able to understand what you’re trying to say. Her words, not mine 😝 (Source: Her blog)
Yumiki Nao has claimed on multiple occassions that she can speak English. It has been put to test several times, to mind-boggling results. (Source: A quick YouTube search of the keywords “弓木奈於　英語”)
All 3rd and 4th generation members have appeared on Nogi Eigo specials, with the exception of Kuromi Haruka, Sato Rika, Matsuo Miyu, Hayashi Runa and Yumiki Nao. (Sources: Nogi Eigo 3rd gen SP | 4th gen SP)

Test ‘forTUNE meets’ on your device, make sure it runs normally. Try logging in with the same account from the ‘door’ button. You can’t do anything with it at the moment, but feel free to explore. While you’re at it, tap the rightmost, ellipsis button and then navigate to チケット一覧 → チケット情報(通常). Tickets you have secured should appear here.

A day or two ahead of your scheduled M&G date, you will receive an email reminding you of the event as well as dos and don’ts stuff that’s mostly also written on their rules page. If you have been vigilant you might have read these already, but here are specific ones I want to reiterate:

During the identity verification process (#45), there will be standby moments: waiting in queue and during your turn, waiting for staff to verify you. Make sure your device won’t go to sleep during these times.
Do not exhibit inappropriate behavior during the call like smoking, drinking alcoholic beverages, making uncomfortable remarks and lewd gestures, asking rude and impolite questions, and so on.
Do not project the call screen to a secondary monitor.
Do not record any portion of the video call, or take any screenshots of it, or worst – publish such content online. (You CAN however write a rundown of the conversation afterwards and share it with the community on social media.)
The video calls will be monitored and recorded, so doing any prohibited act will result to your call getting terminated and blacklisting/permanent banning of your account.

Part V: Online Meet-and-Greet

You should be reading this section on the day of the event.

We will now switch to forTUNE meets, the app, so machine-translating will be difficult. You might be going through this process in real-time so I will be adding reference pictures.

Before anything, go on X or any social media platform to confirm that the member you’re about to meet hasn’t become unable to attend for whatever reason (e.g., got sick, fallen ill). Such announcements usually have the words 【欠席のお知らせ】. Unfortunate, but it happens, so check your ticket(s) and:
- if there are no such announcements, you can proceed. ✅
- if your member cannot attend the session your tickets are for, you cannot proceed. ❌ Your call is essentially postponed (not cancelled), and a ‘ticket transfer’ procedure will be done at a later time.
Assuming everything is fine, first we will prepare for our identify verification process. Bring out and take a picture of your passport. You can hide/blur out any sensitive info if you feel like it, as long as your face and name are visible.

If you’re using a phone, you might want to temporarily turn on Airplane Mode. Some phones have incoming call screens that take up the whole screen, suspending other activities in the process.

Note: Grant all permission requests from the app.

Open forTUNE meets and log into your account (door button, 2nd from left).
It should now show the マイイベント page. Tap the current event.
This is now the ‘session page’ as I call it.

受付期間 is the time period during which the session queue is open. The buttons are disabled outside this period so do not miss it or your tickets will be gone forever.

開催時間 is, in simpler terms, the time members are taking calls.

Tap the appropriate session to enter. Only one should be enabled at a time.
You should be greeted with a lot of text here, which is directed to first-time users of the app. For now, the only thing I want you to take away here is the suggestion to temporarily close unneeded apps to ensure a smooth video call. As for the rest, we will eventually get to them at certain points during this guide. Now tap 次へ to proceed.
Now a list of 参加メンバー or all participating members.
These are what the labels mean, using Hayashi Runa (林瑠奈) as an example:
- 17 people are in her queue.
- If you enter now, it will be about 13 minutes until your turn. Or in other words, she will finish talking to the 17 queued people in about 13 minutes. Now, delays are not unusual: the queue might briefly stop due to technical difficulties, or members taking short breaks (to take a sip of something, rest their eyes, stuff like that). Not everything will run like clockwork so this 13 might actually go to 15, for instance.
- You have 6 tickets available.
Tap the button below the member you want – the label depends on date and ongoing session but in this example it is 1/14 第3部.
Time for some setup check. This process is skippable; note the スキップ (skip) button at the bottom-right. Basically, if you have had no problems doing a normal video call with what you have right now, you’re all set. But for your first time, let’s go through it once just to see what it’s all about, okay? Tap テストをする.
A stable Internet connection is needed. Uh-huh. Tap 次へ.
If using an external audio device, it should handle both input AND output... which is almost all earphones/headsets in 2024. It is not recommended to have a setup where you’re hearing audio come out of one thing and talking into another thing. Using your device’s built-in microphone and speakers will be enough just in case. Now tap 次へ.
The app has now turned on both camera and microphone, indicated by a green or orange dot at the top right of your screen. Tap OK when these conditions are met:
- Camera is working, front camera to be specific: video is working.
- You can hear something being said in Japanese (these are instructions): audio output is working.
- You talk and the audio levels are reflected on the ‘bar’: audio input is working.
Back to the participating members page, but a dialog has now popped up, asking for the number of tickets you want to use.

