Baseball in Tokyo
Leaving for Essence of Japan this spring and really want to go to a Giants game in Tokyo. Haven't seen a post of someone actually going to a game - curious to know what the experience is like. I see there's a day game the afternoon before the welcome dinner- figure we could leave early if it runs long. Thoughts?
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Not in Japan — in France. We hit the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National near Versailles, and it was truly unforgettable.
The European home crowd was intense though — a wall of sound bearing down on our side the whole time.
A baseball game in Tokyo would probably be an interesting and fun experience. However, if you choose to go to a game the afternoon of the start of the tour, you would need to factor in travel time back to the Hotel. When we took the tour in October of 2024, the Welcome Cocktails and Dinner were at an offsite event space. The group gathered for a 5:30 pm departure by bus. So, no wiggle room to arrive late to the reception.
This is a wonderful and memorable tour. Enjoy!
That's good to know Lotus Girl. I just assumed the welcome dinner would be at the hotel (they typically are, in my experience). I think we'll give it a try - with enough wiggle room to get back for a "French bath" and quick change.
Don't forget to plan your travel accordingly. While I'm sure the Tokyo Dome is served by public transit. It may become swamped at game time, particularly if you stay to the end. Cabs and Uber may also be hard to get. My understanding is that Japanese baseball doesn't do extra innings. At the end of 9, they call it a tie and everyone goes home happy that it was a well fought game. So don't expect the game to run long.
Thanks for the info, Ken. We'll likely take the Metro to/from. I'm hoping to get there early - everyone in my family wants "merch"!
I didn't know that about no extra innings - MLB games are running so long these days - especially with the challenges. I think it will be so fun to experience this in Tokyo, even if we have to leave early.
We went to a Swallows game in Tokyo and took a cab to and from the hotel. The cab was very easy to do and reasonably priced. After the game, we simply hailed a taxi that was parked curbside without any wait time. We purchased tickets online before our trip and they were delivered to the hotel lobby. The game itself was a highlight of our trip. There are cheerleaders on the field and band sections in the stands, which was very unusual to see. The fans are scattered throughout the stands, so it really doesn't matter where your seats are or which team you are rooting for. The only disappointment was that there is very little merch for sale at the stadium-not sure why. Be sure to stay for the 7th inning stretch-I won't say why, but it was so much fun. As a footnote, you can bring in your own can of beer which you pour into one of their plastic cups upon entry, the seats are very narrow, the food is good, and trash is collected once very quickly through the stands with no trash cans at stadium. We loved our baseball experience and would highly recommend it.
Not Tokyo, but I like to go to sporting events in different cities. I have a ticket to the Blue Jays - Yankees game the day before my upcoming "Canada's Capital Cities" tour. In Abu Dhabi (not on a tour, but to visit my son who was living there at the time), I went to a cricket match. I didn't understand a lot of it, but as the match went on, I got the gist. I'm still trying to get to a football (soccer) game somewhere abroad.