Michihiro Ogasawara (小笠原 道大)
My fifth Japanese baseball stadium to watch a game in was the Tokyo Dome. Ellie and I went to see the Tokyo Giants vs. the Chunichi Dragons. The Tigers had just taken over first place, and the Dragons were only a half game behind the Giants in third place so this game had some serious implications. Therefore, the Dragons cheering section in the outfield was sold out. We were stuck with some nose bleed seats on the third base side which meant no aerobics* for us, but we could still cheer against the Giants without standing out too much. Probably about 70% of our section were for the Dragons.
Ogasawara is shown above hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning. It was bitter sweet as it meant the Giants took the lead, but it also meant that we were one Dragons’ home run away from winning free Big Macs.
My TZ10 in “sports mode” did OK considering the artificial lighting and the fact that we were about 12 miles from home plate.
* Japanese baseball fan aerobics… here is a demonstration provided later on the same evening by the aforementioned Dragons cheering section
September 13th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
I’m a big St. Louis Cardinals fan and I’ve wanted to go to a game in Japan SO BAD when we’ve been there but the schedule never worked. I do have a Yomiuri Giants cap. We’ll be in Japan next early-mid April and I don’t know if it will work then, either. These are really good shots from the upper upper upper deck.
September 14th, 2010 at 7:16 am
If you are in Tokyo you shouldn’t have a problem finding a game. With five teams an hour or less away by train you will have at least two home games (and sometimes three or four) every day of the week but Monday to choose from.
September 14th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
i see that you are a seibu fan. i lived in japan when i was younger and have been a seibu fan for about 22 years. i am hoping you may be able to help me: years ago, i bought a seibu lions pen with a kimba mascot hanging from it. but when i let someone borrow it, the tip broke off. do you know of anywhere that sells it? none of my friends live anywhere near seibu stadium, so arent able to go and look to see if they have it there… any suggestions??? i tried the npb online store where i ordered pens from other teams, but cant find the kimba one. (btw: i always thought the mascot’s name was leo– i now know its kimba…) i am hoping seibu makes it to the japan series since i am planning a trip around that time. thank you for your help!! sincerely, erin
September 14th, 2010 at 5:35 pm
Erin, I think you are going to have problems finding it now as they have pretty much dropped the Kimba mascot.
Getting any Japanese baseball merchandise outside of Japan is difficult, but I just noticed that amazon is selling fitted hats for a much better price than you could even get them in Japan. They still have the Kimba mascot hat which Seibu used until 2009 when the logo changed.
September 14th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
thank you for the info. i did see that on amazon, and also on the lions website. i had my friend order me a few towels and tshirts from lions classic 2009. do you know if the stores/kiosks at seibu dome are only open when there are games??? (when i go in nov, i am thinking about going to the stadium to check it out) i really dont like the new logo, and so i am trying to find items with kimba.
aside from me being a lions fan from long ago, i always pray they win because when they do, they usually come to hawaii and stay at the hotel i work at (its owned by seibu). i went to see the asian series in 2008, and they won!! i had wanted to get a few of the pics signed when they came, but i was a bit shy, so needless to say i missed out. maybe this year?! =) (btw– from the central league i like yakult too… and yesterday iwamura had one hit for his debut with oakland)
September 15th, 2010 at 8:03 am
I don’t think the stores are open when there aren’t games.