Baseball in Tokyo and Japan is one of the countries most popular sports (along with sumo wrestling). So if you happen to be visiting Tokyo during the Japanese Baseball season (usually March to October), you must purchase tickets and make a home-run to see the Yomiuri Giants play at the Tokyo Dome.
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Tokyo Baseball tickets can easily be bought by foreigners or visitors, either online or in person at the Tokyo Dome Box Office. You can sometimes purchase tickets using the kiosks in Japanese convenience stores like 7-Eleven or Lawson.
We’ve been to several Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball games, including the Yomiuri Giants game at Tokyo Dome, plus watched the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks play at the Mizuho PayPay Dome (which you can also buy tickets for online here).
From ticket prices to food and drink plus live entertainment, here is our guide to getting Tokyo baseball tickets / Yomiuri Giants Tokyo Dome tickets, plus what to expect at the ground.
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A brief overview of Japan Tokyo Baseball / Nippon Professional Baseball
The baseball season in Japan usually runs from March to October every year. Baseball is a huge sport in Japan, since it was introduced by an American professor at a Tokyo Academy in the early 1870s.
The first professional Japanese baseball game was played in 1934, featuring American baseball all-stars and big-hitters like Babe Ruth, before Japan’s first professional baseball league was established two years later in 1936.
The main baseball league in Japan (and Tokyo) is the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). There are 12 baseball teams in the NPB league (two of which are Tokyo baseball teams – Yomiuri Giants and Tokyo Yakult Swallows).
Japan baseball teams play 144 games in the main season followed by play-offs (the ‘Climax Series’ – no TENGA jokes please), followed by the final two teams playing in the 7 game Japan Series championship decider usually held in October.
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Japan checklist
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For booking tours, transfers and SIM cards we recommend Get Your Guide, Viator or Klook.
Tokyo Baseball Teams and Stadiums
There are two Tokyo teams in the top tier Japan Baseball / Nippon Professional Baseball league – the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants (who play at Tokyo Dome) and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows (whose home ground is the Meiji Jingu Baseball Stadium).
The Yomiuri Giants are considered the most successful and popular baseball team in Tokyo and also the whole of Japan (although obviously the Tokyo Yakult Swallows supporters might disagree!)
Foreigners can buy baseball tickets in Tokyo for both the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants and Yakult Swallows, although the Yomiuri Giants tickets often sell out quicker (especially if they are on a winning streak).
Tickets are also much harder to buy during celebrations or holidays like Golden Week.
Check out the top Japanese baseball tours and tickets with Viator
Japanese Baseball schedule & experience
We went to a Tokyo Yomiuri Giants baseball game after buying tickets online and had the most amazing time – the atmosphere was electric!
If you happen to be in Japan / Tokyo during the Japanese baseball season between March and October, there are usually games most nights (especially towards the start of the season) except on Monday nights.
Alternatively, all Japan baseball games are televised. Most Tokyo bars and pubs also show the live or recorded baseball games. We’d recommend the Japanese chain of British style Hub Pubs or 82 Ale Houses to watch live games – read our Japan Hub Pub guide here >
One of our best nights in Tokyo was eating at the Aka Oni okonomiyaki restaurant in Ikebukuro during a Tokyo baseball game. The restaurant is renowned as a popular spot to watch the Tokyo and Hiroshima teams playing, and has baseball merchandise and posters all over the walls – a cool way to watch live Tokyo baseball with local fans.
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Buying Tokyo Baseball tickets / Nippon Professional Baseball tickets
It is easy for foreigners and overseas visitors to buy Tokyo baseball tickets or even other Japanese baseball tickets. That said, if a certain team is doing well in the league or has a successful run, tickets can sell out in advance.
The four main ways to buy baseball tickets in Tokyo are:
1. Tokyo baseball tickets at the stadium box office
Head over in person to the Tokyo dome box office or Meiji Jingu Baseball Stadium.
This is obviously not ideal if you want to secure your tickets in advance, but if you happen to be in Tokyo and you learn that a baseball game is on, you can sometimes buy tickets either in advance or on the day at Tokyo Dome or Meiji Jingu.
