jfarrell333

I'm looking at buying tickets on the Hanshin Tigers website (http://www.hanshin.co.jp/koshien/global/en/ticket/) thanks to their awesome guide on how to do it. Everything looks straightforward enough except the icons shown by each game. Can anyone tell me what these mean?

For example, on the April 29 game it shows a beer, and when I hover over it says (translated) "Koshien's Via Festa" but when I google that nothing come up. Same for the 30th, where the little shopping bag logo translates to "Tiger wings goods gift".

mkjr

"home run home run いいね!"

i always loved it when the swallows played the tragically hip for the walk up music for the Canadian on the team at the time....

jfarrell333

Edit: I found out the answer! All the little icons refer to different events going on for each game, all of which are listed here: https://hanshintigers.jp/event/
Turns out the beer icon means there is a beer festival going on...makes sense.

dsquared37

That and being able to visit the 'cup tent' and pour your beers into them prior to stadium entry.

I saw, and partook, in this lovely benefit prior to games at Honshin Koshien and Mazda (Hiroshima) stadiums.

Oh, and the Hiroshima Carp horns section.

mapleg

No expert on Japanese language, but likely the beer icon is some kind of cheap beer promotion and the other is a free gift for attendees to the game.

rustykettel

Not either, but was able to find it by the mouse over text: https://hanshintigers.jp/event/ will work in Google Translate a bit better. Beer is a beer garden on those dates. Here's a description of last year's beer garden http://xn--e-3e2b.com/hyogo/beer_koshien/

ETA: Also, welcome to FT jfarrell333!

jphripjah

I think we're at the point now where tickets for almost all (or all?) NPB teams can be bought directly from the teams' websites. I've bought tickets for the Fighters, Lions, Baystars, Tigers, Giants, Marines, Swallows, and Buffaloes this way - through the team's website. This blogger explains how to buy Fukuoka Hawks tickets through the team website: http://everybodyhatesatourist.net/tr.../#.WSQSjhPytE4

The websites have varying levels of difficulty when you can't read Japanese and are relying on google translate and trial and error in inserting your Kanji name when requested.

The Lions and Marines both use the same web platform. To buy Lions tickets you can go to http://www.cnplayguide.com/lions/
for Marines tickets http://www.cnplayguide.com/marines

You'll be asked for your name twice in Kanji and Katakana (I have no idea what the difference is). I just typed my name into this translator and then copied the Japanese characters it gave me into both the Kanji and Katakana boxes:

http://www.kanjizone.com/

You'll be asked for a phone number, you can just use random numbers BUT it has to be a ten digit number. Otherwise you'll get an error message that tells you it has to be ten digits.

You can use random numbers and random Latin alphabet characters where it asks you for an address.

I choose "pay now by credit card and pick up at 7-11."

Once you've paid for the ticket you can pick it up at the 7-11 anytime, even weeks later. I don't know if there's a cutoff of having to pick it up 24 hours (or 2 hours) before the gametime or anything. This makes buying from the team's website preferable to using 7ticket.jp, in my opinion, because with 7ticket.jp I don't think you can PAY in advance online, you can only reserve the ticket and then pay at the 7-11, and they make you pay and collect it within 24-48 hours of ordering the ticket otherwise they release the seat.

So team websites can be used to buy tickets weeks before you arrive in Japan and then collect at 7-11 when you arrive, whereas the 7ticket.jp website can't be used for this, you'd have to be in Japan or on your way there in a day or two in order to order on 7ticket.jp and then pay for and pick up the ticket at 7-11 before the deadline.

The team websites generally have a better selection of seats to choose from than 7ticket.jp also.

The Baystars' website gave me the most trouble. I had to create about six different accounts before I was able to buy a ticket. Whenever I tried to pay with a credit card, I kept getting error messages that my registration name was wrong. It kept asking me to use English characters even though that's what I was doing. I don't remember what I did to fix it, but I was ultimately able to buy a Baystars ticket and they sent it to the Baystars app I downloaded.

Lastly, I recently bought a ticket for a June Lions-Marines game in Okinawa that was processed through "Eventify." They sent me a two page email including the access code with instructions to pick it up at Family Mart.

