Nippon Ham Fighters 1 at Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 3 - April 10, 2012

As my time in Japan winds down, I'm making a last visit to those stadiums I haven't seen in a while in order to review them for Stadium Journey. Fukuoka was one I thought would be difficult to get to as flights are not as cheap as those to Sapporo. Recently though, StarFlyer, another low-cost carrier that flies out of Haneda, initiated a Wednesday special to Fukuoka for just 10,000 yen one-way. The Softbank Hawks just happened to be playing the Nippon Ham Fighters on Tuesday night, so I was able to fly down for the game that day and fly back on Wednesday using the cheap ticket.

Fukuoka Dome

Built in 1993, the Fukuoka Dome was Japan's first stadium with a retractable roof (below). In 2005, the naming rights were bought, and the venue is now known as the Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome, or Yahoo Dome for short. I prefer the original name and will refer to it as such.

The dome is a 10-minute walk from Tojinmachi subway station, which is itself just 15 minutes from downtown Fukuoka, so it is easy to get to. The venue is part of a larger complex called "Hawks Town" which consists of a mall, several restaurants including a Hard Rock Cafe, and a Hilton hotel (called the Sea Hawk in keeping with the theme). The surrounding area is next to the waterfront and there is a beach just on the other side of the highway, although I didn't immediately see how to access it. If you have time and the weather is nice, it is worth exploring this area before the game.

The Hawks have been one of the NPB's most successful teams, and are the defending Japan Series champions. As such, they are charging much more for tickets than the other clubs, with seats behind the plate going for as much as 10,000 yen. The seats are the big and comfy type, but $120 is way too much for a baseball game in my mind.

If you like to be close to the action, the S reserved seats are 5,500 yen, still a bit overpriced. The best bet might be the outfield reserved seats listed at 1,800 yen but marked down to 1,000 yen at the game I went to. If you are not interested in getting inside the stadium, you can try the museum experience. Above the outfield seats is a museum dedicated to Sadaharu Oh, the world record holder with 868 home runs. For just 1,400 yen, you can visit this and see the game. This used to be a restaurant (similar to Windows in Rogers Centre) and I sat here a few years ago and found it bizarre as you can't hear the sounds of the game. In 2010, the Hawks decided to create a museum to honour Oh, who managed the team for several years and is now the chairman. I would have liked to have seen this but time did not permit on this rather quick visit.

Despite being much larger than the Tokyo Dome in terms of size, Fukuoka Dome only has a single seating bowl with 32 aisles that provide access from the main concourse. You can walk around the entire concourse, but it gets busy when a crowd of 35,000 fans is on hand.

There are a few displays worth noting as you wander. First, at every gate there are "V" shaped pillars that commemorate each of the Hawks' 15 Pacific League titles as well as their first two championships in the Japanese Baseball League.

There is a Material Wall that simulates a pitchers mound and home plate, exactly 18m44 apart (that's 60'6" for those who don't know metric).

Finally, the entire Hawks roster is shown under their place of origin. Brad Penny (#31) is there; he joined the team but is currently off the active roster after suffering an injury in his first start; Wily Mo Pena (#8) is another MLB vet who is with the squad.

Don't try to enter the good seats without a ticket, each aisle is manned by an eager usher who will not let you pass unless you are ticketed for that specific aisle. Once in the seating area, you are again limited to how far you can go as plastic fencing blocks you from moving to a different section of seats. Not good if you are trying to get pictures, but you can enter the outfield sections at any time as they are the cheapest.

Food options are not as good as at some other parks in Japan and I struggled to find something unique, settling on a chicken burger in a focaccia bun. It came with a soft drink for 780 yen, not exactly cheap eats. Interestingly, you fill up your own drink here, something I've not seen at other ballparks. If you want something unusual, the fried squid (below) should fit the bill. As usual, explore all the options and you should find something to enjoy.

For me, that is where the fun ended. I am used to Japanese ballgames being loud with the presence of the two cheering sections in the outfield, but the Hawks take things to the extreme. To begin, there is an MC named Max, an overly hyper DJ from Chicago who started working here in 2007. He first appears before the game to get things going with lots of rah-rah and then becomes more and more irritating with between-inning appearances (called Max Time!) to interview fans and spout the Hawks slogan, which is "V V" this year (for victory victory - you can see the logo on the yellow banners above). You'd have to live in Japan for a while to appreciate just how bloody awful this is; foreigners acting goofy is a staple of Japanese TV and seeing it brought to the ballpark was depressing.

