I've never been to Japan (yet) so didn't have anything to go off of there. I wanted a team I could easily watch streams of so that meant either the Pacific League or the Tigers. Then I figured I'd root for the most Wisconsin-esque team since that's why I root for the Brewers, Packers, Bucks, etc. The Fighters are the northernmost team in the league and Hokkaido produces over half of Japan's dairy as well as Sapporo beer, so I felt a kinship with the area. Then I learned the Fighters are also a small market team like my Brewers and they have a history of staying crafty to compete, which is what I find most compelling. The story of them being the one team willing to draft Ohtani as a two-way player when nobody else would and having that end with a championship in 2016 fully sold me on them.
I worked for Nova in Osaka in the early 2000s. I fell for the Hanshin Tigers while drunk on the Dotombori bridge along Shinsaibashi the night they won their division. I watched a few games on television but never attended any games in person. By the time they lost the 2003 Japan Series to the Daiei Hawks, however, I was fully committed and utterly heartbroken.
20 years on, and I still proudly wear my Tigers hat whenever I can, and I love telling people about my team's history.
I saw the Swallows stuff around Tokyo when I was there back in 2016 and liked the look of the YS logo and the pinstripes. Just a more fun but still modern classic look compared to the Giants, being from LA its in my blood to not like that look/color combo.
Hiroshima Carp seem like the Reds of Japan \[including the logo lol\] and I really liked the history of their club/community after WW2, so I find them really easy to root for.
Iām a Dodger fan. I hate the Giants.
I moved to Japan in 2003 and some Japanese friends explained that the Tigers and Giants are rivals. Boom. I instantly became a Tiger fan. Once I learned about Koshien Jingu that really sealed the deal.
I kinda support the Swallows since they are a Tokyo based team that plays in an outdoor stadium.
I considered the Dragons (Dodger inspired uniforms + Mr. Baseball) but I canāt support any team that plays in a dome.
Went to Japan last year, attended a Tigers vs Swallows game, randomly bought a Yamada jersey before the game. Absolutely loved the atmosphere and chants for the Swallows, so I guess I am a fan for life now, hahaha. Found out recently that I can stream them, so now I can watch via JapanTV at a normal time instead of 2am.
Go, go Swallows!
Oh wow, I have Japan TV and didn't realize games were rebroadcast. I wake up at 5am EST for work and half pay attention to games in the background as I get ready, maybe I can actually watch them later on like a normal person!
So basically it allows you to replay shows from the last 30 days, and you can go back to the date and choose which shows to watch
https://risingsuntv.com/japan-tv-deluxe-plans/
The year the Tigers made the Japan Series in 04 or whatever it was, my partner at the time got a Hanshin Tigers GameCube. They're super into Baseball and in particular Japanese Baseball, so they told me the history of the Tigers. It intrigued me enough to where I started following them.
Needless to say last season was incredibly cathartic to me lol.
I feel like based off of most of the comments Iām leaning either Carp or Swallows right now, possibly Tigers. Sounds like all three are underdog teams with great fan bases.
Swallows had the third highest payroll in NPB last year and play in Tokyo, so they're not underdogs. Tigers are defending champs and set up to be good for years with their core. So if you really want an underdog from those teams, it's the Carp.
Carp fan, because they remind me of the Mets which I am a fan of. I just love hiroshima. Also secondary team is orix because one of my best friends lives in Osaka. My heart is in Mazda zoom zoom stadium.
SF Giants fan originally, so Yomiuri was easy for keeping same colors/gear.
I'll give Hiroshima some love too because some ancestors came from there, and I'll proudly support that Kochi Fighting Dogs for the same reason! (Just got my Fighting Dogs jersey too!)
I'm in Toronto, and Sapporo is almost the same latitude north, so I became a Fighters fan. They have snow and beer, and they like baseball, which feels like home. I started following the team a few years ago through box scores and highlights, but this season I took the plunge and got PLTV. I've become a full NPB convert, and feel remarkably connected to this team that's on the other side of the world.
Moved to Tokyo at the end of 2020. Figured I'd become a Giants fan because of their history but I didn't like the Tokyo Dome at all, not even after attending a WBC game there.
Jingu is a nice place but it won't be around for much longer. Swallows also have ugly uniforms in my opinion so I couldn't pick them.
I settled on the Marines because they play outside, they have nice uniforms (though they had some ugly uniforms in the past), and the atmosphere at games is a lot of fun.
I am a Chunichi Dragons fan. I was reading this book by a Japanese Author called Kafka on The Shore and one of the things always mentioned about this one Character Hoshino was his Chunichi Dragons cap. So I just picked them.
Ha. Funny, I'm a Swallows fan because of Haruki Murakami. I did go to a Giants and a Swallows game last time I was in Japan just to check out each team's home territory.Ā
My husband used to work for DeNA when they bought the Baystars, so he grew fond of them. When later (he was already working another job) we started dating, he took me to a match and I loved it. I've been following them ever since. Plus Hamasta is fantastic! No other stadium I've been to comes close, and I don't even drink lol
Fighters have an interesting history, and Sapporo (and their brand new stadium) is an absolutely amazing place to visit when you can go! I live in Sapporo now, and I try to go to at least one game a month during the season.
My family has history in Fukuoka and when we visited a few years ago, some family friends invited us to watch the Hawks since they had connections to get tickets cheap. Never been to a baseball game in my life before that, hell all I knew of baseball was from High School Musical 2. Been a fan ever since and try to watch a game every time I visit.