That said, if you want to guarantee your Tokyo baseball tickets online and in advance, there are other ways to buy baseball tickets in Japan which we’ll detail below…
2. Tokyo baseball tickets online
You can buy Japan baseball tickets (including Tokyo Yomiuri Giants tickets online) via the travel websites Klook, Viator or ETix but there might be a small premium:
- Tokyo Yomiuri Giants Baseball Match Ticket (including hotel delivery) >
- Tokyo Baseball Yomiuri Giants Match with an English Speaking Baseball Expert >
- E-tix Tokyo Giants tickets >
To note if you visiting Fukuoka as part of your Japan travels, you can also easily buy Fukuoka baseball tickets / Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks tickets from Klook in advance here >
We went to a Fukuoka baseball game using tickets bought online and had no issues getting in. It was a great game although we found it slightly less atmospheric than the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants baseball game in Tokyo.
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3. Convenience store Baseball Tickets
Another way to buy Tokyo baseball tickets is from the online ticket machines in most Japanese convenience stores (‘konbinis’) such as 7-Eleven and Lawson.
Each convenience store has their own brand of ticketing machine as the Lawson Loppi. You can look for Tokyo baseball tickets in advance on the Lawson Loppi site here – but you generally need to collect them in store.
Please note there is usually a small admin / printing fee levied on any Japan / Tokyo baseball tickets bought through the convenience store ticket machines.
Most (but not all) also have a Language setting where you can change from Japanese to your preferred language.
You might like – Our Japan convenience store guides including 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson or konbini egg sandwiches >
4. Ticket resale sites
One other way to buy Tokyo baseball tickets is through reselling sites like StubHub and ViaGoGo.
We haven’t personally bought tickets from these resale sites so can’t really advise or recommend but these tickets are usually at a higher premium. We’d therefore recommend buying from retailers like Klook or Viator above.
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Going to a Tokyo baseball game – what to expect
We were lucky enough to catch Tokyo Yomiuri Giants vs Tokyo Yakult Swallows at the Tokyo Dome. As it was the two main Tokyo baseball teams in action, it was an epic night out with so much atmosphere and noise.
The fans of both sides were very vocal – there are so many cool things to see like every time the Tokyo Yakult Swallows did well or scored a home run, all their fans would get our miniature umbrellas as a celebration – so cool to see!
There was lots of fun mid game entertainment like prizes to be won on the baseball field, baseball camera action plus cheerleaders, dancing and so many drummers!
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Japanese baseball mascots
Every team in the Nippon Professional League has a Japanese baseball mascot and furry figure – so for the games we saw, we were treated to antics by the ‘Giabbits’, giant rabbits wearing Tokyo Yomiuri Giants clothing.
As you’d expect, you can even buy loads of Tokyo Yomiuri Giants merchandise at the stadium from baseball shirts and bats to branded clothes and Kawaii gifts.
We bought a Tokyo Yomiuri Giants Doraemon toy wearing all the baseball gear – such a cool Tokyo souvenir.
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks also have two main baseball mascots – Harry Hawk and his female ‘friend’ Honey Hawk.
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Food and drink at Tokyo Dome / Japanese Baseball Stadiums
There are lots of food and drink options in Tokyo Dome and all the other Japanese baseball stadiums – better yet, as well as all the food outlets in the outer edges of the stadiums, it is easy to get served in your seat.
For instance, having a highball or beer at a Japanese baseball game is really easy – there are dozens of staff (usually in bright colours) running up and down the aisles serving beer from tanks on their back or highbacks from huge vats.
Each serving person (often local students earning extra money) sell just one type of beer or spirit e.g. Asahi, Sapporo or Kirin so you need to look out for your preferred brewery or beer of choice.
Alcohol and food prices were reasonable at Tokyo Dome and it was so much fun to order drinks from your seat and have them poured there and then – you only really need to leave your seat for the toilet!
Going for a drink in Tokyo? Check out the ‘underground Ninja sake bar in Asakusa or Tokyo’s oldest beer hall in Ginza
Tokyo baseball tickets summary / is it worth going to a Japanese baseball game?
It is easy to buy Tokyo baseball tickets either online in advance or at the stadium box office – however, games can sell out early if the team is doing well or during holidays like Golden Week.
Tokyo baseball tickets start from just over 1,500 Yen (upwards of £8 / $10 USD) and it is such a fun night out, with lots of entertainment on and off the baseball field.
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