There are three video boards above the outfield seats but two of them are used exclusively for advertising. These were given the names "Left Wing Vision" and "Right Wing Vision" in an obvious attempt to show that regardless of political bent, commercialization is the key to happiness.

In fact, that was the main theme I took away from my visit here - spend, spend, spend. Moreso than most ballparks, I found myself inundated with commercials, right from when I walked through Hawks Mall on the way to the stadium. There are logos everywhere around and even Max got into the act, interviewing a couple of young ladies in English for a local language school.

There was a dance team (above) and at least six mascots to further aggravate me. Everything here is just so overboard that by the end of the evening, I desperately needed a drink in a quiet bar. Fortunately, the two fans in front of me were more than happy to show me to one of their favourite haunts, but more on that later. After all, there was a game to be played amongst all the noise.

The Game

Bobby Keppel started for the Fighters and gave up a run in the first inning on 3 consecutive singles. The Fighters got that back in the top of the 2nd when Dai-Kang Yang tripled off Hiroki Yamada and was singled home by Makoto Kaneko. Keppel did not appear from the dugout for the 2nd (turned out he was experiencing tightness in his shoulder), and Masahiro Inui came in to take over.

Inui pitched well for a couple of innings, but in the bottom of the 4th, he walked Hiroki Kokubo, an 18-year veteran who began his career in 1994 with the then-named Daiei Hawks. Although he played three seasons with the hated Giants, he returned to Fukuoka in 2007 and has been a solid contributor since. With Kokubo on first, Nobuhiro Matsuda crushed Inui's first offering well foul. No worries though, two pitches later Matsuda launched another shot, this one staying well fair to give the Hawks the 3-1 lead.

That was all that Yamada and his relievers would need as the Fighters never really threatened. Brian Falkenborg pitched the ninth for his 6th save of the season and the Hawks ran their winning streak to five games.

Most fans stayed for the celebrations afterward. For about 30 minutes there were hero interviews, singing of the team song, fireworks, and more balloons being released. I must say that the fans seemed to really enjoy themselves here and I am probably just an old scrooge who likes a more quiet and reflective atmosphere at the ballpark.

Notes

The Fighters' Dai-Kang Yang is an interesting case study on the difficulties of translating non-Japanese names into English. He is Taiwanese and thus his name consists of Chinese characters. His last name (Yang) means sun and is pronounced Yoh in Japanese, which is how he officially registers himself with the NPB. However, on their English site they still use Yang. I'm not sure which is right, but for consistency within English, I'll use Yang here.

Tommy

Remember that drink I mentioned earlier? As I was leaving, I noticed that one of the ladies in front of me had dropped her ticket, so I picked it up and handed it to her, saying in very simple Japanese "Excuse me, you dropped this". Well, they were stunned at my language abilities (those foreigners who live in Japan will understand this experience;, even the most tongue-tied are praised for their linguistic talents) and promptly asked me the normal questions (i.e. country of origin, time in Japan, age, marital status, which team I root for, etc). We talked for a while and I mentioned that I was looking to grab a nightcap and they told me about a place they knew, so off we went.

They ended up taking me to Tommy, a small "karaoke snack" run by a flamboyant drag queen who keeps your glass filled up all night long. At just 3,000 yen for unlimited shochu or whiskey, it is much cheaper than similar places in Tokyo and very relaxing. Once the karaoke started, it wasn't that quiet, but by then my headache had been washed away and all was good until late in the evening. I have no idea how to get there as it is hidden in the back alleys of an area known as Nishi Nakasu, but there are hundreds of similar places in that neighborhood, so if you can find a local to guide you around it could be a very interesting experience.

Next Up

I'm planning to see an AFC Champions League game featuring FC Tokyo on Tuesday evening and then traveling to Nagoya for three games in three days. Those will be my last games as a resident of Japan and somewhat bittersweet as I've certainly seen my share of events here over 15 years.

The last two weeks here will be spent preparing for the move and then I'll be in Singapore for 10 days where I hope to check out an S League game. Then it's home to Canada for the summer, starting with a 3-game set between the Mets and Jays. It will be busy, so check back often to see what happens.

