Seibu Lions Food & Drink Stand

If you have been to a baseball game in America you know that it can be a relaxing experience. Most people kick-back and enjoy the game and some even fall asleep. In Japan it’s quite the opposite. I have been to a few games now in Japan and I have noticed one significant difference between watching pro baseball in Japan and America – the fans in Japan are much more active in the game.

Of course, like America, Japanese fans will wear their home teams colors and hats to the game. Besides clothing it’s more common for Japanese to bring noise makers and flags for twirling in the air and other accesories.

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a Seibu Lions game with die-hard fans and was taught how to enjoy a game:

1. It’s fine to bring food and drinks into the stadium (I cannot vouch for all baseball stadiums in Japan but this is true at Seibu Dome). If you bring your own beer to the stadium the staff will take it from you…but they will not callously trash it like in America. Instead, they will kindly poor it for you into a Seibu Lions paper cup!! This is unbelievable. I was expecting that we would have to sneak these beers into the game – not for them to assist us in our efforts.

Seibu Lions Beer Pouring Service

2. Bring the home team’s noise makers. You will need a set of little plastic bats to pound throughout the game to cheer on the team. Why use your hands when you could be banging these around?

Sound Makers

3. Learn the home team’s theme song. Yes, your team probably has a theme song. If you do not know your team’s song, pay attention to the tune they play during the 7th inning stretch or when they score. That’s it! Enjoy the game the Japanese way. For information on all the Japanese teams visit the Nippon Professional Baseball official site (english)

Below is a video I took when the Lions put some runs on the board. Go Go Go Lions!