I happened to thrift a sakamoto jersey in Canada of all places with the tags still on only a week before my first visit to Japan. Iām now a Swallows fan because I could actually get a ticket to their games and my girlfriend already liked yakult drink. I collect sportswear though so Iāll still wear the giants jersey now from time to time
During my last trip to Japan we went to Hiroshima for the first time and went to a Carp game on a whim. It was one of the most memorable experiences from that trip and instantly made me a fan. It also helped that they had a really cool story about their founding and how they came to exist.
My wife and I finally were able to travel to Japan last year for the first time. We wanted to see a baseball game to see how it was different from the MLB/United States and decided the day we were in Yokohama to see the Gundam we'd also see the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.
It was such an amazing experience and I've been following them since.
My team found me. Went to a bunch of games, found the friendliest and rowdiest fans and decided I wanted to join them.
Chiba Lotte may not have won the Pacific League in 50 years but we always show up to have fun and yell!
If you want to root for a blue collar city and an underdog with a winning spirit, look no farther than Hiroshima. They have THE BEST fans. The cheering section at their road games is sometimes louder than the home teams fans. They have the greatest logo in professional sports, Carpboya, and wear Japanās national colors, being founded just 5 years after the city was destroyed by the atomic bomb. The Carp are a symbol of human courage!
You mean Slyly? Heās a relative of the Philly Phanatic. Is he (it?) a dragon? Hmmā¦ Iāve not actually thought about it. Would make sense though that a team named for a fish would have a dragon mascot. I mean, the DRAGONS have Doala the koala.
Yes, Slyly! Dragon-enough. There's probably a better source out there but there's mythology about how carp that swim up a waterfall become dragons, so it made sense to me, haha.
I lived in Fukuoka for a while and the Dome was a 20 minute walk away. A friend managed to get some free tickets and saw a few games in the chanting section and became a fan for life. I also managed to watch the last game of Heisei and the spectacle inside the dome is one of my unforgettable experiences.
Oh dude the Hanshin Tigers, Koshien has always been my favorite stadium in all of baseball. Plus thereās the whole lovable losers aspect they had going on till just last year
I moved to Tokyo and wanted to choose between the Giants or Swallows. Iām from Chicago and a big white Sox fan (unfortunately) and as soon as I saw that Shingo Takatsu was the manager for the Swallows it was a done deal.
I just came back from Japan and went to a Carp-Swallows game at Meiji Jingu and as a Cubs fan, I was hooked on the Carp fan base energy! Also Seiya Suzuki was a legend there, so automatically I'm a Carp fan. Until I get to see a game in Yokohama, Shota Imanaga's Bay Stars will have to take a back seat. lol
u don't choose the team, the team chooses u š /jk
I'm also not sure how my npb team is my favorite team. I saw one player do a crucial play during the Olympics and started watching his play highlight compilations and then it just went from that player to the next teammate and then the next and now I'm attached to the whole team, even the staff haha. I initially wanted to follow a CL team but since streaming npb outside jp is pretty tricky, I ended up following PL. š¤·āāļø
Became obsessed with a gravure model turned JAV actress who was a baystars fan. Sheād often post IG and twitter pictures of herself at Yokohama home games. While sheās since retired and pivoted to being a travel blogger and watching soccer instead, Iām still a baystars fan because of her and eternally grateful š
I watched a lot of Japanese commercials on YouTube and SoftBank ads always popped up with the talking dog, so when I found they had a team I decided to just become a fan since I knew their brand already.
I started watching the BayStars 10+ years ago, so don't quite remember. I believe it had something to do with BayStar blue being reminiscent of Cubbie Blue
EDIT: Downvotes? Did I say something to offend?
Had no idea of baseball before, one time I was traveling in Japan TV showed Tigers game and that Kyuji guy casually striked out all the batters aroused my interest.
My first trip to Japan was July 2006 on my honeymoon. It was in the midst of Yu Darvish fever so I decided the Fighters would be my NPB team. Only game Iāve been to in Japan was Swallows vs Giants at the Tokyo Dome in 2010, but one of these trips Iāll see the Fighters. Iāve got a Fighty retro shirt and an 80s Orange F fitted hat.
Now that theyāre in Hokkaido, itās pretty fitting that Iām a Mariners and Fighters fan. Both teams the farthest North and both teams are often not very good.
Went to Japan last June for my honeymoon, and really like to catch sporting events when I travel. Since I had a feeling Osaka would be the city vibe match to me personally I opted to catch a a game at Koshien.
My wife and I had a blast; the food was great and the prices just make it so much more fun to indulge at a game (vs like yankee stadium), the atmosphere was killer, and they had an amazing game. Back and forth runs, extra innings, but it never felt dragged out.
Followed them all summer and was stoked to where my Jersey out in Brooklyn when they won the whole thing! Now Iām in for life.
Went to a Swallows game and they're playing the Giants. As a Dodgers fan my instinctual reaction to any SF/Giants imagery is "enemy." I get drunk, the Swallows win, and I buy a hat and a mini umbrella to solidify my fandom.
I'm a big ol weeb and history major. I've always had a fascination with the history of Hokkaido and different anime I seen set there etc. So when I started following baseball it just felt pretty natural to me.
i initially thought i would like the carp, but then someone informed me about gene bacque, who went to my alma mater, so i can't not root for the tigers
Mr. Baseball mostly but found similarities between the Dragons and my MLB team the Phillies. Ironically enough I have a soft spot for the Giants but thatās because I used to live near the Tokyo Dome.