Best,

Sean

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NHL Playoff Predictions

Last year at this time, I ran a simple simulation of the NHL playoffs based on the regular season records. Overtime wins are given priority over shootout wins, and if a series is tied, the team with the better record moves on.

Here's how this year's playoffs shape up:

East

Ottawa over NY Rangers 3-1

Washington over Boston 3-1
Florida over New Jersey 2-1-1
Philadelphia over Pittsburgh 4-2

All upsets - the four favorites actually lost the season series.

Ottawa over Florida 3-1
Philadelphia over Washington 3-1

Philadelphia and Ottawa tied 2-1-1 but Philadelphia advances because their extra-time win came in OT while Ottawa needed a shootout.

West
Vancouver over LA 2-1-1
St. Louis over San Jose 4-0
Phoenix over Chicago 3-1
Nashville and Detroit tied 3-3, Nashville advances based on the better overall record although Detroit outscored them (more on that later)

The four teams with home advantage won the season series.

Nashville over Vancouver 2-1-1
St. Louis over Phoenix 3-1

Nashville over St. Louis 4-1-1

Stanley Cup Final
Philadelphia and Nashville split their two games. Nashville wins based on their slightly better overall record although Philadelphia outscored the Predators 6-5.

Amazingly, this is the same matchup as predicted last year, with Philly taking that one. As you know, it wasn't very accurate. This year will be different I am sure. Update: No, it won't.

The real NHL tiebreaker rules include goal differential, which I ignore in this little simulation. It makes no difference in the East, but in the West, Detroit would advance instead of Nashville. Vancouver would then beat Detroit (series was tied 2-1-1 and tied in goals as well, so Vancouver moves on based on better record) . St.Louis beats Vancouver 2-1-1 to make it to the final where they would beat Philly based on their win in their only meeting back in October.

My personal predictions are essentially the opposite in the East, where Pittsburgh and the Rangers should meet in the final with the Penguins moving on to win the Cup over Nashville, who will eliminate Vancouver in the Western Final. As always, it should be an interesting and exciting playoffs.

Update: My Cup picks have both been eliminated, so I give up. Truly a bizarre playoff with road teams dominating.

As for the season series simulation, it was right 5 of 8 times in the first round and 3 of 4 in the second (Philly edged NJ 7-6 during the regular season).

For what it is worth, the Kings beat Phoenix 8-7 during the season with 3 of 6 games going to overtime. The Rangers outpointed New Jersey so look for a Rangers-Kings final and a very happy NHL.

The four possible finals and the season series:
NYR-LA - Kings won the only meeting in OT, game was the season opener in Stockholm
NYR-Phx - Rangers took both games, including one in a shootout
NJ-LA - Devils took both, including one in a shootout (didn't matter, Kings won the Cup 4 games to 2)
NJ-Phx - Coyotes won the only matchup 5-3 at home

Best,

Sean

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The Sapporo Dome Tour

There is a lot to do in Sapporo, but I had been there many times before and didn't want to revisit any attractions that I have seen previously. So on the day between games, I headed back to the Sapporo Dome, this time to take the behind-the-scenes tour.

Tickets for this tour are 1,000 yen and can be picked up at the North Gate box office. Tours are held on the hour from 10 am to 4 pm on non-game days. If there is an event, the hours will vary or there may be no tours at all, you'll need to check their home page (Japanese) to confirm.

For 50 minutes, you are led around by a young woman who spends a lot of time walking backwards while explaining the various facets of the venue. It's all in Japanese, however, even neophytes will quickly learn the phrase for "Please watch your step" as it seems like every single staircase warrants a warning. There is a brochure with a bit of English that explains some of the details. Frankly, most of it is pretty mundane stuff, such as the stats on how big the place is (second largest dome behind Fukuoka's) but you do get to go next to the field, and see the visitor's locker room and even their bullpen. You can even try throwing a baseball from the bullpen mound, so warm up before you get there.

There is a 3-minute video showing the field being converted from baseball to soccer, which is interesting. I had seen the Fighters game the night before and when I arrived the next day, the soccer pitch was already in place.

You might get lucky and see the process in action, but I believe this is quite rare as it is usually done when the place is closed to the public.

For an extra 200 yen, you can venture to the observatory 53 meters above the field. This spot offers unique views of a domed stadium, with the north side looking out over Sapporo. If you avoid the tour, you can head up here for 500 yen.

