Friday night I attended a baseball game at the Tokyo Dome where the Seibu Lions beat the home team, the Yomiuri Giants.  A 15 minute subway ride brought me from the Nihonbashi district to the Bunkyo district where the massive Tokyo Dome City is located. The “City” boasts a hotel, a spa, the Dome itself, multi-levels of shops and restaurants, and amusement park rides smack dab in the middle of the area. The largest ferris wheel I’ve ever seen, plus a roller coaster, water flume and merry go round are in the middle of the shopping plaza with the Dome in the backdrop.

Inside the dome most things are similar. It’s a tiny bit larger than Yankee Stadium with 55,000+ seats plus standing room areas. I was unable to find vendors selling merchandise inside the stadium – only food. And I didn’t have time to heed my colleague’s advice and bring snacks with me. Thankfully they didn’t seem more expensive than what we would pay in the U.S.  They did offer a variety of Asian meals, snacks, beer and juice boxes. Outside the stadium, the Dome’s “pro-shop” sold a ton of merchandise….from Giants themed-chopsticks to clap sticks to key chains to t-shirts and game shirts. Similar to what you’d see in the U.S., but a larger variety of items appealing to Japanese society that embraces all things “cute.”

The game itself was a ton of fun. A steady stream of chants and songs coming from each team. There was a designated home team section — about 1/3 of the arena, a small section for the away team, and then mixed seating in the rest of the arena, plus standing room sections along the concourse level. The dome was very loud, but the sound was in unison and musical, unlike an American yelling an obscenity at a player from the stands. Each ball player has a specific chant or song dedicated to him.

Video of Giants fans singing their theme song

Video of Lions chant when they scored a run

Video of Giants fans when they scored a run

The Lions brought their own band and had people waving flags, and the Giants were loud too, but doesn’t come across as powerful since the home section was at the opposite side of the stadium from my seat.

Every one was given a game program with what seemed like a trading card glued to the back. At one point during the game something flashed on the screen, and everyone raced to open their card packs to see if they had the winner. I have no idea what the winning card looks like, and no idea what the prize was, so I didn’t bother to open mine – saving it for the kids.  A LOT of people were purchasing orange towels with their favorite player’s number on it. When a run scored, they waved the towels in the air. (Gave me a good chuckle since we have TONS of Celtis towels from the games Paul’s attended where the Celtics give them away for free!)

Food report: 6 chicken nuggets (that didnt really look like chix nuggets) in the Dome, and a banana crepe from a food truck outside the dome after the game. I’ve seen a few of these crepe stands around Tokyo so figured it was worth a try. It was a bit soggy so I don’t recommend in the future!