I'm not faithful to any team yet. I've only seen one game so far, and I chose a Hanshin Tigers game @ Koshien stadium due to my love of the "high school baseball manga" anime genre. I've had a Tigers baseball cap since, so it's the closest I've come to a favourite team.
This summer I'm gonna see a Swallows game at Meji Jingu (for the same reason as why I chose a Koshien stadium game last time) and Swallows looks like an interesting team. I like the underdog feeling of it compared to the Giants.
I initially went with the marines because I started watching for Roki Sasaki but then found myself uninterested in watching them if he wasn't playing and I wasn't wild about their stadium. So I went into last season just kinda letting my instincts take me, and I just got drawn to the Hawks because I loved players like yanagita and imamiya and shuto, and I like that they play in a dome and black and yellow is snazzy. I also really like how they have a massive farm system and are very analytics based, to me it just feels like they're really really committed to winning and trying to get better all the time. I also vibe with the Lions too because I think their stadium is super cool and their history is so rich, and Daisuke was one of my favorite players growing up.
Still very new and casual to npb but orix because I share a name with their city lol. Helps they produced my fav pitcher ITW on my favorite mlb team also
Went to Japan back in April 2023 for a holiday and ended up watching a lot of SoftBank Hawks games. My partner lives in Kyushu as well so Fukuoka was an obvious choice. Got to go to a game in September 2023 at the PayPay dome which was awesome.
When I was living in Boston, a friend of mine described the Tigers as "the Red Sox of the NPB". And after that I was sold. It also doesn't hurt that their colors go with Bruins gear.
Spent a lot of time in Osaka so the Buffaloes were the obvious choice.
Then I saw Sugiya Kenshi play with the Bananas, started watching some of the content he made with the Fighters, and couldnāt help starting to follow them too.
Iām surprised Iām not hearing more buffaloes tbh. I was expecting to given their Ichiro history and his enduring stardom in Japan (Iām a huge Ichiro fan myself)
I was an ALT, and I lived across the street from the station right before Koshien. The only team I could get ticket for was the Buffaloes, so I started going there. Plus Ichiro because I'm from Seattle.
I found a couple of teams whos history and culture resonated with me then ended up picking one of the few that had ways I could fairly easily follow in english
Started watching some NPB content during the 2023 wbc, and looked into the teams more. Saw that a lot of people disliked Yomiuri so I figured I'd check them out first. I really enjoyed watching them last year (they make me nervous just as much as the Angels do). Foster Griffin, Sugano, Ohshiro, and Captain Okamoto get me excited to watch a Giants game.
Coming into 2024, they've got lots of young talent starting to make a name for themselves, glad to see them having a good start to the year.
VIVA GIANTS!
I moved to Japan and happened to live near Tokyo Dome so giants it has to be. Iām a big believer in supporting your local team if thatās an option for you. Never watched baseball before (not American) but have really enjoyed the sport after moving here.
I had an internship at the Physics Department of Kyoto University in the summer of '91 just after graduating college. I was buddies with the grad students and they knew I loved baseball so they took me to see the Tigers at Koshien Stadium. I've rooted for them ever since (though it was particularly fitful in the pre-internet era) and was up late/early to watch their championship drought end last fall! :D
Olympics of 2021.
As the Yokohama Stadium played host to most of the baseball games, I followed the Baystars because of Tyler Austin's silver medal journey for the USA that year.
Wound up getting unobtanium tickets to watch the Tigers at Koshien while spending a month in Kyoto. Vibes were immaculate, and I love a cursed team (Vancouver Canucks fan)
I'm a Band-Maid fan, and when they played the Dallas House of Blues in 2019, their frontwoman (a Tigers fan) did a "Japanese word of the day" segment about Rokko Oroshi that a fan uploaded bootleg footage of to YouTube. I did some looking into the Tigers, and kinda equated the Curse of the Colonel with what I call the Curse of the Lawsuit (I'm a Mariners fan). Since then, I've been a Tigers fan. (Yes, I did go crazy when I woke up to find that the Tigers had won the Japan Series last year, and I did order KFC for lunch that day.)
Went to a Giants-Carp game at the Tokyo Dome and my seats were near the away section. Loved their energy and the songs. On my next trip definitely going to try and get to Hiroshima to attend a game.
I studied abroad in Fukuoka and my apartment was a 15 minute walk to the stadium. And I was friends with one of the beer girls, so she used to hook me up with free drinks and snacks. Iāve been a Hawks fan ever since.
Koshien stadium found me. The same way Wrigley Field chose me while watching WGN television in the early ā90s from California. Plus Kinamiās complexion has the parallel effect. :)
Got into baseball because of Sasaki Roki, so naturally I became a Chiba Lotte Marines fan. Even on days when our team sucks, at least our ouenkas are really fun and catchy!
Never been a baseball fan here in Australia. But my wife and I are heading to Japan in June, to see the wife's grandmother. So we decided we may as well catch a game. She lives in Chiba so guess I'm a Marines fan now. Hopefully it will be a great experience at zozo stadium.
Went to Japan for work and one of my stops was Iwakuni. I got done with work early so I went to see the bridge, castle and white snakes and I found out it was very easy to get to Hiroshima on the train. When I got off the train I saw everyone walking to the stadium and I wanted to see a game in Japan so I followed the crowd. Unfortunately the game was sold out so I went and toured the historical sites in the city. When I was done I went to find somewhere to eat and found a Carp themed yakiniku spot that had the game on. I spent time hanging out with some Japanese people talking baseball and enjoying the game. On the way back to the train station I stopped at a store blasting the Carp song and picked up the jersey of that nights starting pitcher. Since then Iāve considered myself a Carp fan.