The escalators that take you up and down are held by wires from the roof, something that you don't see every day. There's a few mementos up here as well.

The observatory is small and 15 minutes is more than enough. You can take some cool shots of the seats from an unusual angle (below) but it is not worth coming all the way just for that.

I'm glad I went, but I don't think it is a must-see for everyone. If you've never been to Sapporo, you are probably better off spending time at the Beer Hall or Clock Tower than humping all the way back to the Dome for a tour.

Best,

Sean

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Kashiwa Reysol 2 at Consadole Sapporo 0 - April 7, 2012

Consadole Sapporo came into being in 1996 when the Toshiba Soccer Club transferred their franchise to an ownership group based in Hokkaido. Since then, they been on a roller coaster ride of promotion and relegation between the two divisions of J.League, falling down to the lower division 3 times only to eventually come back to J1. They won the J2 title last year which meant yet another promotion, but also more quality opposition. The season is early, with only four games played, but already Consadole is just one from the bottom with only a draw to show from those four contests.

Sapporo Dome

Their official home ground is the Sapporo Dome (above), which is also home to the Nippon Ham Fighters. Baseball takes priority, so 7 of their summer games are played at Atsubetsu Stadium, a poor substitute for the dome from what I understand. I've already commented on this venue after seeing the Fighters there on Thursday, so will avoid rehashing most points, but want to discuss some of the differences between watching a baseball game and soccer match at this facility.

The first thing I noticed was that getting into the stadium would be much more of a hassle for soccer. Tickets are separated into "priority" and "normal" with priority given to those who are members of the fan club from what I could tell. Whatever the reason, my ticket had no priority and I was told to stand in a line down at street level, which I obediently did for about 30 minutes, shivering in the morning chill. (I had checked out of my hotel and decided to head directly to the stadium three hours before the 2pm start - stupid move in hindsight, as I knew gates opened at noon).

Finally, at around 11:45 they marched us up the stairs (shown above) and I thought we would be getting in a bit early, but no, we stopped for about 10 minutes there, still shivering, before another short march to the actual gate, which was at least partially covered. Another five minutes passed until the clock struck twelve and we were allowed in. It turns out that the priority ticket holders get to enter the stadium before us plebes and that is why all the machinations were necessary. Even then, there were so few fans (just over 14,000) that I got to sit exactly where I wanted. The whole system was just silly, when the stadium is only 1/3 full there is no real advantage to having a priority ticket, other than getting in a few minutes earlier. It's a typical Japanese set-up though, where common sense takes a back seat to over-regulation. If you are seeing a soccer game here, show up 5 minutes after gates open and you'll be fine.

Another difference for the soccer match was getting around the stadium. Whereas the ballpark had no off-limit spots, in soccer, they need to separate the visitors section from the rest of the seating area since fan violence is a huge problem at J.League games. Ha! Fans ride crowded trains together before and after the game without a problem; again this is just for show. You can still walk around the stadium, however at the visitor area, you have to go outside the actual building for about 50 meters to avoid seeing any of those hated opposition fans.

This is actually pretty cool because much of the dome wall is glass and they have painted city names on this wall, apparently in the general direction that the city lies. However, these are not visible during the game because they lower blinds to block out the natural light, so that even day games appear to be played at night. That's Tokyo below, in reverse as I am outside the dome.

Here is a picture of the field taken during the tour on the previous day, you can see the sunlight shining through.

I should mention that these city names are part of the Art Grove, 24 pieces of art scattered around the Sapporo Dome and its grounds. I saw a few of them while wandering about and would say that you'd have to be a pretty big fan of art to get much out of it.

During the soccer matches, there are a few different food choices as each concession has a special soccer-only item. My recommendation is the Consadole Burger, a pepper chicken fillet covered with chili sauce and lettuce that is much better than it sounds and is available at any of the Mos Burger stands. As well, outside food is allowed, which is was not at the baseball game. Beer vendors roam the aisles only up to game time and then are relegated to the top concourse so as not to interfere with the fans' view.

As well, fans here are much better than those I encountered at the Fighters' game, watching the match and not irritating me in the least. I just wish there were more of them. That's the main cheering section below but other than that it was pretty empty.

Finally, a shot of some World Cup 2002 jerseys on display at the Memorial Walk in the West Gate.

