Baseball in Tokyo

Hi all,
me and my wife visited Japan last November and enjoyed the autumn colors very much. This forum was very, very helpful in planning our trip.
We will be back in Japan this spring again to see the cherry blossom (March 28th to April 12th).
Since we are both very big baseball fans we would like to visit a game at the Tokyo Dome.
Can someone advise on how to obtain tickets (should they be bought in advance?).
Also we would like to ride the roller coaster at the Tokyo Dome, will this become operational again?

Thanks in advance

Wout

I can't help you with the baseball tickets, but regarding the roller coaster, I am afraid currently there is no word about when it will resume service.

About the baseball tickets- they are obtained beforehand using the reservation/ticketing machine at convenience stores. They can be bought from ticket offices at baseball parks.
If your hotel is fixed, you might contact the hotel manager to get the desired tickets for you for a fee (good 3-4 star hotels do that).

There are a couple of teams in the Tokyo. Tokyo Giants are perhaps the most loved and despised of all teams, based in Tokyo Dome. The tickets could be difficult to obtain, though. Swallows are based in Jingu baseball stadium (also popular but struggling in the recent years). Chiba Lotte Marines and Tokorozawa Seibu have been underdogs in the Pacific League, and there is also Yokohama's newborn DeNa Baystars in the Central League.

I haven't actually used this service, so can't say how it is, and they do charge a service charge, but here is one option. http://www.japanballtickets.com/index.html

We used the japanball tickets website (in the previous post above) to buy tickets and they were outstanding!

The tickets were waiting at the hotel front desk when we arrived in Tokyo. As the requested premium seats were sold out they refunded the difference (in cash) for the next best seats. The cash was in the envelope with the tickets.

We went to see the Hiroshima Carp play the Yakult Swallows play at Jingumae in Tokyo in early April. Unfortunately it was SO bitterly cold virtually no Swallow fans turned up. It was 7:00pm and we were freezing (2C) in the outdoor stand, pumping hot drinks and hot food into us. When the wind started blowing and it started sleeting we abandoned our night and went and got hot Ramen down the road.

We arrive March 20 and leave the 27th. I see there are some preseason games going on. Are the preseason games as fun as the regular season? They are playing the Oakland A's and we just happen to be from Oakland so it'll be pretty cool to see them in Japan. Thanks in advance.

You can buy from Giant's website in English using your foreign issued credit cards. You can print tickets at home with no extra cost. No need to use a third party. Tickets for March/April became available yesterday and they are selling quickly.
http://www.e-tix.jp/ticket_giants/en/ticket_pc_en.php

Thanks a million!!!
I just got me 2 tickets for a game on March 31st in the Tokyo Dome.
This forum is absolutely great!

Wout

to Julie P:

Check the website for ticke info (in English). I would recomend you go to the Monday noon game against Tigers. Tigers fan are the crasiest in the world. Won't hurt you though. Field seat looks cheap.

Good luck to A's fans.


http://event.yomiuri.co.jp/mlb/seat_eng.pdf

I just printed my ticket for the March 21st game against the Swallows! It's the only game I'll be in town for, but it's a totally unexpected surprise for me since I thought they wouldn't be playing yet!

Thanks to this thread, I'll fulfill my second sports desire. I'll be in Osaka for the Sumo tourney and see it on the 13th for my first!

This site is amazing helpful. Thank you all!

We will be attending a game on Saturday March 31st.
The game is scheduled to start at 2 pm.

Will there be any activities before the game starts that would be interesting to attend?
What time would be best to go to the stadium?

Thanks

Wout

There is not much to watch before the game starts, at least for Japanese fans. You will probably see kids teams showing up on the ground for fungo if you arrive one hour before. There will be some other ceremony, but no fun. I would go to the dome 30 minutes before assuming you got reserved seats. The seats are tight anywhere. Be prepared.

Thanks Jay for your answer.
We'll be prepared to rub shoulders with our neighbors for a few hours!!

The only game that I have time to attend while I am in Tokyo is the Fighters vs Mariners on April 24.

Given that this isn't a Giants game and they are two less popular teams, do you think I would have any problems waiting to buy tickets until I arrive in Japan, about 10 days before the match?

Thank you to anyone who can help with my query.

Since Darvish is no longer playing for Fighters, there is no problem to buy a ticket on the game day. But there is one popular picher, Yuki Saito for Fighters. If he piches that day, the tickets will sell very quickly. Probably he will not on 24th, but best way is you buy your ticket a few days earlier upon your arrival for your free seat choice. I guess your hotel will help you do that.

Thanks for the info on purchasing tickets from outside of Japan :) Very helpful!