There were many unforgettable moments for the Dodgers this postseason, and Yuto Takashima and his family were there for nearly all of them – from Game 4 of the NLDS against the Phillies (above left) to the decisive final game of the World Series in Canada (above right). The family witnessed Roki Sasaki’s heroics (far left), Shohei Ohtani winning the NL Championship Series MVP award (center) and Yuto was in the stands in Toronto to see Yoshinobu Yamamoto and L.A. win it all. )Photos by MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS, except at right, courtesy Yuto Takashima.)
By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
Rafu Sports Editor
“At first, it didn’t seem realistic,” admitted Yuto Takashima, but he soon allowed his optimism to get a foothold. “I stopped thinking about the reasons why we couldn’t go, and started thinking about how we could.”
Takashima works as an independent consultant in Sapporo, on Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s main islands. He holds a precious connection to Los Angeles, however – his parents met here in 1975, when they were both studying English and living with local families.
So this year, when he asked his son, six-year-old Tao, what he’d like for Christmas, the request wasn’t completely out of left field. As it turns out, the boy’s wish put the whole family literally into left field.
“He said, ‘I want to see Shohei Ohtani play in person, so I want tickets to a Los Angeles Dodgers game,’” Takashima explained. And Tao wasn’t finished with his wish list.
“Then he added, ‘For my birthday, I want to see Rui Hachimura play, so I want Lakers tickets.’ He didn’t ask for toys or cake — just those two games.”
If you haven’t an atlas handy, Sapporo is just a shade over 5,100 miles, so making such a trip is no small affair.
“There are no direct flights,” Takashima noted. “We have to fly to Tokyo first, then take another 10-hour flight across the Pacific.”
In recent years, the Takashima family – Yuto, wife Azusa, 8-year-old daughter Ao and son Tao – have become avid Dodger fans, particularly when it comes to Shohei Ohtani.
“At first, we subscribed to MLB.TV and watched the games at home. My son quickly learned the names of players — not just Ohtani, but also Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, and Max Muncy,” Takashima said. As Tao became more familiar with the games and the season structure, he began to feel the fervor and passion that come with the postseason.
The Takashimas – Azusa, Yuto, Ao and Tao – are traditionally dressed for Shichi-Go-San (age 7, 5 and 3) festival in 2024 at Hokkaido Jingu in Sapporo. (Courtesy Yuto Takashima)
Deciding to Go
As defending World Series champions, there were lofty expectations for the Dodgers, especially given their roster of superstars and the highest payroll in baseball. So when the playoff picture was set, Takashima began giving some serious thought to his son’s request.
“I suddenly thought, ‘Maybe we should just go.’ It was literally two days before we left,” he said. “The NBA preseason was also about to begin, so it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see both Ohtani and Hachimura play in Los Angeles.”
Clearing his schedule and getting the official okee-doke from his wife, Takashima obtained an international driver’s license and booked air tickets for the family to L.A. They were off on an unexpected and somewhat bold journey, one that had a particular risk.
The Takashimas arrived in Los Angeles on Oct. 8, just around the time Game 3 of the Dodgers’ matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies in the Division Series was getting started. Yuto had purchased tickets for Game 4, to be played the following day.
However, the Dodgers held a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series, so an L.A. win on Wednesday would have ended the series and rendered their tickets useless.
Perhaps thankfully for the Takashimas, the Phillies staved off elimination and survived to play another day. A couple of hours ahead of Game 4, the family were seated in the sun-drenched left-field pavilion at Dodger Stadium, a bit jet-lagged but clearly enthusiastic to be there.
While Mom, Dad and Sis munched on bento they’d bought on the way to the stadium, Tao was laser-focused on the pre-game batting practice being taken by the Phillies. He’d brought his blue and white baseball glove with the “L.A.” logo all the way from Japan to grab a ball that cleared the fence during the workout. Walking around the park to cover the series for The Rafu Shimpo, that’s where I happened to notice the family.
“It’s our first-ever game at Dodger Stadium as a family,” Takashima told me, as his wife was doing her best to wrap herself in a hat and jacket to protect herself from the October Los Angeles sun. He said that had the Dodgers won the night before, he and his family planned to simply head right back to Sapporo. Yep, it’s 5,100 miles on the way back as well.
