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Baseball in Japan looks about the same, but the food and the vibe are different

By STEPHEN WADE - Mar 18, 2025, 11:07 AM ET
Last Updated - Mar 18, 2025, 11:07 AM EDT
Japan Dodgers Cubs Baseball
People wait in queue to enter an official shop before an MLB Japan Series baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs at Tokyo Dome, in Tokyo, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

The jammed sellout at the Tokyo Dome as the Dodgers and Cubs opened their regular season had a different vibe than the usual MLB game

TOKYO (AP) — Welcome to the view from the stands in the middle of the jammed sellout at the Tokyo Dome on Tuesday as the Dodgers and Cubs opened MLB's regular season.

Baseball in Japan — the game is called "yakyu" (field ball) in Japanese — carries more of a rock-concert vibe than its American cousin. And with Shohei Ohtani teasing fans for a week in Tokyo as the two-game series approached, it’s a true spectacle.

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You don't see the following routinely in North America. You did Tuesday in the Tokyo Dome.

Young women carry beer kegs on their backs, drawing a cold draft while you're seated watching the game. Fans are clearly more animated. Even elderly men come with a glove — just in case. And chopsticks are in use as fans watching the game snack on noodles or a rice dish.

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