Japan – Baseball Travels

Kyoto/Nishinomiya, Sunday September 23, 2018

Day 2 of our Japanese baseball tour moved us to Kyoto. We chose to stay in Kyoto for a few days, since it was the ancient capital of Japan and would afford us an up close view of Japan the way it used to be. My brother chose a hotel close to Kyoto Station, as we would be traveling on the Shinkansen the next three days.

After the rainy and humid conditions in Tokyo, the sunshine in Kyoto was a welcome relief. Following an early breakfast, we went out exploring nearby Kyoto. The hotel was located within walking distance of MANY temples, as well as parks. Walking through local neighborhoods on the way to see the temples, we could not help but notice vending machines nearly everywhere. As we later find out, vending machines are ubiquitous throughout Japan.

Kondo Hall, the largest structure at the Toji Temple complex.

About ten minutes from the hotel, we found the grand complex of Higashi Hongan -ji. There are several temples and shrines in the complex, spread out over a few city blocks. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the complex contains the largest wooden tower in Japan, the five story Pagoda. This structure may be one of the most recognizable in Kyoto, and is spotlighted at night.

The Pagoda on the grounds of the Toji Temple. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes).

The largest structure in the complex is Kondo Hall (pictured above). Not accessible to the public (like most of the structures here), the Hall is the centerpiece of the temple. Strolling through the complex, we could almost feel the spirituality. It didn’t take long to see why Kyoto is so popular with tourists and Japanese alike.

Ambling through the complex, we came upon a manmade pond. Within the pond we saw some of the locals, soaking up the late September sun. Having spent more than two hours at the temple, we headed back to the hotel before leaving for Nishinomiya. The visit to the temple had me looking forward to what else we might see in Kyoto in the coming days.

Toji Template residents sunning themselves on a rock in a manmade pond. (Photo credit; Jeff Hayes)

1. Getting to Nishinomiya

Going to see the Hanshin Tigers take on the Yomiuri Giants at historic Koshien Stadium, we would need to take the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen from Kyoto Station to Osaka Station. The trip took roughly 30 minutes, with three stops. After arriving at Osaka Station, we walked across the street to the Osaka-Umeda Station to catch the local train to Koshen Stadium.

Getting from Kyoto to Osaka, as depicted by Google Maps.

Like many train stations in Japan, the Osaka-Umeda Station seemed like a labyrinth of platforms and escalators. While we knew we had to take the Hanshin Line to the stadium, it wasn’t immediately clear where that was in the station. In addition to the Hanshin Line, there was the Hanshin Railway (a private line). The distinction caused some consternation, but once we determined where we needed to get Hanshin Line, we were ready to head to the stadium.

Not surprisingly, the train was packed with Tigers fans headed to the stadium. The trip to Koshien Station took about 20 minutes, with a walk of just a couple of minutes from there to the stadium.

The direct train line to Koshien Stadium took about 20 minutes on a very crowded train.

2. Koshien Stadium

Koshien Stadium is a unique ballpark in many ways. It is the oldest ballpark in Japan, having opened in 1926. It is one of only four major league stadiums still in use in which Babe Ruth played (the others being Meiji Jingu Stadium in Shinjuku, Fenway Park in Boston and Wrigley Field in Chicago). Koshien Stadium is the only remaining NPB ballpark with an all dirt infield.

It was against this backdrop that we entered Koshien Stadium. My brother had a QR code for our game tickets, and obtained our tickets via QR scanner at the stadium. Unlike the tickets we had in Tokyo, these tickets were more difficult to read. We asked a stadium employee which gate we should enter, and the answer was not clear. In order to find the gate, we had to nearly circle the stadium.

A ticket for the Hanshin Tigers game on a September, 23, 2018. It took some time to decipher the vital information in order to find our seats.

When visiting the TokyoDome the day before, we were able to walk around from section to section, taking pictures. This was not the case at Koshien Stadium. Security made it clear that we were to stay in our area, which limited our ability to take pictures of the stadium.

