Again in 2015 I made the momentous determination to modify my baseball allegiance from Chiba Lotte Marines to Hiroshima Carp. Off the again of a visit with my spouse’s dad and mom to look at Carp in motion it appeared like the proper factor to do and would give me one thing to speak to my father-in-law about. On condition that I don’t actually care an excessive amount of about Japan’s hottest sport although, it actually wasn’t such a giant deal!
Having had a go searching among the metropolis centre within the afternoon on the day of the sport, I made a decision to take a bus the comparatively brief distance east to the moderately ridiculously-named Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium. Huge mistake! The visitors was horrible, and what ought to’ve been a 20 minute experience took round an hour! An beginner mistake from yours really who actually ought to know higher after numerous journeys to Hiroshima over time!
Lacking the beginning didn’t trouble me an excessive amount of in any respect as baseball video games will be extremely lengthy. Outdoors the stadium is a uncommon sight in Japan. The same old vivid blue markings to the aspect of the Lawson emblem are as an alternative pink to make them extra interesting to Carp followers. This comfort retailer additionally has plenty of Carp merchandise on sale inside however I simply popped in to get some cheaper snacks than are on sale within the stadium.
I used to be so amazed by this spectacle a number of years in the past that I even wrote a person publish on simply that. All killer and no filler on Tokyo Fox!! Ha!
The match might have been nicely under-way however I needed to nonetheless get some photos of the outside to mark the event, and assist make this publish extra full such is fashionable life!
This stadium actually is fantastic, and supposedly has an American-ballpark retro-classic really feel to it. Hiroshima Carp confronted Yokohama DeNA Baystars who had been additionally their opponents on my final go to again in 2015.
My seat was an unreserved one and discovering a vacant one was not straightforward. There have been some however Japanese individuals all the time put their belongings on the seats subsequent to them which deliberately (perhaps unintentionally!) stops others from sitting there. Until you’re courageous sufficient to ask somebody if the seat is taken then you definately’re gonna discover it fairly troublesome as certainly I did. Finally, after a good quantity of wanting I discovered one and will settle in and get as comfy as was potential within the sizzling and sticky warmth.
My preliminary sights had been admittedly extra on the gorgeous backdrop than the precise baseball discipline itself because of the skyline and fantastic mountains with the Shinkansen (bullet practice) repeatedly operating by to the rear of the stadium.
For earlier baseball-related posts I’ve typically remarked about Hollywood has deceived me with its thrilling motion pictures that are stuffed with motion whereas in actuality it may be fairly a gradual start-stop kind sport.
Nonetheless, this one supplied the followers with a shocking third innings which noticed six factors scored shortly and consecutively. If baseball was extra like this then perhaps I’d get extra into it!
Sadly, the scoring slowed down fairly a bit within the subsequent innings’ after that incredible third one, and with the victory seemingly within the bag, I made a decision to make an early exit and beat the visitors as I used to be happy with what I had seen.
This match was the primary of three successive nights of baseball between Carp and DeNA as is typically the way in which in baseball. I initially purchased a ticket for the second night time however as plans modified a number of occasions in relation to my household I made a decision to ebook a ticket for the primary one too hoping that I might go to a minimum of one. I needed to get tickets shortly as I knew they’d promote out, and at simply 2000 yen every it wouldn’t be an excessive amount of of a loss if I didn’t use considered one of them. Because it was, Carp had been thrashed 6-0 on the second night time so I undoubtedly obtained fortunate with selecting to go after I did!
Remaining Rating: Yomiuri Giants 10-3 DeNA
For a few years I’ve all the time assumed that the pink Lawson exterior the stadium was the one one in Japan however additional down the street en-route to Hiroshima station I noticed one other one!
Bonus: Simply over a month earlier I went to a different baseball match albeit one a lot nearer to house. I’ve needed to take a look at the Seibu Dome (generally known as the Belluna Dome nowadays) for a number of years now so chosen considered one of their Friday night time matches. Earlier than switching my allegiance to Hiroshima Carp in 2015 I used to be a Chiba Lotte Marines “fan” of types as they had been the primary crew I ever noticed so I made a decision to hitch their followers within the away part towards Seibu Lions in early July.
Beforehand, I simply assumed this dome was similar to Tokyo Dome so I used to be fairly stunned to see that it wasn’t totally enclosed as there aren’t any outer partitions which permits pure air to circulation by way of the sphere not that there was a lot of that on this terribly sizzling and sweaty summer time night time.
Remaining Rating: Seibu Lions 3-6 Chiba Lotte Marines
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