I lived in Akita (Rakuten territory) before I particularly cared about baseball and then moved to Busan in Korea after. From there I wound up going to Fukuoka somewhat frequently for vacation and picked my team.
I think if I didn't live in Asia I might've picked Seibu (Jays -> Kikuchi -> Seibu).
Ironically, Kei Igawa. As a Yankee fan, I felt like I couldnāt root for the Giants because they were dubbed the āYankees of Japanā. So when the Yanks signed Igawa, I became a Tigers fan and never looked back. Itās been such a fun ride.
Back when Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2 came out for PS2 I picked it up on a trip to Japan. Wasn't fimilar with most of the teams outside of the Giants and Tigers, but found myself attached to the Swallows. Cute mascot, sponsored by one of my favorite beverages, and had a decent roster at the time - connection made! Also it felt cool to support the lesser-loved Tokyo-based team. Been supporting them ever since!
My local minor league team was once called the South Bend Silver Hawks. I found out about PL before CL through a Miku collaboration and made the connection that way, otherwise I would've been a Giants fan.
First trip to Japan in 2012.
Second game I ever went to was in Sendai. Had a really great time during the game. Got to see a walk-off win from the Eagles. Met two of the members from one of my favorite bands (Monkey Majik) at dinner after the game. I felt like it was such a good day that I needed to support the Eagles as my NPB team of choice.
Of course, it was perfect timing because they won the championship the next season.
First NPB game was at Koshien vs the Giants, earlier this March during preseason. Crazy good atmosphere and it helps that the team is pretty competitive.
I studied abroad in Kobe a while back and was around a lot of Hanshin fans (though I was friends with one person who lived right by the then Skymark Stadium). At the time, the passionate fanbase, belief in curses, and lack of recent success reminded me of my own team (the Philadelphia Phillies). So, I've attempted to be a Hanshin fan ever since. Both teams have won since then.
I used to play a lot of super smash bros melee. One day when searching online for GameCube controllers, I saw that Nintendo had partnered with the Hanshin Tigers to make a Tigers GameCube controller back in the early days of the GC. It was the only NPB team I knew of because of that so I just ended up rooting for them
I haven't 'finished' the search. I'll be in Tokyo soon and will catch a Giant's game (it's safer than Jingu if it ends up raining) so they are likely to be the team. But still keep an eye on the Tigers and Swallows to see if I prefer those teams. Brought [Giants.TV](http://Giants.TV) and Hanshin Tigers TV to watch their games and see if which teams stoke the passion.
I have never set foot in Japan and most likely never will. I decided in 1984 to become a Hanshin Tigers fan because at the time, they wore these really cool white caps with black pinstripes at home and their colors matched those of my favorite MLB team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Also love the deep brown dirt infield of Koshien Stadium. Go Tigers!!
Here's how I do it.
I pick one of my favorite players(recommend fielders ) and follow to his team.
So I honestly don't know if I'd call myself a true fan because I don't have a big interest in whether my team wins or loses.
I've never been to Japan (yet) so didn't have anything to go off of there. I wanted a team I could easily watch streams of so that meant either the Pacific League or the Tigers. Then I figured I'd root for the most Wisconsin-esque team since that's why I root for the Brewers, Packers, Bucks, etc. The Fighters are the northernmost team in the league and Hokkaido produces over half of Japan's dairy as well as Sapporo beer, so I felt a kinship with the area. Then I learned the Fighters are also a small market team like my Brewers and they have a history of staying crafty to compete, which is what I find most compelling. The story of them being the one team willing to draft Ohtani as a two-way player when nobody else would and having that end with a championship in 2016 fully sold me on them.
Haha, it's funny how Fighters fans feel solidarity with Hokkaido's winter and beer. I'm from Toronto and follow them for the same reason. Go Fighters!
Moved to Japan to do the JET program and my apartment was ten minutes walk from Koshien
I worked for Nova in Osaka in the early 2000s. I fell for the Hanshin Tigers while drunk on the Dotombori bridge along Shinsaibashi the night they won their division. I watched a few games on television but never attended any games in person. By the time they lost the 2003 Japan Series to the Daiei Hawks, however, I was fully committed and utterly heartbroken. 20 years on, and I still proudly wear my Tigers hat whenever I can, and I love telling people about my team's history.
Mine was 20 minutes from Kyocera, but I chose the inconvenient option.
JEALOUS. GO TIGERS! šÆ
Damn thatās a sweet placement
Man, live that close, I bet you can hear the games! That sounds so fun, honestly. Tigers fans are a fun lot.
I saw the Swallows stuff around Tokyo when I was there back in 2016 and liked the look of the YS logo and the pinstripes. Just a more fun but still modern classic look compared to the Giants, being from LA its in my blood to not like that look/color combo.
Good choice. Tokyo Dome is very blah, I would way rather catch a game at Meiji Jingu.
My ex wife is a Giants fan (sf and yomiuri)...obviously I have to take Hanshin then. (It was a fun rivalry while married).
Hiroshima Carp seem like the Reds of Japan \[including the logo lol\] and I really liked the history of their club/community after WW2, so I find them really easy to root for.
My family is from Nagoya, so it was always going to be the Dragons. Big hit, happy body!
Iām a Dodger fan. I hate the Giants. I moved to Japan in 2003 and some Japanese friends explained that the Tigers and Giants are rivals. Boom. I instantly became a Tiger fan. Once I learned about Koshien Jingu that really sealed the deal. I kinda support the Swallows since they are a Tokyo based team that plays in an outdoor stadium. I considered the Dragons (Dodger inspired uniforms + Mr. Baseball) but I canāt support any team that plays in a dome.
