The Japanese National Baseball Team has been active in both the Olympics and the WBC.
Recently, many Japanese players have been competing in the major leagues, and I believe many people consider Japanese baseball skill to be of a high level.
If you come to Japan on vacation, I hope you will get a chance to enjoy watching a professional baseball game.
Today, I would like to give some basic information about baseball in Japan.
The professional baseball season in Japan runs from the end of March to early October.
In most cases there are no games on Mondays.
There are twelve professional baseball teams in Japan, and on busy days there can be six games per day. The teams are based in various regions from Hokkaido to Kyushu, but of course they do not always play in their home areas, since on some days they travel to play in their opponent’s home region, so games take place in a variety of regions.
First, check for games depending on where you are staying in Japan.
For example, Tokyo is home to the Yomiuri Giants and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. A short distance away there are the Chiba Lotte Marines, the Saitama Seibu Lions, and the Yokohama DeNa BayStars.
If you are staying in Osaka, there are the Orix Buffaloes and the Hanshin Tigers, while Nagoya has the Chunichi Dragons and Fukuoka is home to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
The first thing to do is see if there is a game being played in the home region. There are night games that start at 6 in the evening and day games that start at 2 in the afternoon, so be sure to check the start times as well.
Japanese baseball stadiums are well supplied with gourmet food, so it can be fun to watch the game while drinking and eating.
While American baseball games are comparatively quiet, Japanese baseball is characterized by lively cheering accompanied by drums and trumpets. The outfield seats are especially crowded with people who want to enjoy themselves cheering.
Tickets can be purchased directly at the stadium without any hassle.
If you visit Japan during the baseball season, I hope you have a great time watching a professional baseball game.