It is really interesting watching two completely different sports in the same venue (basketball and hockey don't count in this sense). The Sapporo Dome is a great facility but as with all multi-purpose venues, it cannot satisfy every need of both sports. For soccer, the better seats are near the goal line as the seating is more like a coliseum so the midfield seats are farther from the field as you can see below. Yet these seats are more expensive. My advice is to get an SB unreserved ticket for 2,700 yen and sit as close as you want.

Overall, baseball is a better bet at the Sapporo Dome in terms of suitability of the venue, but the Consadole fans made the soccer game a more enjoyable experience. Whatever the case, if you are in Sapporo, head to the dome for one or the other, it is a unique sports facility that must be seen to be believed.

The Game

Last year's J1 champion Kashiwa Reysol was visiting and although they were off to a rough 1-1-2 start, they were by far the better team. From the first whistle they dominated, winning two corners in the first few minutes and essentially playing most of the first half in the Sapporo end. Below you can see a Sapporo defender clearing another attack.

The pressure was sure to yield something and just past the half-hour mark, the ball fell to Masato Kondo who broke around his defender and simply powered the ball over Consadole keeper Takahiro Takagi. I though Takagi had proper position, but Kondo's bullet was perfectly placed into the top corner and simply unstoppable. Great goal to open the scoring for the visitors.

The second half started better for Sapporo, who managed a couple of chances, but Reysol resisted and began their relentless attack again. After winning a corner in the 63rd minute, last year's MVP Leandro Domingues launched the ball into the box and defender Naoya Kondo rose to head home for the 2-0 lead. That really decided the game, although Consadole tried to get one back, there was no beating the Kashiwa defense.

The final shot count was 23-7 for Reysol, who totally outclassed their hosts for 90 minutes. Amazingly though, Consadole rose a level in the standings as Gamba Osaka lost by 3 goals to move below them on goal differential.

Notes

After the game, I took a bus from Fukuzumi Station to the airport to catch my flight back to Tokyo. Japan is so reliable that I could book a flight 3 hours after the game and not have to worry about public transportation failing me. At the airport, I saw the Reysol players arriving for their own flight back, snappily dressed in suits and ties. They were not harassed at all, except by one old lady in a Kashiwa jersey who ran over excitedly to Domingues and gave him a big hug. Frankly, I think most Japanese don't even know there is a J.League; we sports fans think that it is the center of the universe but in reality more people don't watch sports than do.

Next Up

After a short rest at home, I'll fly to Fukuoka on Tuesday for a Softbank Hawks game, with the Fighters the visitors this time. Check back Wednesday for a report on that.

Best,

Sean

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Orix Buffaloes 1 at Nippon Ham Fighters 3 - April 5, 2012

The Nippon Ham Fighters were formed in 1948 and spent 55 years in Tokyo, where they were always a distant second in popularity to the Yomiuri Giants. Fighters games often saw the Tokyo Dome nearly empty and the team could never win anything, save a Nippon Series in 1962. The club was widely ridiculed and the corporate owners realized that their brand might be suffering as a result.

Fortunately, there was a savior. In 2001, the Sapporo Dome opened in the biggest city on the northern island of Hokkaido and promptly began seeking a pro team for the 2003 season. Having had enough of being second fiddle in the capital, Nippon Ham decided to move the Fighters up north, re-branding the club in the process, and the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters were born. It was a brilliant move and the local fans were overjoyed to finally have a pro team to call their own. The players in turn responded, winning the Nippon Series in 2006 and making it back again in 2007 and 2009.

Sadly, I myself had never made the trip to Sapporo to watch a game here. It was always something that I would do "next year" but other trips ended up taking precedence. I also wanted to see the local J League team in action, but as both use the dome, it was tough to find a time when they would play within a 3-day span. With my departure from Japan growing closer, a couple of fortuitous events happened. First, Consadole was promoted back to J1 for this season, and second, the schedule maker had them at home just two days after the Fighters closed out a series against Orix.

So I finally headed up to Sapporo so I could once again say that I have been to every ballpark in the NPB.

Sapporo Dome

Built for the 2002 World Cup, the Sapporo Dome is a unique venue in Japan as it can host both baseball and soccer on two different surfaces. Baseball games are played on artificial turf, while soccer uses a grass pitch that slides into and out of the stadium. This in itself is not unknown elsewhere, the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale also features a sliding surface.