Tao didn’t manage to catch a home run ball that afternoon. If you’ve ever been to the stadium early, you’ve perhaps seen the throngs of mostly grown-ups who make it an occupation to grab as many of those balls as possible. Thanks to the courtesy extended by the Dodgers, however, Ao and Tao each ended up with an Ohtani-branded souvenir ball.
Game 4 was a thrilling contest indeed, with the Dodgers winning on a mind-boggling error by the Phillies pitcher in the 11th inning. Takashima told me his kids were still awake when that tense, three-and-a-half-hour marathon finally ended – somewhat bleary-eyed, I suspect.
Yuto Takashima’s parents, Toshiyuki and Akiko, came to L.A. for their honeymoon after meeting in Southern California as students. At right, young Yuto played baseball until concentrating full-time on ice hockey. (Courtesy Yuto Takashima)
Family Connections to California
“There was an American flag hanging in our house, and sports were always on TV,” Takashima told me, recalling his father’s love of the U.S. and baseball in particular. “When I was a kid, I used to sit next to him and we would watch games together.”
Young Yuto played baseball until around the age of 12, when he switched his focus to ice hockey, still, he credits his love of sports to his father’s enthusiasm.
“There was a store in Tokyo called Backdrop that sold Major League merchandise. I remember going there with my dad and getting a Dodger Stadium jacket and a signed Mike Piazza ball,” he said, describing his father as a passionate fan of the Dodgers. “Now I see that his love for the team has passed down to me, and now to my son.”
Having met in L.A. and seeing their courtship bloom, Takashima’s parents married in 1985 and went to Los Angeles for their honeymoon.
“I was born the following year, in 1986, so Los Angeles has always held a very special place in my family’s history,” he said, adding that this year, in honor of their 40th anniversary, he bought his parents a new car with a license plate bearing the number 1975, the year they met.
Takashima’s younger sister also has deep connections to California, as well as to sports. Working at the Japanese Olympic Committee headquarters in Tokyo around five years ago, she met her future husband – a Japanese American who had come to Tokyo to train at a Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant.
Haruka Takashima had a celebrated career in ice hockey, having been inspired by watching the Nagano Winter Olympics as a child. She later played professionally in Switzerland and Germany and represented Japan in two Olympic qualifying tournaments, Yuto reported.
Once her playing days were finished, his sister worked as a commentator for domestic Olympic broadcasts. Once the restaurant training was complete, she and her husband were married and settled in Healdsburg, in California’s Sonoma County. Earlier this year, they welcomed their first child.
Enjoying L.A. as the Dodgers Advance
As the Dodgers’ march toward the World Series continued, Takashima and his family were not only able to attend more games, but also to enjoy what Los Angeles has to offer.
Fulfilling the second component of Tao’s Christmas wish, the family indeed attended a Lakers game to see Hachimura in action. They also enjoyed days at Disneyland and Universal Studios.
All along, the Dodgers kept winning, into the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers and beyond.
The family trip also fulfilled the second part of Tao’s Christmas wish: to see Rui Hachimura playing with the Lakers in L.A. (Courtesy Yuto Takashima)
“Watching Ohtani hit three home runs in a single game was something I’ll never forget,” Takashima said of the two-way star’s incomparable performance in Game 4 against the Brewers. “It was especially emotional knowing he was coming back after surgery; to see him pitching and hitting at that level again was incredible.”
He added that having other Japanese stars like Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki on the team made the experience all the more memorable.
The Dodgers swept past Milwaukee and had earned a return trip to the World Series. Their season was continuing, as was the Takashimas’ baseball odyssey. By the time the NLCS had wrapped, the family had been in Los Angeles for more than two weeks.
“The kids had already missed quite a bit of school, and my daughter didn’t want to miss her Halloween events,” Takashima said, referring to the annual autumn activities at the Hokkaido International School his daughter and son attend. Before leaving L.A., the kids were able to pick up some new Halloween costumes.
Knowing her husband’s lifelong love of sports, Azusa encouraged Yuto to stay behind and try his luck at getting tickets to the World Series, where the Dodgers would eventually face the Toronto Blue Jays.
“Go see it. You’ll never forget it,” she told him.
