Baseball in Japan is Unreal - My First Experience 🇯🇵⚾

I returned to Fukuoka to enjoy my first Japanese baseball experience, watching the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks at the PayPay Dome.

I checked into the Hilton hotel that is right beside the stadium, and again the Diamond status came in clutch as I was upgraded from the cheapest $200 a night room, to the $700 a night panoramic suite.

Considering the previous hotel I had in Fukuoka was the size of a shoebox, having a proper sized hotel room to move around in was very welcome.

I didn't have much time to settle in, as the Softbank Hawks vs Rakuten Eagles game was to begin soon. I headed to the stadium and looked to buy a Hawks uniform to wear to the game.

I found a very high quality uniform in the Hawks Store for 12,000 JPY ($80 USD) but the material was a bit too thick for the roasting hot summertime weather in Japan.

It looked like everyone else was wearing more of a sports shirt type of uniform but I couldn't see it for sale in the store. It turned out that they were being given away free with the match ticket. Wow!

I've never been to a sports game where they will give you the team shirt for free, just for turning up. But it really works, as all the fans were wearing this special Summer Boost uniform, and the stadium was just filled with red.

There were so many good food options available in the stadium, and I tried quite a few of them, yum yum!

The baseball game was entertaining to watch, and there was a home run from Kensuke Kondoh right at the start. In any intervals there was always something happening on the field like cheerleaders, disco, mascots, etc.

And after the game ended there was a concert for another 45 minutes. You really get a lot for your money when you buy a ticket to a baseball game in Japan.

When the teams play each other, it's usually over 3 games, 3 days in a row. I had tickets for the first two games of Hawks vs Eagles, but the 3rd day was sold out.

I got my tickets from a special foreigner allocation, that's bought from Klook. SoftBank Hawks sell the foreigner tickets through Klook, because their own website seems not able to take foreign credit card as a payment method.

Buying a ticket this was is very easy, but it means you're sat in seats beside other foreigners, so there's not the same atmosphere that there would be if you were sitting among the local fans.

The home run world record holder, Sadaharu Oh, has a museum dedicated to him at the BOSS E · ZO FUKUOKA building next to the PayPay Dome, so I checked that out before the 2nd game started. It was a good chance to learn about an absolute legend of Japanese baseball.

I also got to see behind the scenes at the stadium, as I did the Dome Tour the day after the 3 games had been completed. It's only $12 USD and you get to enter the visiting team's locker room, bull pen, bench and get on the field a little bit.

I really enjoyed my first experience of Japanese baseball and I'll definitely continue to follow the sport and the SoftBank Hawks in the future.

0:00 Hilton Sea Hawk
8:14 Softbank Hawks Jersey Hunt
18:50 Entering the PayPay Dome
25:14 Japan National Anthem
28:16 Kondoh Home Run
29:55 Daimyo Soft Crean
33:09 Half Time Disco
39:30 Post Match Entertainment
42:10 Hawks Capsule Shop
49:15 Sadaharu Oh Baseball Museum
58:25 89 Park Baseball Activities
1:02:57 Godiva Dark Chocolate Milkshake
1:07:57 Premium Bento Box
1:14:04 Game 2 Begins
1:16:57 Chocolate Banana Snack
1:18:19 Jeter Downs Home Run
1:23:21 Jet Balloons
1:30:35 Baumkuchen Japanese Cake
1:33:46 E-ZO Slide
1:37:30 PlayStation Gatcha Machines
1:47:46 Number 1 Kyushu Ramen
1:55:05 PayPay Dome Stadium Tour
2:07:49 Japanese Baseball Cards

💗 Help the channel grow by liking, commenting and subscribing. If you want to be extra nice please share my video with your friends on social media.

📱 Instagram: https://instagram.com/Daleroxxu
📱 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Daleroxxu/
📱 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dalephilipvlogs
📱 X: https://x.com/Daleroxxu