The view from our seats. Note the all dirt infield to the right. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

The stadium was packed, with a sold out crowd there to see the Tigers take on the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants. Clouds gradually filled in during the early afternoon, and by the 1400 start, skies were overcast, but seemingly no threat of rain. Even with cloudy skies, the beauty of the ballpark shined through. The stadium dates back to the 1920s, and possessed some of the charms of an older ballpark. Koshien Stadium has a feel similar to that of Wrigley Field (before its modernization). However, the stadium did not show its age, being maintained and groomed well. From the first look, it was clear that this was a classic ballpark; a great place to see a ballgame.

Our seats were located near the left field corner, less than 10 rows from the action. We were located next to the visitors section in Koshien Stadium. As we would learn, there is a visitors section in each NPB ballpark, but not all are in the same part of the park. It was interesting to be so close to the Giants fans, who were indefatigable throughout the game. You can experience the Giants fans chanting here.

The scoreboard at Koshien Stadium. The scoreboard bares a vague resemblance to the old scoreboard at Wrigley Field. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

The game itself was a tight affair, scoreless after 5 innings. The Giants opened the scoring with a run in the top of the 6th, with the Tigers answering in the bottom of the 7th. A single run in the top of the 8th provided to be the winning run for the Giants, who triumphed 2-1. Toward the end of the game, the sun tried to break out, resulting in a very striking cloud pattern late.

Sunshine trying to break through the clouds at Koshien Stadium toward the end of the game.

The game time was about three hours and 30 minutes. Unlike MLB games, nobody seemed to be concerned about the pace of play. In fact, we saw a fan served a beer with two out in the bottom of the 9th inning. As we left the stadium, we noticed fans still milling around their sections, slow to exit the ballpark. Clearly, NPB fans see the game as more of an event, and these fans were in no hurry to leave.

Koshien Stadium proved to be a classic ballpark, in the vein of Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. My brother commented this was the stadium he wanted to see on this trip, and it was well worth the effort. Should I ever find my way back to Osaka, I’ll do my best to revisit this place.

The train ride back to Osaka was not quite as crowded as the trip to Nishinomiya, a benefit of a lingering fan base. After arriving in Osaka, a quick walk across the street brought us to the Shinkansen and the ride back to Kyoto. Arriving after dark, we walked back toward the Toji Temple to get a look at the Pagoda at night.

The top of the Pagoda at the Toji Temple. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

Hiroshima, Monday, September 24th, 2018

The third stop on our 2018 Japanese baseball tour took us to Hiroshima. Our main purpose was to see the Carp in action at Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium. However, the trip itinerary also included a visit the the Atomic Peace Dome and Peace Memorial Park. Having seen the plane that delivered the first atomic weapon, it seemed appropriate to see the remains of the destruction it helped create.

1. Getting to Hiroshima

From our base of operations in Kyoto, we walked from the hotel across the street to the Kyoto Station. We took the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen to Hiroshima Station, covering the 350 km distance in about one hour and 45 minutes (including six stops). Morning sunshine in Kyoto faded behind cloudiness as we traveled southwest.

The Kyoto-Hiroshima trip depicted in Google Maps.

The trek covered mainly rural areas, with cities interspersed with the rice paddies and mountains to the north. We noticed many solar farms along the way, but given the weather so far on the trip, I’m not sure useful they were this week.

As we approached Hiroshima Station, we passed close to Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium. Even though we arrived in Hiroshima more than three hours before the 1330 game start time, there were fans already lining up to enter the ballpark. Most NPB ballparks open their gates about two hours before game time, meaning fans were willing to wait an hour or more in line to get inside. We didn’t know why at the time, but we would find out later.

2. Hiroshima and the Atomic Peace Dome

After arriving at Hiroshima Station, we took the Hiroshima Streetcar to the Peace Memorial Park. Though we paid cash for the trip, you can purchase a one day pass (which might be a nice souvenir), or use the Suica card you bought earlier in your trip.

