Quick Note: Baseball in Japan

It’s baseball season in Japan.

The pros (Nippon Professional Baseball League) have been going since springtime, and a pennant race is brewing between the Hiroshima Carp, Tokyo Yomiuri Giants and the defending champs Hanshin Tigers.

Living here in the Kansai region (Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto & surrounding areas), it’s all about Hanshin. They play just up the road at Koshien stadium, the cathedral of Japanese baseball.

Meanwhile, the summer high school baseball tournament is taking place at Koshien, as it does every year. That sends the pro home team Tigers on the road for the better part of a month, as 49 high schools descend upon the area to play in a single-elimination tournament on the hallowed ground of Koshien.

The annual summer high school baseball classic draws viewers religiously from across Japan. To give you an idea of just how much, I once boarded a JAL flight at Tokyo Haneda Airport, and they were showing the baseball tournament on the TV screens all over the 747 before departure. It’s not uncommon to see people in offices, malls, train stations and even on the street, all tuning in and focused on the baseball from Koshien.

As tradition goes, when a team loses, the players (many in uncontrollable tears) all scoop up dirt from the Koshien stadium infield and take home mementos of their time here.

Aki and I attended the quarter-finals last year, sitting in the left field bleachers in the blazing sun from before 8am well into the afternoon. We brought plenty of water and sunscreen, along with a picnic bento lunch of Aki’s homemade onigiri (rice balls filled with meat, vegetables and egg).

It was an amazing experience

We sat amongst fans of the respective teams, striking up conversations. 

We heard the student cheering sections and enjoyed their vocal enthusiasm from marching bands and chanting.

And we enjoyed baseball at perhaps its purest.

The games go quickly, with short pauses (no TV commercials), and are played with a level of passion for baseball that’s rarely seen.

Twice before that, we’d also gone to Koshien for Hanshin Tigers games. For those, we like to sit in the right field bleachers, among the Tigers “ouendan” cheering section. Their fans are passionate as well, some of the most die-hard supporters in baseball.

Last year was magical for the Tigers faithful, too, as they won their first Japanese championship in nearly 40 years. We even attended the Tigers parade in our Kobe neighborhood.

This year we’ve already got our tickets and will be going to the high school baseball tournament at Koshien again.

If you’re a baseball fan, I highly recommend a trip to Koshien as part of your self-guided tour in Osaka, for either a Hanshin Tigers pro home game or (even better) for the high school baseball tournament in August. 

Or, if the timing doesn’t work out, catch a Central or Pacific League (the two pro baseball leagues in Japan) on your travels in Japan. The season runs from April through September (with playoffs in October), and if you’re in Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, Fukuoka or Hiroshima during that time, there’s a pretty good chance the timing will line up for you to see a game.

Need help getting baseball tickets in Japan? Drop us a line anytime!

Until next time, happy travels!