Baseball Tickets

Professional baseball began in Japan in the 1920s.  The first league, the Japanese Baseball League, was established in 1936 and comprised of 7 teams. The current league, the Nippon (Japan) Professional Baseball League, took over in 1950. The League is comprised of 12 teams playing in 2 leagues, the Pacific and Central Leagues.

Teams in Japan are primarily known by the company that owns the franchise, as opposed to the area they come from.  Thus we have the Rakuten (Internet Shopping Company) Golden Eagles in Sendai and the Nippon Ham (Meatpackers) Fighters in Hokkaido.

The NPB is recognised as being second best league in the world after the Major League in the US.  Many Japanese players have gone on to play in the MLB; Hideki Matsui (New York Yankees), Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle Mariners) and Daisuke Matsuzaka (Boston Red Sox) have all gone on to become big hits (no pun intended!) in the US.

However, seeing a game in Japan is a very different experience.  It's not so much beer and hot dogs than green tea and bentos (but don't worry, you can still get beer!).  The American writer Robert Whiting wrote in his 1977 book The Chrysanthemum and the Bat that "The Japanese view of life, stressing group identity, cooperation, hard work, respect for age, seniority and 'face' has permeated almost every aspect of the sport. Americans who come to play in Japan quickly realize that Baseball Samurai Style is different." While others have objected to characterizing the sport in these terms, many Japanese players and managers describe themselves this way.

Whilst the Japanese game is of a high standard, the game itself at times can be almost secondary as you get lost in the excitement of the crowd.  It seems that everyone has handclappers, giant foam hands and balloons. We recommend sitting behind either the 1st or 3rd bases - this is where the most vocal supporters sit, and all the fun takes place! Over 70% of Japan support the Yomiuri (Newspaper) Giants.  They are regarded as the Manchester United or New York Yankees of Japanese baseball, due to their popularity, dominance of the league and the fact that they poach all the best players. Of course, at InsideJapan we support the Chunichi (Newspaper) Dragons from our Japanese home Nagoya.  However, we also like the Hanshin (Department Store) Tigers and the Toyo (Mazda) Carp. Seeing a game of yakyu (the Japanese name comes from the characters for field and ball) is a truly enjoyable day out. Batter up!

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