A map of the Hiroshima Streetcar stops. In addition to getting you where
you’d like to go, it afforded a great way to view Hiroshima.

The streetcar stop for the Peace Memorial Park is less than 10 minutes from Hiroshima Station. Upon exiting the streetcar, the Atomic Peace Dome is immediately visible. A somber reminder of the first use of an atomic weapon, the overcast conditions seemed a fitting dreary backdrop. The Dome is the only remaining structure remaining from that day, as it was directly beneath the air blast.

The Atomic Peace Dome. A UNESCO Heritage site, this vantage point superimposes the Dome on the modern Hiroshima in the background.

Upon closer inspection, even the rubble from the blast was left in place. As might be expected, the Atomic Peace Dome drew significant interest, even on this cloudy and humid afternoon. Being in the presence of the Dome was a sobering experience, conjuring images of unimaginable destruction and chaos.

The Atomic Peace Dome is the focal point of the Peace Memorial Park, which stretches along the banks of the Motoyasu River. South of the Atomic Peace Dome is the Peace Memorial Museum. Time was a limiting factor when visiting the museum, which has a Japanese section on one side, and an English section on the other. Among the photographs in the museum is a picture from 1947, in which Hiroshima still lies in ruins. The image shows Emperor Hirohito addressing the citizenry, with the Dome in the background. This is reportedly the first time the Emperor had addressed the nation in person.

The Peace Museum from a distance. The Atomic Peace Dome is to the left in this picture. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

2. Getting to Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium

With game time fast approaching, we headed toward Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium for the 1330 game start. From the Peace Memorial Park, we caught the streetcar back toward Hiroshima Stadium. The streetcar stop was about 1.3 km from the stadium. Walking through a suburban area following the streetcar ride, we followed a long asphalt walkway toward the stadium. Clouds were lowering and thickening, with rain threatening at any moment.

Along the walkway, we noticed groups of people sitting or standing, watching TVs broadcasting the pre game activities. Though it seemed a bit odd, especially with rain approaching, we didn’t think much of it at the time.

A quick walk around the stadium showed nothing remarkable, though there were food and souvenir stands around the park. Much like other NPB tickets, the seating information was difficult to decipher. Typically, we can at least glean the gate number from the ticket, but in this case, we were stumped concerning where to enter the ballpark. Eventually we tracked down a staff member, who graciously showed us where to enter.

My Hiroshima Carp ticket. Almost all of the vital information is in Japanese.

Our tickets were general admission, which meant we would have to view the game from wherever we could. Soon after arriving, we realized why there were lines to enter the stadium three hours before game time. The general admission seating was long gone. To watch the game, we would need to stand. Unfortunately for us, all of the railing around the ballpark was ringed with fans, sometimes four or five deep. It became clear that our view of the game would be tenuous at best.

The Hiroshima Toyo Carp have perhaps the most enthusiastic fans in the NPB. The team often sells out the entire season (70 home games) just hours after tickets go on sale, so this is definitely a tough ticket to secure. Since it didn’t seem to matter from where we saw the game, we sought out the Carp Team Store. The store was comparatively small, when compared to other team stores we’ve seen. There was not much of interest to us, so I purchased a Carp cap and a program.

Following the trip to the store, we walked around the stadium. The game as a sellout, of course, and we didn’t see many empty seats, even with rain on the way. One thing that struck me about the park was its resemblance to the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati OH. Of course, the Carp modeled their uniforms after the Reds, so I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising the stadium would have a familiar feel. In any event, we got as close to the railing as we could to see the start of the game.

DeNA BayStars fans in the upper deck in right field at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

The Carp’s opponent this afternoon was the Yokohoma DeNA BayStars. A light rain starting falling as the game started, and the afternoon was becoming murkier by the moment. Since we could not get close to the rail to see much of the action, we decided to circle the field, popping in occasionally to watch the action.