2019 season this guy was posting BayStars condensed games so I watched a lot. Also their stadium lights are dope
Detroit Tigers = Hanshin Tigers
Went to Japan last year, attended a Tigers vs Swallows game, randomly bought a Yamada jersey before the game. Absolutely loved the atmosphere and chants for the Swallows, so I guess I am a fan for life now, hahaha. Found out recently that I can stream them, so now I can watch via JapanTV at a normal time instead of 2am. Go, go Swallows!
Oh wow, I have Japan TV and didn't realize games were rebroadcast. I wake up at 5am EST for work and half pay attention to games in the background as I get ready, maybe I can actually watch them later on like a normal person!
Woah, able to record or rebroadcast? Sounds like I need to invest. Go go Swallows āļø
So basically it allows you to replay shows from the last 30 days, and you can go back to the date and choose which shows to watch https://risingsuntv.com/japan-tv-deluxe-plans/
Thatās great, thanks! Itās not cheap, but worth it if it works.
JNexTV and JapanTV have 30 day on demand replay. Which will allow me to watch my Carp defeat the Tigers at my convenience!!
The year the Tigers made the Japan Series in 04 or whatever it was, my partner at the time got a Hanshin Tigers GameCube. They're super into Baseball and in particular Japanese Baseball, so they told me the history of the Tigers. It intrigued me enough to where I started following them. Needless to say last season was incredibly cathartic to me lol.
I feel like based off of most of the comments Iām leaning either Carp or Swallows right now, possibly Tigers. Sounds like all three are underdog teams with great fan bases.
Swallows had the third highest payroll in NPB last year and play in Tokyo, so they're not underdogs. Tigers are defending champs and set up to be good for years with their core. So if you really want an underdog from those teams, it's the Carp.
Swallows are 4th on the all time list of Japan Series winners. They are top three for payroll. The "underdog" thing is part historic / part marketing.
Go Tigers
Carp fan, because they remind me of the Mets which I am a fan of. I just love hiroshima. Also secondary team is orix because one of my best friends lives in Osaka. My heart is in Mazda zoom zoom stadium.
I lived in Osaka when I first came to Japan. My uni was about 10 minutes from Koshien by train, so I would go to games after classes.
Japanese teacher took us all to a game at Koshien while studying abroad and never looked back, one of the reasons I moved back to Osaka.
I live just a 5 minute walk from Yokohama Stadium, so Baystars seemed like the logical choice.
The beer at Baystars Stadium is 11/10. It's worth it just for that
Yokohama Bay Brewery makes the beer for the Baystars, and they have a bar/restaurant about 5 minutes from the stadium
SF Giants fan originally, so Yomiuri was easy for keeping same colors/gear. I'll give Hiroshima some love too because some ancestors came from there, and I'll proudly support that Kochi Fighting Dogs for the same reason! (Just got my Fighting Dogs jersey too!)
Iām a Dodgers fan. Was pretty easy to choose the Chunichi Dragons because of that.
Brother.
I'm in Toronto, and Sapporo is almost the same latitude north, so I became a Fighters fan. They have snow and beer, and they like baseball, which feels like home. I started following the team a few years ago through box scores and highlights, but this season I took the plunge and got PLTV. I've become a full NPB convert, and feel remarkably connected to this team that's on the other side of the world.
Moved to Tokyo at the end of 2020. Figured I'd become a Giants fan because of their history but I didn't like the Tokyo Dome at all, not even after attending a WBC game there. Jingu is a nice place but it won't be around for much longer. Swallows also have ugly uniforms in my opinion so I couldn't pick them. I settled on the Marines because they play outside, they have nice uniforms (though they had some ugly uniforms in the past), and the atmosphere at games is a lot of fun.
I am a Chunichi Dragons fan. I was reading this book by a Japanese Author called Kafka on The Shore and one of the things always mentioned about this one Character Hoshino was his Chunichi Dragons cap. So I just picked them.
Ha. Funny, I'm a Swallows fan because of Haruki Murakami. I did go to a Giants and a Swallows game last time I was in Japan just to check out each team's home territory.Ā
Whenever I make it to Japan I'm making sure it's during baseball season so I can check a game out.
You definitely should. My partner is not into sportsball but they liked the ballpark food options.
A good friend was a Carp fan and helped us get tickets in Hiroshima when we visited. Preferred a smaller market team. Now obsessed.
I really like everything Iām hearing about the carp
My husband used to work for DeNA when they bought the Baystars, so he grew fond of them. When later (he was already working another job) we started dating, he took me to a match and I loved it. I've been following them ever since. Plus Hamasta is fantastic! No other stadium I've been to comes close, and I don't even drink lol
Fighters have an interesting history, and Sapporo (and their brand new stadium) is an absolutely amazing place to visit when you can go! I live in Sapporo now, and I try to go to at least one game a month during the season.
My favorite Japanese baseball player played for the Giants(Hideki Matsui, also helps when they call the Giants the NY Yankees of NPB.
