Believe'n Go!

Fall is in full swing and along with the changing leaves and crisp nights comes the baseball playoffs.  Seeing the crowds bundled up on a cool night reminds me of the baseball game I went to when I visited Kobe in 2006.

The moment I found out I was going to Japan there was only one thing on my bucket list of things to do: go to a baseball game.  We were lucky that the local Kobe team, the Orix Buffaloes, were playing that week against the Seibu Lions.  The experience was everything I hoped it would be.

We took the subway from the ship to the ballpark on a cool April afternoon.  It was funny that the first song we heard when we emerged from the subway was Journey's "Don't Stop Believing."  It turns out the Buffaloes were using that as their fight song that season and the gameday giveaway was a small flag with the slogan on it.

In a ironic twist, the two starting pitchers for our game were both American players.   Tom Davey started for the Buffaloes and Alex Graman for Seibu. The game turned out to be quite an entertaining affair.  It was very interesting to see how the cultural aspects of the game were different from seeing a game in the U.S.  And the actual game itself was very suspenseful and exciting.  It was a back and forth affair with the home team Buffaloes delivering a two-run go-ahead single in the bottom of the 12th inning to secure the win.

Not only were we treated to a great game but it was the crowd and the differences in the game that I found most entertaining.  The Japanese fans had their noise makers and chants, similar to American fans, but they also brought small balloons that each fan blew up and released into the air creating a sea of balloons whirling through the sky then falling back to the crowd.  There was also a two minute firework display after the sixth inning which was very odd since they went back to playing right after.  I have no idea if that is a normal thing or something that was unique to the game we attended but it was impressive.

Sadly when we return to Japan next year we won't be going during baseball season but I am very happy that we had the opportunity to see a game and experience America's pasttime with a Japanese flair.

The Buffaloes mascot  Ripsea #222, a young girl and Neppie #111, a young boy.

Japanese fans preparing to release their balloons.

The flame cannon that was shot off after a home run.