Following our trip around the park, the rain began to fall more steadily. Conditions were becoming less conducive to watching a game, especially since we did not have seats. Having seen the stadium, we decided to leave before conditions became worse. Heading back to Hiroshima Station, we saw fans in the rain, huddling around TVs along the asphalt walkway we took coming to the park. The devotion of the Carp fans was impressive, to say the least.

A manhole cover seen on the asphalt walkway back to Hiroshima Station. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

With the weather taking a turn for the worse, we cut short our visit to Hiroshima, and caught the next Shinkansen for Kyoto. Arriving in Kyoto after dark, we decided to visit the Kyoto Tower. Located across the street from Kyoto Station, we had seen it during the day, and thought it might afford a nice view of Kyoto at night.

Kyoto Tower is located in a commercial building, along with shops and restaurants. A quick elevator ride took us to the observation deck. The deck was crowded, which limited the amount of time we could spend in any one location. The view of the city lights was impressive, though low clouds may have obscured some of the lights from nearby cities.

Kyoto at night, from the Kyoto Tower. Even with the clouds, the mountains are visible to the west. (Photo: Jeff Hayes)

Following the visit to the tower, we headed back to the hotel, exhausted from a long but fun day in Hiroshima.

Kyoto/Osaka, Tuesday September 25th, 2018

1. Kyoto

We started the day in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, where we had been stationed during this portion of our baseball tour. Having arrived at the tail end of the monsoon season, the weather was generally warm and humid, with periodic sunshine and showers. These conditions made being outside tricky, but we braved the elements to explore Kyoto during the morning hours.

We utilized local mass transit in Kyoto, as the area was too expansive to walk, given the weather conditions. The concierge at the hotel provided us with bus passes for the day at greatly reduced prices. Should you find yourself in Kyoto, check with the hotel staff to purchase a day pass.

Along the banks of the Kamo River in Kyoto. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes).

Our first stop was the western edge of Kyoto. Nestled between the foothills of the Hira Mountains and the Kamo River, the view was spectacular, even if the weather did not cooperate. The area was very popular with tourists, and the walkways and the restaurants were jammed on this cloudy and humid morning. We walked toward the foothills, reaching the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove toward late morning.

The fabled Bamboo Forest of Kyoto. If it wasn’t for the throngs walking through, it would be a very peaceful place. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes).

In quieter times, I envision this place being peaceful, almost spiritual. However, on this day, the masses of people moving through the grove made it less so, though the walk was still worth the visit. At the end of the grove, there was an opportunity to visit some of the local wildlife.

A path in the mountains leads to the Monkey Park Iwatayama. The snow monkeys are located above the grove, about a 20 minute climb into the mountains. Unfortunately, I was unable to make the climb, missing out on an opportunity to feed and walk with the monkeys in the cloud shrouded peaks above. If you are interested in visiting the monkeys and taking in the views of Kyoto (should the weather allow it), you can learn more here.

Togetsu-kyō Bridge in Kyoto. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

Following our visit to the bamboo forest, we backtracked across the Kamo River on the Togetsu-kyō Bridge. Wandering along the river was peaceful, especially in between waves of tourists. Sitting along the river offered wonderful views of the mountains, though the higher peaks were obscured in clouds. It isn’t difficult to understand why the Japanese see this place as a cultural or moral center. Kyoto harkens back in time, and is often viewed as the Japan the way it once was.

We ate lunch at a local restaurant just off the beaten path, on the edge of the foothills. In addition to a wide variety of Japanese dishes, the restaurant also offered Italian cuisine. We’ve seen this in our travels across Japan. Perhaps the Japanese view Italian dishes as a “safe” alternative to Japanese dishes for tourists, or maybe they just like Italian food. Either way, having a limited and decidedly non-adventurous palette, I opted for the ravioli, which was surprisingly good.