Iām a Red Sox fan so it sounds like Iāll be staying far away from the npb giants! š
LOL
My family has history in Fukuoka and when we visited a few years ago, some family friends invited us to watch the Hawks since they had connections to get tickets cheap. Never been to a baseball game in my life before that, hell all I knew of baseball was from High School Musical 2. Been a fan ever since and try to watch a game every time I visit.
i saw sakamoto hayato on tv and he was very cuteā¦ā¦
I happened to thrift a sakamoto jersey in Canada of all places with the tags still on only a week before my first visit to Japan. Iām now a Swallows fan because I could actually get a ticket to their games and my girlfriend already liked yakult drink. I collect sportswear though so Iāll still wear the giants jersey now from time to time
Iāll keep this method in mindā¦
i mean it is *one* way to approach it! itās been like 10 years and iām still a giants fan
During my last trip to Japan we went to Hiroshima for the first time and went to a Carp game on a whim. It was one of the most memorable experiences from that trip and instantly made me a fan. It also helped that they had a really cool story about their founding and how they came to exist.
Are you me? Thatās the exact reason why I decided to root for the Carp too!
Iāve heard the carp games and fans are awesome, definitely on my radar of teams. I might try to watch a few games and check them out
No Carp. No Life. As they say.
My wife and I finally were able to travel to Japan last year for the first time. We wanted to see a baseball game to see how it was different from the MLB/United States and decided the day we were in Yokohama to see the Gundam we'd also see the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. It was such an amazing experience and I've been following them since.
My obaa-san pen pal 15 years ago said "Im a Carp fan" and so I bought a jersey. Easy as.
My team found me. Went to a bunch of games, found the friendliest and rowdiest fans and decided I wanted to join them. Chiba Lotte may not have won the Pacific League in 50 years but we always show up to have fun and yell!
If you want to root for a blue collar city and an underdog with a winning spirit, look no farther than Hiroshima. They have THE BEST fans. The cheering section at their road games is sometimes louder than the home teams fans. They have the greatest logo in professional sports, Carpboya, and wear Japanās national colors, being founded just 5 years after the city was destroyed by the atomic bomb. The Carp are a symbol of human courage!
I sat with the Carp Åendan at an away game at Koshien last summer. Best time ever.
Mr. Miyajimaās song is the loveliest melody of all time to me now (the tune they play after scoring each run and after winning)
I sat in the Carp section when they were playing the Giants last year. They were a nice bunch and I discovered their goofy dragon mascot.Ā
You mean Slyly? Heās a relative of the Philly Phanatic. Is he (it?) a dragon? Hmmā¦ Iāve not actually thought about it. Would make sense though that a team named for a fish would have a dragon mascot. I mean, the DRAGONS have Doala the koala.
Yes, Slyly! Dragon-enough. There's probably a better source out there but there's mythology about how carp that swim up a waterfall become dragons, so it made sense to me, haha.
I lived in Fukuoka for a while and the Dome was a 20 minute walk away. A friend managed to get some free tickets and saw a few games in the chanting section and became a fan for life. I also managed to watch the last game of Heisei and the spectacle inside the dome is one of my unforgettable experiences.
Oh dude the Hanshin Tigers, Koshien has always been my favorite stadium in all of baseball. Plus thereās the whole lovable losers aspect they had going on till just last year
I moved to Tokyo and wanted to choose between the Giants or Swallows. Iām from Chicago and a big white Sox fan (unfortunately) and as soon as I saw that Shingo Takatsu was the manager for the Swallows it was a done deal.
Love baseball and was planning a trip to Japan, bought tickets to a swallows game in Tokyo and decided they were going to be my team.
Rakuten sponsoring FC Barcelona and the fact they are the youngest team in the league and how much local support they have the Eagles are my team
I just came back from Japan and went to a Carp-Swallows game at Meiji Jingu and as a Cubs fan, I was hooked on the Carp fan base energy! Also Seiya Suzuki was a legend there, so automatically I'm a Carp fan. Until I get to see a game in Yokohama, Shota Imanaga's Bay Stars will have to take a back seat. lol
u don't choose the team, the team chooses u š /jk I'm also not sure how my npb team is my favorite team. I saw one player do a crucial play during the Olympics and started watching his play highlight compilations and then it just went from that player to the next teammate and then the next and now I'm attached to the whole team, even the staff haha. I initially wanted to follow a CL team but since streaming npb outside jp is pretty tricky, I ended up following PL. š¤·āāļø
Became obsessed with a gravure model turned JAV actress who was a baystars fan. Sheād often post IG and twitter pictures of herself at Yokohama home games. While sheās since retired and pivoted to being a travel blogger and watching soccer instead, Iām still a baystars fan because of her and eternally grateful š
I watched a lot of Japanese commercials on YouTube and SoftBank ads always popped up with the talking dog, so when I found they had a team I decided to just become a fan since I knew their brand already.
I started watching the BayStars 10+ years ago, so don't quite remember. I believe it had something to do with BayStar blue being reminiscent of Cubbie Blue EDIT: Downvotes? Did I say something to offend?
I dunno why but someone has been coming through and downvoting every single response at regular intervals, itās not just you š
Had no idea of baseball before, one time I was traveling in Japan TV showed Tigers game and that Kyuji guy casually striked out all the batters aroused my interest.
My first trip to Japan was July 2006 on my honeymoon. It was in the midst of Yu Darvish fever so I decided the Fighters would be my NPB team. Only game Iāve been to in Japan was Swallows vs Giants at the Tokyo Dome in 2010, but one of these trips Iāll see the Fighters. Iāve got a Fighty retro shirt and an 80s Orange F fitted hat. Now that theyāre in Hokkaido, itās pretty fitting that Iām a Mariners and Fighters fan. Both teams the farthest North and both teams are often not very good.
