SAT Lawyer

I'm a huge baseball fan and have always wanted to take in a game in Japan. I'll be in Tokyo on July 31, 2011. It looks like the Yakult Swallows are hosting the Yomiuri Giants at Jingu Stadium that evening at 6 p.m. How can I get a ticket to this game?

I can't read Japanese, so trying to get a ticket directly from the Swallows' website doesn't seem to be an option. JapanBall could be an option, but I don't really want to pay the $59 fee for their services on top of the cost of the ticket. From what I've read, trying to buy a ticket at the stadium on the day of the game may be hard because of the teams involved. So, do I have any other viable options to get a ticket without paying a steep premium?

Kushiro

This page of the site lists a few phone numbers for telephone sales--you might get lucky and find someone who speaks English at one of the numbers...

-Kush

lobsterdog

This seems like the kind of job that hotel concierges are there for.

stecho

Sorry don't know of way to get advanced tickets out of country except JapanBall, but fyi this game will most likely sell out because of the Giants. Usually Swallow tickets are no problem as walk up but Giants games regularly sell out in a much larger stadium. If your a baseball fan taking in a game in Japan is a must, game is basically the same but fan behavior is a lot different. Jingu is older small stadium more like a large AAA stadium vs. a major league stadium here in states. Swallow fans sit on the 1st base side, visitors on 3rd base side with "cheering" sections in outfield. Good luck with tickets but I'm sure you'll have a good time if you can make the game.

SAT Lawyer

Thanks for the information.

I contacted the American Express Platinum Card Concierge to see if they can be of assistance. We shall see.

RichardInSF

They failed miserably some years back when I asked them to try to get sumo tickets. If you are staying at an upscale or better hotel, I strongly second the proposal to ask your hotel for help in advance. There is no tipping in Japan and they will generally not even add a fee that they don't have to pay out themselves, so it won't cost you anymore.

gnaget

I haven't made it down there yet, but heard that walk up is no problem, although against the Giants then it could be a problem.

It appears that the convenience stores like Lawson sell tickets. Or this outfit:
http://ticket-search.pia.jp/pia/spst...refectureCd=13

Calcifer

No idea how useful/valid this data point is, but we had no problem buying walk-up tickets last summer for a Yokohama Baystars vs. Yomiuri Giants game last summer (on a Thursday night). Admittedly, it was down in Yokohama, not in Tokyo like the Swallows are, and we bought seats in the Baystars section.

We very much enjoyed watching the Giants get whupped by the losingest team in the Japanese major leagues.

As gnaget mentions, though, you can buy tickets at many of the convenience stores, so if you're getting there a few days in advance I'd recommend trying that first. Get someone Japanese to help you out with the ticket kiosks.

RichardInSF

Last time I tried one of the Lawson ticket selling machines, it was only in Japanese -- although the clerk did try to help. This is also where you can buy tickets for the Ghibli museum.

Ticket Pia is not especially bilingual either, in my limited experience.

lobsterdog

I think you have to register online before you can use Ticket Pia at a convenience store. It's a lot more complicated than it seems like it should be.

dochazmat

I did exactly what the OP is trying to do last month -- then had the privilege of watching the Swallows get pounded on by the Hawks.

I went to a Lawsons and begged for help from one of the clerks. The ticket machine is a bit complex and has absolutely no English, but the process is fairly straightforward if you can find someone who can understand what you're looking for. Even if the language barrier is there, I'd be surprised if one of the clerks wasn't willing to assist. It's helpful if you can write out (either in English or in Japanese) what you're looking for; I'd also encourage anyone thinking of doing this to familiarize yourself with the types and prices of tickets -- mostly because the clerk may not know anything about the stadium and where you'd like to sit, and the descriptions may not make any sense if you can't read Japanese and can't translate. http://www.yakult-swallows.co.jp/ticket/common.html has this information, albeit entirely in Japanese. (If you click on the stadium map you can correlate the prices and colors with the table and have a rough idea of what you want.)

One surprise: make sure you have a local phone number! The Lawsons ticket machine didn't want to sell me anything without a phone number, and it wouldn't accept my North American cell phone. So either have your own cell number or the number of your hotel handy when you go to buy. Also, this is going to be a cash-only transaction. The whole process isn't really as complicated as it seems, but you will need some patience -- anyone who has experience traveling in Japan should be just fine. (You could also, as others have mentioned upthread, simply go to the stadium and point at a seating chart. This is probably a lot easier.)

It's a heck of an experience. By all means go; you'll really enjoy it.

SAT Lawyer

I think the American Express Platinum Concierge is going to be able to get me a ticket. She spoke to her counterparts in Japan last night, took my seating preferences, asked me how much I was willing to pay, and advised me they should be able to get me a ticket at the end of the month when they go on sale.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I'll let you all know how this turns out.

FlyinHawaiian

Enjoy; I'm a baseball fan myself and really loved the experience of going to a game. If you want a really fun experience, sit in the Yakult bleachers with the rest of the cheering section.

Slightly OT, but I found the gift shop at the Tokyo Dome to be the best place to find baseball-themed omiyage; they have items for all of the Japanese teams. Just don't make the mistake I made of going right before a Giants game!

SAT Lawyer

The American Express Platinum Concierge came through for me. AmEx got me a nice seat in the right field bleachers at face value. The tickets were delivered to my hotel the day before I arrived.

I really enjoyed the game and observing the similarities and differences between American and Japanese baseball. The Japanese fans were very engaged, with the sort of organized chants and songs one might see at a soccer game. The Giants fans were very vocal as their team put 5 runs on the board in the first two innings. When Yakult scored, I got a kick out of the fans surrounding me breaking out and twirling their umbrellas in unison. The fireworks display midway through the game was unexpected. I was also fascinated by the fact that Yakult's lineup featured a number 3 hitter with no home runs and a number 7 hitter with 19.

gnaget

I went earlier in the week to see them play the Hiroshima Carp. (Who play in Cincinnati Reds copy uniforms, it appears.)

How big was the crowd for the Giants game?

It's hard to gauge but I think it was less than half full for the Carp game. However, the cheap bleacher seats (1500 yen) were full on the Swallows side. There were empty seats in the front of the bleachers, which I think cost 1900. However, on the Carp side the entire bleachers were pretty much full and I saw lots of red jerseys on the metro. I am guessing it's Hiroshima natives living in Tokyo.

The stadium is divided between home and away sides with the RF side being the home side.

I purchased the "green" seats for 2600 each. There is a large chicken wire fence protecting the fans on the side, so I didn't want to watch through it and climbed the stands to a high position so that LOS was above the fence. I nearly caught a foul ball that was hit really hard. It hit an empty seat two rows above and made a mark and dent in the plastic. An interesting thing is that nobody bothered to retrieve the foul ball! In fact, it looked like nobody knew were the ball wound ended up, including myself.