One of many temples we saw in Kyoto, complete with women dressed in geisha garb. However, we discovered that being dressed like a geisha does not make her a geisha. (Photo credit: Melissa Willis).

After lunch, we wandered through the Arashiyama section of Kyoto. Despite the many cultural touchstones of Kyoto, I found my attention was riveted by the natural beauty of this place. Having crossed the bridge back into a more city like setting, we saw geishas in training, as well as a number of temples. In between temples, there were many, many places to buy souvenirs and take pictures. Having spent much of the early afternoon exploring, we caught the bus back to the hotel to rest before the game in Osaka that evening.

Even though there are many cultural sites to see in Kyoto, my memories are filled with images like this. Plus, there are snow monkeys up there!

2. Getting to Osaka

Following a short rest at the hotel, we started out for Osaka to catch a a game at the Kyocera Dome between the visiting Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and the Orix Buffaloes. We took the Tokaido-Sanyo bullet train from Kyoto Station to Osaka Station, a trip of about 30 minutes. Upon arriving at Osaka Station, we boarded the Osaka Loop Line (using our Suica card) for the 20 minute ride to Taisho Station. From there, we walked about 700 meters to the stadium.

Google Maps showing the Osaka Loop Line. After arriving at Taisho Station, we walked to the stadium.

3. Kyocera Dome

Arriving not much more than an hour before game time, we walked to the Kyocera Dome box office to purchase tickets for the game. At virtually every other NPB ballpark, this might be a risky strategy. Most teams draw very well, with few day of game tickets available. However, the Buffaloes don’t draw well, and to our surprise, there were very good seats available.

The information on this ticket is more difficult to decipher than most NPB tickets. We needed assistance finding our seats.

Fortunately for us, the box office staff understood enough English help us purchase the tickets. The ticket was more difficult to read than most, with no English and little obvious information containing the location of our seats. We followed some advice given earlier in the trip, and continued to hand our tickets to staff members until we were shown to our seats.

Since we had some time before the first pitch, we visited the team store. Unlike most team stores near or within the ballpark, the store had a large selection of souvenirs and apparel. After paying for the game tickets with cash, I didn’t realize that I had little money left when I attempted to pay for a Buffaloes cap (which was FAR more expensive than I originally thought).

In search of funds, I found an ATM in the stadium. As I had expected, my card was declined, since it was NOT a Japanese issued card. My brother came to my aid, but in my haste, I laid out near $100 USD for a cap that should have cost closer to $30 USD. This was my first mistake with Japanese currency (which was abetted by my misreading of the label). From that point on, I made sure to have enough cash on hand to solve most minor problems.

The view from our seats. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes).

Returning to our seats shortly before the first pitch, we got the feel for the ballpark. The Kyocera Dome is a large indoor stadium, that seemed even larger with a sparse crowd. The park was reminiscent of Tropicana Field in St Petersburg, FL, in that it felt dim and empty. The Orix Buffaloes do not draw well, and that was evident in the stadium that night. As is typical, there was a sizable contingent for the visiting team in attendance, and there were times when the visiting team’s fans out cheered the home team’s fans.

The roof of the Kyocera Dome. Its appearance was eerily reminiscent of the bottom of an alien ship. (Photo credit: Jeff Hayes)

The Kyocera Dome also has a unique roof. The roof looks like the underbelly of an alien ship, casting a presence over the entire field. Against the backdrop of the huge roof, the thin crowd made the park seem nearly empty. The visiting Hawks scores early and often against the hapless Buffaloes, to the delight of the Hawks’ faithful in the left field stands. Though the Buffaloes did scores some runs late, the Hawks held on for an 8-5 victory.

The fairly sterile environment, lack of fan support, and the poor team on the field made this stop the least enjoyable on our Japanese tour. While we may visit Osaka again, it is highly doubtful that the Kyocera Dome will be on the agenda.