One of the experiences I was lucky enough to fulfill while I was in Japan was going to a Japanese baseball game. As a lifelong baseball fan in the United States (albeit less of one as I get older), I was interested to see the differences and similarities of going to a game in Japan.

Thanks to my super helpful tour guide, Tetsu, I was able to buy a ticket for a Chiba Lotte Marines home game against Seibu Lions. Like all life in Japan, even buying a baseball ticket happens at a 7-11 🙂

On Saturday, September 30, I took a couple of regional trains from Shibuya to Chiba with the help of Google Maps and my mobile IC payment card. Chiba is a prefecture adjoining Tokyo; Chiba City is on the opposite side of Tokyo Bay from Tokyo and Yokohama. It was an hour train ride and then a 20-minute walk from the station to get to ZOZO Marine Stadium, passing Tokyo Disney along the way.

The first thing I noticed arriving at the stadium was a street festival vibe, complete with no fewer than 20 food trucks parked on the plaza outside ZOZO. The Marines dance team and mascots were putting on a show on a small stage as fans ate and drank before going into the stadium. I made a point of visiting the Marine team store and replacing my well-worn Adidas hat with a brand new CLM logo hat.

After spending time on the plaza, it was time to head into the stadium.  My ticket was completely written in Japanese, so I used a snapshot with Google Translate to figure out where to go

After walking the concourse to get a feel for Japanese concessions (and to grab a cold Asahi), I had no problem finding my seat which was on the lower level, first base side.  As I quickly learned, home fans sit on the right side of the diamond and away fans sit on the left side of the diamond.  The most energetic fans (what European soccer fans call “ultras”) sit in the outfield with coordinated shirts, signs and noisemakers.

One nice touch was the number of “beer girls” roaming the aisles, looking for thirsty customers.  They wear a beer tank backpack with a nozzle to pour a perfect draft.  Never a reason to leave your seat.

But if you do leave your seat, you can feel comfortable leaving your knapsack right at your seat in this friendly and law-abiding society.  I couldn’t quite “get there” (memories of watching a kid rifle thru my backpack in the Yankee Stadium bleachers, perhaps), but the people sitting next to me had no problem leaving theirs when they went to the concourse.

My favorite part of the experience was the energy and excitement of the crowd.  I haven’t experienced that at a baseball game in the US in a long time, where the crowd has become disconnected from the game by luxury suites and bars, attractions on the concourse, and the slow pace of the game.

The home and away fans sang throughout the entire game, singing songs and chanting for each batter.  When the home team was up, the rightfield bleachers would sing.  When the away team was up, the left field bleachers would sing.  It kept me interested throughout what would be a very good game, won by Chiba in the 10th inning in a comeback.

I’ve created a video with some of the singing, chanting and action during and before the game.  If you’re ever in Japan, I highly recommend this experience – take me out to the 野球試合