Conversion from baseball to football begins with the storage of the baseball field. Once complete, a set of lower bowl bleachers rotate from an angled position to a position parallel to the pitch. A set of seats on one end of the dome then retracts, and the football pitch is slid into the stadium before the entire lower bowl is rotated 90 degrees. Due to the retraction of seats, the dome has a capacity of only 40,476 for baseball games compared to 41,484 for soccer.

The stadium is located about 10 minutes south of Fukuzumi Station on the Toho Line subway. As you round a corner, you are greeted by what appears to be an alien spaceship with a protruding nose (that's the observation deck which costs 500 yen to enter, not open during the game though). There is nothing of note around here, and no vendors along the way as outside food is not permitted. There are three main gates at the north, west, and south sides of the facility and you should enter at the gate printed on your ticket.

Gates open only 90 minutes before game time, but there are a few things to see before entering. In particular, the west gate has a number of interesting displays on the history of the Dome, including memorabilia from the 2002 World Cup, the Fighters and Consadole, and other sporting events that have been held there.

On another wall is a display honouring MVPs for each year for both baseball and soccer, below is Yu Darvish from 2008.

The west gate is completely covered, so it makes sense to wait here for the gates to open as the north and south gates are outdoors and it can be cold in Sapporo in early April. If you bring gym clothes, you can work out at the Training Room, a full gym that costs only 500 yen per entry and is at one end of the west gate.

Once inside, you will find yourself on the main concourse (1F), which is spacious and very clean. Most of the concessions are located here. My recommendation is the Prince Hotel stand which had a good variety of smaller snacks that looked better than the KFC or Mos Burger next to it. The fried chicken with black vinegar sauce was very nice, although it won't come close to filling you up. As usual in Japan, it pays to walk around and check all the different options as there are dozens of stands. One had a cucumber on a stick for those on a health kick.

The second floor (2F) is where you enter the seating area, which are marked by 118 aisles starting from centerfield and going clockwise. Some of these aisles are only accessible by bridges which provide a view of the main concourse below.

This stadium is rare in Japan in that you can walk the entire way around without losing view of the field, but still you need to show your ticket before entering your particular aisle. Rows are numbered from field level to the top, with 76 being the highest.

The best thing about the Sapporo Dome for baseball is that there is no screen down the lines. I was sitting midway between home and first and had an unobstructed view of the game. Finally, a venue that understands that most fans prefer to see the game clearly and don't need unnecessary protection. I had an SS seat and was in row 9, but that was only 3 rows from the field in my area. For 3,500 yen, it was a bargain, especially without the screen. The only problem here is that this section is very moderately sloped, so my view was often blocked by some fans two rows in front who kept moving around to chat to each other. The rest of the seating is very steep and you don't have to worry about that sort of thing.

The Fighters have three game categories and I was fortunate to see a Value Game. The same seat would have been 5,000 yen for a Regular game and 6,500 for Platinum. In those cases, I would recommend the A seats which are quite a bit cheaper. The Field seats are the most expensive but well down the line and protected by a screen so should be avoided. Another seating area that is not for most is the Cinderella seats, as seen in pink below. These are for women only, the catch being that they buy two seats for just slightly more than the price of one, the second seat to be used for their oversized bag.

There is also a third floor above center field where the Kids Plaza is located. Anyone can walk up and take a look out, it is an impressive venue from this angle.

The scoreboard is average at best, and doesn't have the typical layout that you see at other parks. It's all electronic and rather cramped. I didn't snap a picture during the game and they immediately turned it to live TV when the game ended, so you'll have to trust me on this.

After the game, there is a rush back to the station, but I found that it moved well and the train wasn't that crowded. There are also shuttle buses to various other locations in the area, so if you are not staying downtown, you might want to check these out.

I really enjoyed the spaciousness and ease of moving around the dome, along with the food. The problem here turned out to be the fans. First, there were few of them (just over 15,000 spread around the place), so there was no atmosphere. Second, the people in my section were particularly annoying. Those chatting ladies, the parents with their terribly agitated child who couldn't sit still and kept kicking me, the dork with the tripod at the end of the row who forced people to climb over seats, and the old guy who came in the 5th inning and sat next to me before proceeding to suck on a toothpick for the rest of the evening. I know not all Fighters fans here are bad, but damn, people, watch the game!