Picking up at Family Mart is different from 7-11-- you can't just give the cashier the access code, you must use the green "information" kiosk in the store, which is a pain in the neck. Then it prints out a bar code and you bring that to the cashier.

Compounding the confusion for me was that the 13 digit number near the top of the first page of the Eventify confirmation email was NOT the collection code, there was another 13 digit number buried way at the end of page 2 of the email, and THAT was the number that had to be typed in the kiosk.

There was also a link to a PDF guide in the email with instructions about how to use the kiosk, I recommend printing that out too, the Family Mart staff (I went to several Family Marts) doesn't seem too adept at navigating the kiosks to collect baseball tickets (especially if you give them a print out with the wrong code).

If you have a choice, choose 7-11 pick up, not Family Mart pick up, and then just show the 7-11 cashier the (correct) pick up number on your phone and you'll be good to go. I don't think Eventify gave me a 7-11 option.

mkjr

Great update.

Mickidon

With that in mind, which teams should I prioritize for our upcoming trip to Japan in May? We are flexible on location and want to plan around one or two games....a few years ago we had tickets to see the Tigers play at home and a typhoon
took that option away, so we are trying again. We have the Tigers, Carp and Swallows under consideration, but would love thoughts on what else to consider. Feeling like the Giants at home would feel too corporate, or am I mistaken?

dsquared37

We caught home games at Tigers, Carp and Giants and I'd definitely give the latter a pass the next time. My take, and this is purely a personal thing, I'd rather see an awful team play at an outdoor stadium than a great team in a dome. I've seen sports in horrid weather growing up in NY but I wouldn't want it any other way than being out in the elements. That said, there aren't many open stadiums other than Osaka and Hiroshima.... I know the Swallows play outside but that might be it.

kalderlake

I went to see the Giants in San Francisco, then the Giants in Tokyo, and the most impressive athletes I saw were the young women selling beer at the Tokyo Dome.

Seven innings up and down the stairs with what had to be 20 pounds on their backs.

The other thing I loved was the synchronized cheering, by the home and visiting fans, in turn.

I had a great time, as BMB pointed out, watching everything happening in the stands around me as much as, if not more than, watching the game.

If all you can get to is a Giants game, you'll still have a good time.

angra

I've only seen half the teams at home: Giants, Tigers, Buffaloes, Dragons, Baystars, and Swallows. My experience has been that the intensity and interestingness of the crowd among those 6 was, in roughly descending order was:

* Tigers
* Giants
* Gap
* Buffaloes
* Dragons
* Gap
* Swallows
* Baystars

kevincrumbs

I squeezed in a Giants game at the Tokyo Dome two years ago when I somewhat unexpectedly had six hours of free time on hand. Sadly, it was yet another domed stadium in Japan and if I had an actual variety of choice, I would not choose to see the Giants at home.

You're lucky that all three you list are outdoor stadiums. Koshien (Tigers) is what people describe as being the Japanese equivalent to Fenway or Wrigley, where as the Carp play in Mazda Stadium, which seems like the closest approximation of a modern, outdoor MLB stadium. Keep in mind that the Carp have just come off their most successful season in awhile and demand for their tickets will be very high. The Swallows seem to be continually ridiculed as an irrelevant team playing in an old stadium but folks around these parts seem to enjoy going to the Meiji Jingu Stadium, especially in comparison with the Tokyo Dome. They have recently re-signed Nori Aoki, who is returning to the team after six years in MLB, so there's some excitement there.

Are the Yokohama BayStars an option? They have a convenient stadium at the heart of Yokohama and the fan interest there is probably as high as its ever been after a trip to the Japan Series in 2017.

kirkwoodj

Absolutely

runningonfumes

ignore the semantics in this thread

I've seen lots of ball all over the US and in Hiroshima when none of you ever heard of Maeda

Take any game for what it is. a way [redacted] better day than being at work!!!

IMO I was meh at zoom zoom and I hate the [redacted] sox so going to a game at a stadium that looked like [redacted] was not the draw but the game.

watching tigers giants now and I've never seen a pre season game in FL even REMOTELY like it.