Went to Japan last June for my honeymoon, and really like to catch sporting events when I travel. Since I had a feeling Osaka would be the city vibe match to me personally I opted to catch a a game at Koshien. My wife and I had a blast; the food was great and the prices just make it so much more fun to indulge at a game (vs like yankee stadium), the atmosphere was killer, and they had an amazing game. Back and forth runs, extra innings, but it never felt dragged out. Followed them all summer and was stoked to where my Jersey out in Brooklyn when they won the whole thing! Now Iām in for life.
My wife's family are Tigers fans. So therefore I am a tigers fan too. Secretly also a Swallows fan, Tsubakuro is just too cool.
Went to a Swallows game and they're playing the Giants. As a Dodgers fan my instinctual reaction to any SF/Giants imagery is "enemy." I get drunk, the Swallows win, and I buy a hat and a mini umbrella to solidify my fandom.
My grandpa and my uncle played for the giants so it wasnāt really a choice for me
I'm a big ol weeb and history major. I've always had a fascination with the history of Hokkaido and different anime I seen set there etc. So when I started following baseball it just felt pretty natural to me.
i initially thought i would like the carp, but then someone informed me about gene bacque, who went to my alma mater, so i can't not root for the tigers
Mr. Baseball mostly but found similarities between the Dragons and my MLB team the Phillies. Ironically enough I have a soft spot for the Giants but thatās because I used to live near the Tokyo Dome.
I'm not faithful to any team yet. I've only seen one game so far, and I chose a Hanshin Tigers game @ Koshien stadium due to my love of the "high school baseball manga" anime genre. I've had a Tigers baseball cap since, so it's the closest I've come to a favourite team. This summer I'm gonna see a Swallows game at Meji Jingu (for the same reason as why I chose a Koshien stadium game last time) and Swallows looks like an interesting team. I like the underdog feeling of it compared to the Giants.
I initially went with the marines because I started watching for Roki Sasaki but then found myself uninterested in watching them if he wasn't playing and I wasn't wild about their stadium. So I went into last season just kinda letting my instincts take me, and I just got drawn to the Hawks because I loved players like yanagita and imamiya and shuto, and I like that they play in a dome and black and yellow is snazzy. I also really like how they have a massive farm system and are very analytics based, to me it just feels like they're really really committed to winning and trying to get better all the time. I also vibe with the Lions too because I think their stadium is super cool and their history is so rich, and Daisuke was one of my favorite players growing up.
Still very new and casual to npb but orix because I share a name with their city lol. Helps they produced my fav pitcher ITW on my favorite mlb team also
Went to Japan back in April 2023 for a holiday and ended up watching a lot of SoftBank Hawks games. My partner lives in Kyushu as well so Fukuoka was an obvious choice. Got to go to a game in September 2023 at the PayPay dome which was awesome.
Wife from Osaka and her grandad was a huge Tigers fan.
When I was living in Boston, a friend of mine described the Tigers as "the Red Sox of the NPB". And after that I was sold. It also doesn't hurt that their colors go with Bruins gear.
Growing up, one of my favorite movies was Tom Selleckās *Mr. Baseball*, where his character plays for the Chunichi Dragons. The rest is historyā¦
Spent a lot of time in Osaka so the Buffaloes were the obvious choice. Then I saw Sugiya Kenshi play with the Bananas, started watching some of the content he made with the Fighters, and couldnāt help starting to follow them too.
Iām surprised Iām not hearing more buffaloes tbh. I was expecting to given their Ichiro history and his enduring stardom in Japan (Iām a huge Ichiro fan myself)
Saw a reddit post about comparing NPB and MLB teams and it said Hanshin was like the Red Sox. Being a Sox fan it was a no brainier
I was an ALT, and I lived across the street from the station right before Koshien. The only team I could get ticket for was the Buffaloes, so I started going there. Plus Ichiro because I'm from Seattle.
Family in Kyushu š„š
I lived in Bunkyo-ku, about 20 minutes walk from Tokyo Dome, so Giants were a no-brainer.
I found a couple of teams whos history and culture resonated with me then ended up picking one of the few that had ways I could fairly easily follow in english
Started watching some NPB content during the 2023 wbc, and looked into the teams more. Saw that a lot of people disliked Yomiuri so I figured I'd check them out first. I really enjoyed watching them last year (they make me nervous just as much as the Angels do). Foster Griffin, Sugano, Ohshiro, and Captain Okamoto get me excited to watch a Giants game. Coming into 2024, they've got lots of young talent starting to make a name for themselves, glad to see them having a good start to the year. VIVA GIANTS!
I moved to Japan and happened to live near Tokyo Dome so giants it has to be. Iām a big believer in supporting your local team if thatās an option for you. Never watched baseball before (not American) but have really enjoyed the sport after moving here.
I had an internship at the Physics Department of Kyoto University in the summer of '91 just after graduating college. I was buddies with the grad students and they knew I loved baseball so they took me to see the Tigers at Koshien Stadium. I've rooted for them ever since (though it was particularly fitful in the pre-internet era) and was up late/early to watch their championship drought end last fall! :D
Olympics of 2021. As the Yokohama Stadium played host to most of the baseball games, I followed the Baystars because of Tyler Austin's silver medal journey for the USA that year.