The Game

Brian Wolfe (above) made his first start of the season for the Fighters against Alfredo Figaro (below), the Buffaloes' ace who had started on opening day, becoming the first foreigner to do so since 2004. Figaro got off to a rough start, giving up two singles to lead off the game. With Yoshio Itoi up, Orix catcher Hikaru Ito tried to fake a throw to second but the ball fell out of his hand and bounded slowly to short, allowing both runners to advanced. Itoi promptly doubled down the left field line to stake the Fighters to a 2-0 lead.

Figaro settled down, retiring 15 of the next 16, but his offense was no help, scratching out a run in the 6th on two singles and a groundout. Wolfe was replaced by Naoki Miyanishi and then Hirotoshi Masui, each of whom threw a scoreless frame.

Aarom Baldiris singles

In the bottom of the 8th, Sho Nakata came up with two out. He was 0-22 to start the season and the fans were on his case. Orix brought in righty reliever Ryota Katsuki, who grooved a 2-1 pitch that Nakata simply crushed to left field, to much cheer from the supporters. The 3-1 lead was enough for closer Hisashi Takeda, who retired the side in order in the 9th for his first save of the year.

A fairly pedestrian game with those initial two runs holding up for the Fighters, who salvaged a win in the three-game set. Despite the loss, Figaro shaved over 2 runs off his ERA with some great cut fastballs.

Notes

The Fighters have an interesting balloon operation running here. Fans are given both blue and gold balloons. The blue ones are released in the 7th inning as is tradition, while the gold ones are saved for when the team wins. With a 3-1 lead, I saw many fans inflating their balloons, which I thought was a bit of a jinx move, but the Fighters prevailed.

After the game, they even had a very brief display of fireworks in the outfield.

Next Up

Tomorrow sees defending J League champions Kashiwa Reysol here to take on Consadole. Check back for a report in a couple of days.

Best,

Sean

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HND-CTS - April 5, 2012

The busiest air route in the world is between Tokyo's Haneda Airport (HND) and Shin-Chitose in Sapporo. Over 40,000 people a day are flown from one to the other, or to put it in another way, about 1% of Japan's population makes this trip every month. Today I was part of that group as I grabbed an early Air Do flight (that's the plane below, JA601A, a former ANA bird) that took me from springtime in Tokyo to the last ravages of winter in Hokkaido. Well, I'm exaggerating a bit, it is about 4 degrees during the day here with a lot of snow and ice remaining. Not pleasant, but not miserable either.

The flight was actually not routine for a change. After pushing back a few minutes late, we took off to the southeast before turning around and heading northwest. This took us over Tokyo on a clear morning and I got a decent picture of the new Tokyo Sky Tree, a 634-meter tower that will open to the public next month, just after I leave the country.

To compare, here is the whole east side of Tokyo with the Tokyo Dome being the white dot in the top right corner.

You could also see Mount Fuji in the distance above the haze covering the metropolis below.

It was a smooth flight, but when we began our descent, it became slightly turbulent - apparently a windy day in Sapporo. As we neared the runway, I could feel the plane being buffeted and could see the flaps being manipulated quite heavily to try to mitigate the effects of the wind. It was actually a bit frightening as one could sense the struggle going on in the cockpit, and sure enough, just before touchdown, the engines revved and the pilots performed a go-around. This is not an uncommon operation, landings in strong winds are occasionally aborted. It is disconcerting for the passengers but immediately the cabin crew were on the PA to explain and apologize. The plane circled around for another approach which was somewhat easier and we landed without issue, arriving at our gate just 15 minutes late.

With some time to kill before I could check in to my hotel, I headed up to CTS' great outdoor observation deck (above) where you can see the planes taxing, taking off, and landing. There is no fence at face level here, so it is easier to get pictures straight on. In fact, that's the main reason for this post, to show a few airplane shots.

Paint your plane green and call it Eco!

Or paint it purple and call it Peach! Actually, a new low-cost airline here in Japan.

JinAir, a new Korean airline that I had never heard of.

Kudos to JAL for returning to their classic livery.

Japan is great if you like special liveries, this Pokemon 747 is famous in the aviation world.

Of course, the reason I am in Sapporo is for sports. I saw the Nippon Ham Fighters tonight and will post on that tomorrow.

Best,

Sean

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