待ち時間 is familiar kanji, right? Here it means about 2 minutes waiting time.

Type your choice in the number box, beside the 枚, then tap 決定する. (キャンセル means ‘cancel’.)
Confirmation dialog here. Tap OK. (Tap the other to go back.)
Tap 呼ばれたい名前を決める.
This is your first time, so the text field should be empty. 呼ばれたい名前 literally means ‘name you want to be addressed by’, or ‘nickname’ as the placeholder text says, so type in your choice and tap 決定する.
- Whether the member will call you this is of course situational, but it will appear on their end for reference.
- Obviously, do not use anything stupid as your nickname. Also do NOT use a member’s name, such as 与田ちゃん大好き, asuka_no_yome, nagi’s biggest overseas fan and so on.
- This name will be saved but you can change it for every video call. Using only one name helps the member to remember you, especially if you also write comments on her blog and/or tweet using her Talk hashtags on X under the same name.
Okay, another page full of Japanese 😅 but don’t fret; these are about identity verification and this guide so far has covered what you want to know (and will continue to do so). Scroll down and tap OK.
Tap 身分証明書を選択する. (The other button will take you back to #28.)
Identity verification coming up. You should be faced with two choices:
- 選択する: Select from gallery
- 撮影する: Take picture now
This is where the passport picture we took earlier (#25) will be put to use. As you can see, taking and saving a picture beforehand is the more convenient, as you won’t have to take a picture every single time in this step. Tap 選択する.
Select a picture from your gallery, then tap 登録する.

Note: As was written on #39, they pledge that identity verification documents you choose and submit here will be immediately removed from their systems after the verification process is done (#45).

We’re getting there. This page should show:
- The picture you selected on #42.
- ニックネーム. The nickname you entered on #38.
- 本人確認へ進む. If the selection is correct, tap this to proceed to the next step (#44).
- 証明書を選び直す. If you selected the wrong picture, tap this to return to #41 and select the right one.
- イベントページへ戻る. Also present in #39, tapping this will take you back to #28.
This page is telling you that identity verification will now take place, after which, the ticket(s) you selected at #35-36 will be consumed and there will be no going back.
Hold your device in front of you so that your face is in full view of the front camera.

You must be getting butterflies in your stomach now... Calm down, take a deep breath.

When you’re ready, tap 本人確認へ進む.
Your microphone/camera will be turned on again. There are two phases here:
- 本人確認待ち phase. You are in line; other fans are also in this stage. (Reference image from their website)
- 本人確認中 phase. Your turn. Keep facing the camera as illustrated. Staff on the other end are now confirming if the passport picture is indeed you. (Reference image from their website)
If you see a similar screen... Congratulations!! You are now officially in the queue! ✅

Now before anything! Depending on the status of the queue you could just go straight to the video call from here. This happens a lot near the closing time of sessions when the majority of the fans are done, or if the member didn’t have a long queue to begin with.

The top text ご自分の番が来るまでお待ちください is saying, ‘Please wait for your turn.’

Using this picture as reference, I am 16th in the queue, and there’s approximately 9 minutes to go before my turn.

So what do we do? We can either tap チャットルームへ to visit the chatroom, or wait. I will not be covering the chatroom in this guide. You can try visiting (almost everything and everyone is Japanese) but at any rate, all that is left now is the actual video call so once again, congratulations and good luck!

When you become 10th in line, your device will vibrate to notify you.

When you become 5th in line, your device will again vibrate and will continue to do so every time you advance (4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st). Also, your camera will now be turned ON, making you visible to the staff and probably the member as well.

When you’re finally next in line, you will see the glorious words つぎはあなたの番です. A three-second countdown will start, followed by...
...the video call! Enjoy! When your turn is about to end, you will be notified by a small sign on the top right saying まもなくお時間です.
After the call, you will be shown the following dialog.

Time’s up!

Thank you for participating!

Tap TOPへ戻る to return to the session page (#28).

End of Guide

どうだった？ I hope she didn’t make you faint or anything! 😆

If you applied for more than one member or session, you just have to repeat the process from #28, although you can now skip the setup check (#31-34).

Overall, you should now have a good understanding on the Online M&G experience and how applying/participating works in general. Again, pretty straightforward, right?

Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, please leave them on the comment section below.

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