Baseball in Japan and the US

Baseball, as an American pastime, is very popular in Japan. And feels very different.

The sport is mostly the same across the Pacific, but the atmosphere and fandom is very different from each other. The Japanese baseball stadium experience, with its trumpets, flags and chants, feels much closer to a European soccer game - albeit without the fierce and visible hate between a lot of the teams and its fans.

There are big rivalries (Giants vs Tigers, for example), but it mostly stays pretty civil. But don’t think they don’t take this game seriously, there’s a reason Baseball is bigger in Japan than the US at this point.

Contrary to North American and European venues you’re even allowed to bring in your large backpacks including food and drinks, with the exception of glass bottles. The food vendors offer a much bigger selection across the board, offering even soup classics like Ramen.

I took the below photos at Meiji Stadium, where the local team Tokyo Yakult Swallows played against the Hanshin Tigers (they won 5:3). The film photos were taken at Dodgers Stadium, when Japanese player Shohei Ohtani hit his 40th homerun and stole his 40th base, the fastest 40/40 in the history of the league. He’s currently on pace to beat the 50/50, which would make him the first player ever to achieve that.