Sumo is Japan’s national sport, but baseball is undoubtedly the country’s most popular sport.
12 teams make up the Nippon Professional Baseball league or NPB. So far, I’ve been lucky enough to catch games at three of the team’s home stadiums — the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Sapporo, the Yokohama Dena Baystars and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows (which I’ve declared is ‘my team’).
The Swallows aren’t historically Tokyo’s best or most popular team… that would be the Yomiuri Giants. Put it this way, if the Giants are the New York Yankees, the Swallows are the Mets. So why do I root for the Swallows? A few reasons….
- Better team colors. Navy & white is SO much easier to pull off than black & orange!
- The Swallows play outdoors in Meiji Jingu Stadium as opposed to the Giants who play in the Tokyo Dome. Baseball is supposed to be enjoyed OUTSIDE!
- The Umbrella Dance. More on that later!
You can buy tickets at the ballpark, or in advance online or from convenience stores! I usually purchase them from at kiosk at 7-11. With Google Translate, help from a clerk and A LOT of patience — it can be done!
Baseball, of course, is an ‘American pastime.’ It’s hot dogs, curses, ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ and Cracker Jacks. But as we’ve learned while living here, the Japanese tend to be perfectionists, and Japan seems to have a knack for taking something great… and making it even better.
Ramen, for example, was originally a Chinese dish until Japan made it their own, made it instant (Cup Noodles was invented in Japan), and made it an icon. Korean BBQ is delicious, but Japan upped the ante with its version (called yakiniku) using the highest quality wagyu beef. And take blue jeans, an American classic — many argue the best denim in the world right now is being woven and produced in Japan!
Okay, back to baseball. Let me take you through an afternoon or evening at the ballpark to show you the seven reasons a baseball game MUST be on your Japan bucket list (if you’re visiting between March and October, that is!)
1) You can bring your own food AND drinks into the stadium (and if you don’t you won’t be disappointed!)
Yep. Chew on that one, America. Can you even imagine a sporting venue in the U.S. allowing you to bring in a six-pack and a bag of peanuts? How about an entire picnic for four?!
Sure, at stadiums in Japan you have to open up your purses, bags and backpacks to be checked as you hand over your tickets, but the people peering inside aren’t searching for contraband snacks. Rather, if they notice drinks in bottles or cans, they pull them out and HELP you pour them into disposable cups (which they provide!) at the gate.
And, if you didn’t get the memo to bring your own food and drinks, you’re not out of luck. Far from it. Japanese baseball stadiums sell (what we think of as) traditional ballpark goodies like hot dogs, french fries, popcorn and ice cream BUT you can also expect Japanese favorites including bento boxes with fried rice, gyoza, yakitori (grilled meat on a stick), yakisoba (stir fried noodes), eel and takoyaki (fried octopus balls).
2) Finding your seats is always an adventure
I’ve been to at least a dozen baseball games in Japan. I’m not sure that I’ve EVER made it to my assigned seat without asking for help. After all, the ticket looks like this —
–and I don’t happen to read Japanese.
Don’t fret though. Once you find a stadium employee they won’t just point you in the right direction, they will walk you all the way to your seat, even if you’ve managed to find yourself on the opposite side of the stadium.
3) Japanese Beer Girls (and Guys)
Once you’ve settle into the correct seats, a beer may be in order. If you’ve brought your own, you’re good to go! If not, no worries.
Just flag down a Beer Girl (I’ve only seen a handful of guys) or biiru no uriko.
The concept is BRILLIANT. They scurry up and down the aisles and stairs of the stadium with pony kegs strapped to their backs. Backpack keg aside, they’re easy to spot. Their uniforms are often brightly colored and correspond to the brand of beer they’re selling. They’re sporting baseball caps but they all seem to wear them in the same way — folded in half and perched on top of their heads with hair clips. Once you’ve decided between Kirin, Asahi, Sapporo and more, the beer is poured fresh at your seat!
How has this not caught on in America?!
4) Baseball Cheerleaders
We all know ‘there’s no crying in baseball’ and typically, there aren’t cheerleaders waving pom poms either.
Unless you’re in Japan….
…where cheerleaders rush out onto the field between innings to perform dances. But what I find interesting, is how wholesome these performances are. At a recent game, the Tokyo Swallows cheerleading team performed to ‘The Power of Love’ by Huey Lewis and the News. Both the uniforms and the dance moves were ‘cute’ as opposed to ‘sexy’ — a stark difference to some of the performances we’re used to seeing by professional cheerleaders in the U.S.
5) Unrivaled Team Spirit/Fandom
It takes serious commitment to be a baseball fan in Japan! Not only does it require a lot of gear, (team towels, plastic bats, balloons, even umbrellas depending on who you root for!) but fans stand the entire time their team is at bat. And — there are a lot of chants to learn and memorize! After all, every single player has his own cheer or song (sometimes multiple!) Rare is a moment when a highly choreographed yell isn’t going on!
6) Umbrella Dance
Just like in the U.S., each Japanese baseball team has its own traditions and rituals. But The Umbrella Dance might be my favorite thing about baseball in Japan. It only happens when the Tokyo Yakult Swallows are playing though. (Again, one of the main reasons behind making them ‘my team’)
Each time the Swallows score a run (and in the seventh-inning stretch), fans pull out tiny umbrellas and bounce them up and down while singing in unison. This is one reason to hope for a high-scoring (on the Swallows end) game! The idea came from a fan who suggested the crowd use something everyone had at home to cheer on the team! Now, its rare that you see large umbrellas we’d use to keep dry. Instead, the team sells tiny umbrellas in Swallows’ colors and logos.
It is a sight to see and describing it doesn’t nearly do the spectacle justice — hilarious and so much fun!
7) Respectful fans who pick up after themselves
At baseball games in Japan all of the shouting is positive! You don’t hear ‘boos’ when the umpire makes a questionable call and there’s certainly no heckling. The high level of respect for both the players and fans is refreshing and so very Japanese.
The respect doesn’t end there. After the game is over, fans clean up the food containers and beer glasses around them and carry them to down to stadium employees, who are stationed at the exits with giant trash bags. This is why the viral story about Japanese soccer fans cleaning up the stadium at the World Cup didn’t shock me in the least!
Do I have you convinced?
Even if you don’t know the difference between a balk and a bunt and have no clue what an E.R.A is, a few hours at a Japanese ballpark is an experience not to be missed!