Two Countries, One Unforgettable Fall Classic
At what price, being a witness to history? Takashima is reluctant to reveal what he spent on 2025 Dodgers playoff tickets, but as a gauge, prices for Games 1 though 6 of the World Series averaged more than $1,000, with seats for the decisive Game 7 going for more than double that price.
When the Dodgers sealed the championship in Canada, Yuto made sure to share the moment to Japan via video chat with his father, Toshiyuki, who nutured his son’s love of sports. (Courtesy Yuto Takashima)
Takashima was able to attend all three Dodger home games in the series, including the six-hour, 18-inning nailbiter that was Game 4 at Dodger Stadium. Ending just a few minutes before midnight, the see-saw battle was decided by a walk-off home run by Freddie Freeman.
“I drove to the stadium, so getting back wasn’t too bad for me,” he said. “But for people using Uber or taxis, the game went on for so long that their phones had died, making it really hard to request a ride.”
When the series extended to seven games, Takashima’s passion for the game once again tugged at his heart.
“At first, I thought traveling from Los Angeles to Toronto was unrealistic, but when the series stretched to Game 7, I knew I had to go.”
With yet more encouragement from Azusa, he secured tickets and was off to Canada.
“The atmosphere at Rogers Centre was electric” is how Takashima described witnessing “real baseball” in Toronto. “I was sitting behind home plate, surrounded by Blue Jays fans. I could probably count the Dodgers fans around me on one hand.”
Game 7 was a classic, another extra-inning, back-and-forth affair that saw the Dodgers repeat as champions, and Yamamoto’s heroic effort secured his selection as the series’ Most Valuable Player.
“It was so loud that I couldn’t even hear my own voice. But being there for that final moment — seeing Yamamoto pitch, Mookie Betts catch, and Freeman complete the double play to end the game — it was incredible.
“This is Major League Baseball. This is the World Series. I’ll never forget it.”
Unexpected Connections and Friendships
“During the trip, I was reminded how small the world can be,” Takashima said, noting that when he and his family had left Sapporo, there was no thought of going to Canada.
At the age of 14, Takashima represented Japan in an international ice hockey match, played in Toronto. While on his trip there for the World Series, he had the opportunity to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame, an expansive facility that celebrates the country’s national sport. It was there Takashima made a serendipitous connection.
After missing nearly three weeks of school, the kids had to return to Japan, but Yuto stayed on and shared the World Series-winning moment via video chat from Toronto with Tao (inset), whose request was the genesis of the inspiring family trip. (Courtesy Yuto Takashima)
“The day after the World Series, while visiting the Hockey Hall of Fame, a fan came up to talk to me. He told me his best friend from college was Japanese and now coaches a youth baseball team in Fujisawa, Kanagawa,” Takashima explained. “We had a great conversation, and before we parted, he handed me a Dodgers jersey from the 2024 Japan Series. He said, ‘There’s probably no other Japanese fan who attended every home game of the postseason. You deserve this.’ I was honestly speechless.”
Outside the Rogers Centre, Takashima said he also traded his Ohtani jersey to a fellow Dodger fan, who offered the jersey of a future Hall of Fame Dodger in exchange.
“My father’s friend had asked me to bring back a Clayton Kershaw jersey with the World Series patch, but they were sold out everywhere,” he recalled. “Moments like that — those acts of kindness between fans — really touched me.”
Reflecting on the Journey of a Lifetime
Eventually, real life overtook the fantasy Takashima was living this fall. He’s back at work in Hokkaido, consulting firms on internet technology, education and marketing. He said his expertise is focusing on developing fruitful, long-term relationships between people and teams. That skill was clearly on display during his baseball adventure, as he has kept in touch with Dodgers and Blue Jays fans he met, folks in shops, even a worker at a salad bar in L.A. where he stopped for lunch.
“The openness of the people, the connection through sports — it all reminded me how special America (and Canada) really is. The Dodgers, Major League Baseball, and this entire trip — they’ve all become part of my life story.”
While he wasn’t able to attend the Dodgers’ victory parade in L.A. on Nov. 1, Takashima is pretty sure he’ll have that opportunity in the not-too-distant future.
“I believe the Dodgers will win three in a row,” he said. “When that happens, I’ll be back — this time to see the parade with my own eyes.”
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