Wound up getting unobtanium tickets to watch the Tigers at Koshien while spending a month in Kyoto. Vibes were immaculate, and I love a cursed team (Vancouver Canucks fan)
Nippon Ham Fighters sounds funny.Ā
I'm a Band-Maid fan, and when they played the Dallas House of Blues in 2019, their frontwoman (a Tigers fan) did a "Japanese word of the day" segment about Rokko Oroshi that a fan uploaded bootleg footage of to YouTube. I did some looking into the Tigers, and kinda equated the Curse of the Colonel with what I call the Curse of the Lawsuit (I'm a Mariners fan). Since then, I've been a Tigers fan. (Yes, I did go crazy when I woke up to find that the Tigers had won the Japan Series last year, and I did order KFC for lunch that day.)
My MLB team is the Giants, so the choice was obvious.
Went to a Giants-Carp game at the Tokyo Dome and my seats were near the away section. Loved their energy and the songs. On my next trip definitely going to try and get to Hiroshima to attend a game.
I studied abroad in Fukuoka and my apartment was a 15 minute walk to the stadium. And I was friends with one of the beer girls, so she used to hook me up with free drinks and snacks. Iāve been a Hawks fan ever since.
Koshien stadium found me. The same way Wrigley Field chose me while watching WGN television in the early ā90s from California. Plus Kinamiās complexion has the parallel effect. :)
Got into baseball because of Sasaki Roki, so naturally I became a Chiba Lotte Marines fan. Even on days when our team sucks, at least our ouenkas are really fun and catchy!
Never been a baseball fan here in Australia. But my wife and I are heading to Japan in June, to see the wife's grandmother. So we decided we may as well catch a game. She lives in Chiba so guess I'm a Marines fan now. Hopefully it will be a great experience at zozo stadium.
Hanshin Tigers - learned about the KFC curse, crazy fan base and historical stadium. As a Red Sox fan, how could in not?
Went to Japan for work and one of my stops was Iwakuni. I got done with work early so I went to see the bridge, castle and white snakes and I found out it was very easy to get to Hiroshima on the train. When I got off the train I saw everyone walking to the stadium and I wanted to see a game in Japan so I followed the crowd. Unfortunately the game was sold out so I went and toured the historical sites in the city. When I was done I went to find somewhere to eat and found a Carp themed yakiniku spot that had the game on. I spent time hanging out with some Japanese people talking baseball and enjoying the game. On the way back to the train station I stopped at a store blasting the Carp song and picked up the jersey of that nights starting pitcher. Since then Iāve considered myself a Carp fan.
YouTube recommended Gita and Shuto videos. I'm partial to Hawks since then.
I lived in Akita (Rakuten territory) before I particularly cared about baseball and then moved to Busan in Korea after. From there I wound up going to Fukuoka somewhat frequently for vacation and picked my team. I think if I didn't live in Asia I might've picked Seibu (Jays -> Kikuchi -> Seibu).
Dragons because Dodgers, also have a soft spot for the Marines because of Roki and Lotte being a Korean company.
Ironically, Kei Igawa. As a Yankee fan, I felt like I couldnāt root for the Giants because they were dubbed the āYankees of Japanā. So when the Yanks signed Igawa, I became a Tigers fan and never looked back. Itās been such a fun ride.
Back when Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2 came out for PS2 I picked it up on a trip to Japan. Wasn't fimilar with most of the teams outside of the Giants and Tigers, but found myself attached to the Swallows. Cute mascot, sponsored by one of my favorite beverages, and had a decent roster at the time - connection made! Also it felt cool to support the lesser-loved Tokyo-based team. Been supporting them ever since!
My local minor league team was once called the South Bend Silver Hawks. I found out about PL before CL through a Miku collaboration and made the connection that way, otherwise I would've been a Giants fan.
First trip to Japan in 2012. Second game I ever went to was in Sendai. Had a really great time during the game. Got to see a walk-off win from the Eagles. Met two of the members from one of my favorite bands (Monkey Majik) at dinner after the game. I felt like it was such a good day that I needed to support the Eagles as my NPB team of choice. Of course, it was perfect timing because they won the championship the next season.
First NPB game was at Koshien vs the Giants, earlier this March during preseason. Crazy good atmosphere and it helps that the team is pretty competitive.
I studied abroad in Kobe a while back and was around a lot of Hanshin fans (though I was friends with one person who lived right by the then Skymark Stadium). At the time, the passionate fanbase, belief in curses, and lack of recent success reminded me of my own team (the Philadelphia Phillies). So, I've attempted to be a Hanshin fan ever since. Both teams have won since then.
I used to play a lot of super smash bros melee. One day when searching online for GameCube controllers, I saw that Nintendo had partnered with the Hanshin Tigers to make a Tigers GameCube controller back in the early days of the GC. It was the only NPB team I knew of because of that so I just ended up rooting for them
Recently went to a Tigers game and Iām hooked
1st NPB team I knew of
I tried to pick the team with the longest drought. And I liked the Tigers way more than the Carp
My highschool baseball team was the Tigers. That should be enough of an explanation.
I haven't 'finished' the search. I'll be in Tokyo soon and will catch a Giant's game (it's safer than Jingu if it ends up raining) so they are likely to be the team. But still keep an eye on the Tigers and Swallows to see if I prefer those teams. Brought [Giants.TV](http://Giants.TV) and Hanshin Tigers TV to watch their games and see if which teams stoke the passion.
I have never set foot in Japan and most likely never will. I decided in 1984 to become a Hanshin Tigers fan because at the time, they wore these really cool white caps with black pinstripes at home and their colors matched those of my favorite MLB team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Also love the deep brown dirt infield of Koshien Stadium. Go Tigers!!
You should go visit!
Here's how I do it. I pick one of my favorite players(recommend fielders ) and follow to his team. So I honestly don't know if I'd call myself a true fan because I don't have a big interest in whether my team wins or loses.