Even though I’m not really a baseball fan I have almost by default ended up visiting a fair share of the stadiums belonging to the 12 Japanese clubs which make up the Central and Pacific Leagues. Other than the Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium in Hiroshima, all of the others have been based in Greater Tokyo but there was a fairly convenient one in Yokohama that could help add to my tally. Better than that though, I got to experience it with a couple of friends from work who support the teams involved in the game.

For a few years now, the idea of my former school manager Shinobu (a Yokohama DeNa Baystars supporter), James (a Yakult Swallows fan) and me (a very casual Hiroshima Carp follower) attending a game in Yokohama or Tokyo has been mentioned numerous times but nothing really came out of those casual conversations so it was up to me to get the show on road. Consequently, I looked at the schedule a few months ago and thought an early September date would be a good time for the three of us to reunite and see a game on a hot summer’s night!

However, when the day of the game finally came round last Friday (September 5th), heavy rain was forecast all day until about 7:00 pm (the game was due to start an hour earlier) so I really didn’t think there was any chance of it taking place but my friends were more optimistic. When they messaged mid-afternoon to say they’d both be there at around 5:00 pm I was pretty shocked as the rain was heavy at that time with thunderstorms soon following!

I had been settling in for the rest of the day and was more than comfortable on my sofa but I then had to get ready and go out (as it hadn’t been cancelled!) so my head was not mentally prepared for going to see a baseball game. Luckily it was a very direct train to take me to the stadium which is a place a couple of people I know have gone to by mistake when aiming to watch Yokohama F. Marinos! Their home stadium is actually about nine kilometres away to the north!

It was a short walk from Nihon-Odori station on the Minatomirai Line to Yokohama Stadium, and it took me about 90 minutes in total to get there from the Tokyo Fox Global Operations Centre which ain’t too bad given the distance and simplicity of not needing to change trains at all!

The station was decorated with Baystars imagery everywhere.

Yokohama Stadium was quite an imposing structure on first sight based on the tall stand I saw which lacked real width.

Another reason for wanting to go to this stadium was because it was used in the ill-fated Tokyo 2020 Olympics which took place 12 months later than planned due to the global pandemic. The stadium hosted the baseball which was won by Japan after they defeated the USA in the gold-medal final. There is a small exhibition commemorating this outside the stadium.

The game was already underway, and in the second innings by the time I finally took my seat up on the fourth floor. I was fairly neutral but as I had a Yakult Swallows top I decided to put that on and support them rather than joining the home support.

It was bought from a second hand shop for 500 yen many years ago in anticipation of one day joining James for a Swallows game. I finally did that a couple of years back when we watched the Swallows get thrashed in their backyard by Chunichi Dragons.

The food gourmet at Japanese stadiums is always a highlight of any matchday experience whenever I do decide to splash out. I didn’t need to this time though as Shinobu kindly gave me some gyoza, and James shared his long fries with us.

The fourth innings was probably the most exciting of the early ones for the Swallows as they scored a couple of runs and took the lead resulting in the (proper!) fans raising their mini-umbrellas and spinning them in unison which is always quite the sight.

I kind of regret putting on the Swallows shirt though as it meant I couldn’t really join in with the fantastic atmosphere created by the 30,000 Baystars fans in the stands. Football may be my game but I have to say that the atmosphere here was better than at the other two Yokohama football grounds; Nissan Stadium and Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium.

Seven is widely considered to be a lucky number in Japan so the lucky seventh innings seems to be a thing at various baseball stadiums, and in Yokohama there were balloons being let off as well as cheerleaders, dancing mascots and a sports car driving around the turf! I didn’t really know what was going on!

So having arrived fashionably late I then snuck out early as the seventh innings proved to be very lucky for the home team who scored three runs to pretty much put the game to bed. Or so I thought!

The younger me would be ashamed of me leaving sports events early but when I’m a neutral I’m not too bothered about missing something important. As it was, Swallows replied with three runs in the ninth and final innings to make it a tenser finish than I had certainly anticipated. I guess it was a shame I missed it but I can live with it and will be happy just remembering the great atmosphere in Japan’s second biggest city.

Final Score: DeNa Baystars 7-6 Yakult Swallows

Bonus: Back in May I was in Hiroshima so popped along to the Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium one evening to see Hiroshima Carp against Chunichi Dragons. The highlight was  the atmosphere, especially for the so-called lucky seventh innings (seven is widely considered to be a lucky number in Japan) where balloons are inflated and then let off. The guy sat next to me kindly presented me with one. It’s certainly a good marketing ploy for selling such items each game, and also happened at the aforementioned Yokohama game albeit on a much smaller scale.

Update: Since posting about Yokohama Stadium, I have been to another baseball game!  Following an early finish at work (9th September), I decided to pop into the Tokyo Dome on the way home to see Yomiuri Giants against Hiroshima Carp. The home team hit a whopping six runs in the first innings and Carp were always playing catch up after that. They managed to claw it back a bit but it finished 6-4 to the Giants.

Click here to read ‘Watching My Baseball Team At Home For The First Time In 9 Years!’

Click here to read ‘Jumping On The Baseball Bandwagon In Japan (& Then Jumping Right Off It Again!)’

Click here to read ‘A Different Ball Game: My First Time To Watch Japan’s Most Popular Sport!’

Click here to read ‘This Shrine Is A Big Hit With Baseball Fans!’