As a fan of Major League Baseball in the United States, I knew from the start of this trip that my experience in Japan needed to include a Japanese professional baseball game. On Sunday, May 18th, Yosuke (a student from Azabu University) took me to a Nippon Professional Baseball game between the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

 

The Nippon Professional Baseball League is the highest level for professional baseball in Japan. The league is split into a Central League and a Pacific League, consisting of a total of 12 teams from across the country. The Swallows-BayStars game that Yosuke and I attended took place at the Swallows’ home stadium located at Meiji Jingu Stadium, approximately 30 minutes from Yoyogi Park. The stadium is historic, having opened in 1926 and being one of the few remaining professional stadiums where Babe Ruth played (Ruth played during a 22-game tour in Japan in 1934 alongside Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx).

Exterior of Meiji Jingu Stadium

 

The experience of attending a baseball game in Japan was completely different than that in the U.S. We sat in the BayStars section as I had bought a Yokohama hat from a baseball store the previous day. Throughout the entirety of the nine innings, every fan was on their feet screaming and cheering for their team, with different coordinated chants for each player at bat. It felt more like a soccer atmosphere than a baseball one! The concessions offered at Meiji Jingu Stadium were also vastly different from a typical MLB stadium. Each vendor had a completely different offering of food, and there were not many chain restaurants apart from the one or two Dippin’ Dots or Baskin’ Robbins scattered around the concourse. Yosuke and I indulged in some churros before I devoured some freshly fried gyoza dumplings and an ice-cold tangerine juice. I felt that the food at the stadium was on par with other fast-casual restaurants I had eaten at in Japan, nothing mind-blowing but still tasty. Besides the churros and gyoza, I bought myself some takoyaki (fried octopus balls) towards the end of the game and ordered Sapporo beer from one of the seat vendors. The only note I will make about the seat aisle beer vendors is that unlike in the United States, they were entirely female and carried a bag on their backs where they could pour excess foam from the beer into it in order to ensure the customer receives the maximum amount of drink that they paid for.

 

Food options at the game

 

For the actual gameplay in the NPB, I did not notice too many differences from the MLB apart from a few minor changes. Japan has not implemented the permanent Designated Hitter rule that the MLB added a couple of years ago, which means that the pitcher still has to bat. Additionally, there was no pitch clock, so the pitchers were able to stay in for more innings as they could take longer breaks between pitches. This led to the game lasting for about three-and-a-half hours and the BayStars pitcher throwing for a whopping 108 pitches through eight innings! 

 

Interior of Meiji Jingu Stadium

 

At the end of the nine innings, the Yokohama BayStars emerged victorious over the Tokyo Swallows with a 10-2 final score. My experience with Yosuke at the baseball game was truly one I will not forget and I wholeheartedly recommend attending a game if you ever get the chance to visit Japan. Even if you are not a baseball fan, the atmosphere alone is worth spending 4,000 yen for an unforgettable experience. Go BayStars!

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