Baseball in Fukuoka and Japan is one of the countries most popular sports. So if you happen to be visiting Fukuoka during the Japanese Baseball season (usually March to October), you must purchase SoftBank Hawks tickets and make a home-run to Fukuoka Mizuho PayPay Dome.
Fukuoka baseball tickets can easily be bought by foreigners or visitors online or in person at the Fukuoka Dome Box Office. You can sometimes purchase tickets using the kiosks in Japanese convenience stores like 7-Eleven or Lawson.
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We’ve been to several Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball games, including a Yomiuri Giants game at Tokyo Dome, and watched the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks play at the Mizuho PayPay Dome.
From ticket prices to food and drink plus live entertainment, here is our guide to getting Fukuoka baseball tickets / Fukuoka Dome tickets, plus what to expect at the ground.
You might also like our guide to Tokyo baseball tickets and going to the Tokyo Dome >
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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 Fukuoka) is the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
There are 12 baseball teams in the NPB league including Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, who have been playing since 1938 (one of the long-serving teams in the NPB).
Japan baseball teams play 144 games in the main season followed by play-offs (the ‘Climax Series’), followed by the final two teams playing in the 7 game Japan Series championship decider usually held in October.
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Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Fukuoka Dome
There is one Fukuoka team in the top tier Japan Baseball / Nippon Professional Baseball league – the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (who play at the Mizuno PayPay Fukuoka Dome).
The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks are considered the most successful and popular baseball team in Southern Japan, and have been the Pacific League Champions 19 times and the Nippon Champions 11 times (correct as of summer 2024).
The Fukuoka Dome is around 30 years old, having opened in 1993 and has capacity for 40,000 fans and spectators.
Check out the top Japanese baseball tours and tickets with Viator >
Japanese Baseball schedule & experience
We went to the Fukuoka Dome on a week night to see the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks play against the Chiba Lotte Marines and the atmosphere was amazing – we bought our tickets in advance online via Klook.
If you happen to be in Japan / Fukuoka 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. Many Fukuoka bars and pubs also show 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 >
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Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks ticket prices 2024
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks ticket prices online usually start from around 5,000 Yen (£26 or $33 USD) but cheaper tickets may be available at the ground (the 3,000 Yen tickets always sell out fast).
Foreigners can buy baseball tickets in Fukuoka although the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks tickets often sell out quicker if they are on a winning streak.
Tickets are also much harder to buy during celebrations or holidays like Golden Week.
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How to get to Fukuoka Dome
The Fukuoka Dome is a 15 minute walk from Tojinmachi subway station – take exit 3.
From Fukuoka main station (Hakata JR station), take the Airport Line for 6 stops to Tojinmachi Station or you can take bus 302, 305 or 306 from Hakata Bus Terminal.
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Buying Fukuoka Baseball tickets / Nippon Professional Baseball tickets
It is easy for foreigners and overseas visitors to buy Fukuoka baseball tickets or even other Japanese baseball tickets – read our guide on how to buy Tokyo baseball tickets here >
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 Fukuoka are:
1. Fukuoka baseball tickets at the stadium box office
Head over in person to the Fukuoka dome box office.
This is obviously not ideal if you want to secure your tickets in advance, but if you happen to be in Fukuoka and you learn that a baseball game is on, you can sometimes buy tickets either in advance or on the day at Fukuoka.
The ticket counter at Fukuoka Dome is open 3.5 hours before the game starts and until 1.5 hours after the first ball is thrown.
That said, if you want to guarantee your Fukuoka baseball tickets online and in advance, there are other ways to buy baseball tickets in Japan which we’ll detail below…
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2. Fukuoka baseball tickets online
You can buy Fukuoka baseball via the travel website Klook >
This is how we brought out Fukuoka Softbank hawks baseball tickets and it was stress-free with tickets easy to pick up at the stadium.
We went to a Fukuoka baseball game and bought 2 x infield reserved tickets which got us about 10 rows from the front. There are various ticket types and prices available, usually between 5,000 and 10,000 Yen per ticket.
There are cheaper tickets usually starting from 3,000 Yen but these sell out quickly.
To redeem your Fukuoka baseball tickets, present your voucher on your phone at Fukuoka Dome ticket counter 5 next to gate 5.
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3. Convenience store baseball tickets
Another way to buy Fukuoka 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 Fukuoka 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 / Fukuoka 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.
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4. Japanese baseball ticket resale sites
One other way to buy Fukuoka 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 tickets online via Klook.
Try this – Top Fukuoka tours and activities with Klook >
Going to a Fukuoka baseball game – what to expect
We were lucky enough to catch the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks vs Chiba Lotte Marines at the Fukuoka Dome. It was an epic night out with so much atmosphere and noise.
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 and merchandise
Every team in the Nippon Professional League has a Japanese baseball mascot and furry figure – so for the game we saw, Harry the Hawk came and his female ‘friend’ Honey Hawk could be seen on and off pitch throughout the game.
There are 12 different character mascots in total representing Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.
Fukuoka has another mascot called ‘Fu-san’, which looks like the jet balloon that fans launch during the Lucky 7, just before when the Hawks are up to bat in the seventh innings.
As you’d expect, you can even buy loads of Fukuoka Softbank Hawks merchandise at the dome from baseball shirts and bats to branded clothes and Kawaii gifts like a Doraemon plushie wearing the Hawks outfit. Plus a large range of Softbank Hawks gachapon toys.
Outside the Fukuoka Dome and also in downtown Fukuoka, there were several cool manhole covers featuring Harry the Hawk and Honey Hawk.
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Food and drink at Fukuoka Dome / Japanese baseball stadiums
There are lots of food and drink options in Fukuoka 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) sells 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 Fukuoka 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!
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Fukuoka baseball tickets summary / is it worth going to a Japanese baseball game?
It is easy to buy Fukuoka 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.
Fukuoka 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. Go Hawks!
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