Wow – what an experience! My day went by pretty fast, and Mr. Komuri and I scooted out of work a few minutes early to catch the train to the game. We stopped for snacks at the local store, and then we caught a Sanyo train out of Takasago.
I was trying to figure out the logistics of getting to the stadium, but Mr. Komuri said that we could just stay on the same train. This was a revelation for me – the same train that runs right by my house in Futami eventually pulls up at the foot of Koshien stadium, where the Tigers play. Cool!
It took about an hour to get there. We got off the train and bought some beer from the kiosk vendor inside the station. Then we walked across the street and right into the park. The Tigers were playing the Yokohama Bay Stars. The place was packed with around 50,000 people, another sell-out crowd.
Our seats were apart, so we grabbed two empty seats that were together and ate beer, sushi, and fried chicken until the owners of the seats came. Then we sat in our own seats for the rest of the game.
The crowd noise was amazing. When the Tigers were batting, everyone cheered, banged plastic bats together to make noise, and sang songs. There was a different song for each player. Since I didn’t understand what they were saying I was a little lost, but I clapped along. The only time it got quiet was when Yokohama came up to bat, and then it was fairly quiet. Anytime the Bay Stars were out, everyone would sing a song that ended with a big “OUT-O”.
My senses were a little overwhelmed. Everyone was looking at me at first, and I didn’t see another foreigner at the game until we got on the train afterwards. I got a lot of attention.
Other things I noticed that were different from the USA… they served beer in the stands. There were lots of beer vendors, and they called out the Japanese equivalent of “How does a beer sound?” They also had yakisoba, ice cream, and takoyaki. I didn’t see any sushi except for what we brought to the game. Also, you could bring all the alcohol and food that you wanted – they didn’t do a search or anything. People were uniformly polite – no one got belligerent. I noticed that the Yokohama fans were only sitting in one section – Mr. Komuri said that somehow that was enforced. They don’t mix the two types of fans.
For all the singing going on they had cheerleaders for each section. They somehow indicated what song would be appropriate, and everyone just jumped right in. The cheerleaders were usually old guys in Tigers outfits.
The strangest thing was a phenomenon that I had heard about before I came to Japan. Instead of the 7th inning stretch, everyone in the stadium releases balloons that sail all over the place. There’s nothing quite like seeing it firsthand, but I managed to take a video of it. You can check it out here, but be warned – it’s 17 megabytes, so it’ll take a long time to download.
After the game we joined a huge line for the train home. The train was packed tight, but as soon as we got west of Kobe things emptied out. A pretty lady stood next to me and Mr. Komuri on the train and was listening in to our conversation. I saw that she was eager to speak with us, so I said hello. Mr. Komuri was a little shocked to see me suddenly open up our social circle. At one point she asked what school we taught at (in English) and Mr. Komuri told her that it was a secret. Strange. Anyway, it was nice talking to her – she is a dance instructor in Osaka, but lives in Himeji. That’s a long way to go for work, but she seems to be doing well. She’s taking English courses as well, so that’s why she was hoping to talk with us.
I finally got home around 11:30, and I was exhausted. The game was such an overwhelming experience. It’s a long way from the games spent relaxing in the sun in San Francisco’s PacBell Park.
What’s that? Who won? The Tigers lost the game – it was four to zero. I spent so much time enjoying the environment, that I could only barely follow the game!
