A couple of stops along from Akihabara on the JR Sobu Line is the
Tokyo Dome, an impressive baseball stadium with a capacity of 55,000, built in 1988,
and home to the Yomiuri Giants, one of Tokyo’s two major baseball teams.
I arrived shortly before play was due to start. Making directly for one of the many fast food outlets inside the stadium, I bought a chilli dog
with enough of a kick to it to take the edge off the atrocious hangover I was
nursing. I had a standing ticket, which meant that I was in the gangway between
the actual seats and the fast food sellers. Due to the slight height advantage
for a European, even one of average size, I could see well by peering over the
head of those in front, including a young girl who had the words “I love you
more than anyone else in the world” tattooed on to the back of her left calf.
I have been to see a professional baseball game once before, on a
breezy evening in San Francisco nine years ago. That the Yomiuri Giants share a
name with their Californian counterparts is more than just a happy coincidence
– they used the Giants (then based in New York) as an inspiration when formed in
the 1930s. Nonetheless, there were plenty of differences to be observed, even
for the most seldom of matchgoers – there was less music, but more on-field
entertainment between innings. The two stadia are of course very different,
with the view of San Francisco Bay exchanged for a fully air-conditioned indoor
stadium which held the noise in and created a lively atmosphere even though the
home fans were sat down quietly for the majority of the afternoon.
The home team, who are the current league champions, won a
low-scoring match 2-0, with both home runs coming in the fourth innings. I just
about have a grasp of the rules of baseball – sufficient to avoid boredom, but
not enough to start complaining about the quality of the play.
A powerful breeze created by the air conditioning helped the fans
on their way as they moved en masse in a relaxed, orderly fashion towards the
exit, and I followed, doing my best to keep out of the afternoon downpour.
It wasn’t the end of the day’s sporting entertainment. I watched Andy Murray begin a fresh chapter in British sporting history with the one other British sports fan at the hostel, a young man from Leeds. As the crowd in SW19 went mad, we shared a high five and a shout of joy, while the three Chinese tourists sharing the sofa with us left us to it.
It wasn’t the end of the day’s sporting entertainment. I watched Andy Murray begin a fresh chapter in British sporting history with the one other British sports fan at the hostel, a young man from Leeds. As the crowd in SW19 went mad, we shared a high five and a shout of joy, while the three Chinese tourists sharing the sofa with us left us to it.
