Japan solo travel alert: Catch Yang Dai-kang’s baseball game at Tokyo Dome!

Text & photos byMomoco. Maomao Ke

The most anticipated part of my nine-day, eight-night Tokyo trip was going toTokyo Dometo watchYang Dai-kang play baseball!! He just joined theYomiuri Giants~ When you’re in Tokyo, don’t forget to go to Tokyo Dome to cheer for Yang Dai-kang!! And let me tell you, watching baseball in Japan is seriously so much fun!!!

The Yomiuri Giants really know how to use their stadium—honestly, girls or even families with kids won’t get bored here at all. Even if you don’t understand baseball, you’ll still get caught up in the amazing atmosphere—it’s super exciting!! Also, for parents, if your kid can’t sit still, no worries—the fourth floor of the stadium has a kids’ playroom~ Isn’t that super thoughtful?!

I personally love watching baseball a lot!! But I could never find any girl friends who were into it to go with me lol. I used to be a huge fan of Wang Chien-ming back when he played for the Yankees!! I used to stay up all night watching his games!! I even memorized the entire Yankees roster >//////<但这次去东京真的太开心！提前一个月就先订了棒球票！结果还接到去读卖巨人里参观！超开心了！为了这个我还改班机提早飞XDD帮大家更了解东京巨蛋，而且更好订票了～

My friend and I booked our tickets through a ticket agent—pretty complicated process, honestly!! First, you have to email them to ask, then wait for their reply, then transfer the money via ATM, then send another email confirming the payment, then they send you the confirmation, and finally you print out the tickets and bring them to Japan!! Isn’t that super complicated XDDDD So this time, I also want to share with everyone that there’s finally an option to buy tickets online with a credit card!! You can either print them yourself, pick them up at the ticket machine at the stadium, or even get them at a 7-11 in Japan!!

There are tons of ways to get to Tokyo Dome!!
On the day we went, we just exited from the west exit of JR Suidobashi Station and we were there Up!!

Suidobashi Station
JR East Japan Chuo-Sobu Local Line
Toei Subway Mita Line

Kasuga Station
Toei Subway Oedo Line
Toei Subway Mita Line

Korakuen Station
Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line
Tokyo Metro Namboku Line

Yay!! Finally saw Tokyo Dome!!

The game started at six, but we could enter as early as four!! But I highly recommend that if you’re coming to Tokyo Dome for a game, it’s perfect to spend the whole day here!!
Our group was super hyped—we got here at nine in the morning haha~

This ticket is super useful!! You get discounts on food and shopping at LaQua!! Even buying stuff at Uniqlo inside LaQua gets you a discount (only valid for the day)!!

You won’t get bored spending the whole day at LaQua Mall!! There are rides, delicious food, hot spring spas, shopping—you name it!!

There are so many restaurant choices here!! Whether you want dumplings, ramen, sushi, pizza, Korean food, and more!! They’ve got it all!! I just didn’t know what to pick lol!! There were six of us in our group, and we spent half an hour just deciding on lunch >////////<

Because I came two days in a row!! I also visited LaQua both days lol

One day we had ramen and dumplings!! This place was delicious!! It’s chicken broth flavored, but for me it was a bit too salty!! But drinking more water helps, and it’s tasty~ The dumplings were super crispy too!! You can come here to eat~

That day we had conveyor belt sushi!! It was pretty good~ Lots of variety!! This place was super busy!! We waited about ten minutes too~

If you want snacks, there are also lots of food stalls to choose from here!! I thought the stalls were really cool, and I really wanted to take photos here~ but it gets more crowded during meal times >///<只好下次再来了！

LaQua is really nicely designed!! While this area was empty, I quickly asked a friend to take a photo for me!!

After eating and drinking your fill, you can go shopping!! Or you can choose to play some rides!! This one is really cool!! In Taiwan, it might be called something like a "Journey to the Center of the Earth" or something!! And there’s actually water!!!!

Another day I went with a friend’s family!! Since they had kids with them, they rode the carousel, and this photo looks so happy!! I took it right away~~ Isn’t it such a beautiful scene!! Bringing kids here is really a great idea too!!

Alright!! After eating, drinking, and sightseeing, my buddy Beige and I were finally going into Tokyo Dome!!

There are lots of souvenir and jersey shops right at the entrance!! Usually, it gets more crowded 1-2 hours before or after the game!! If you want to shop in peace, it’s best to avoid the peak times Up~

You definitely have to buy a jersey!!!!!! They’re really comfortable to wear, and I bought one on-site too~ UA ones are eligible for tax refund!! So mine was exactly 10,000 yen and I didn’t have to pay any extra tax~

You can also buy some souvenirs here to take home!! There are lots of limited edition items!! This place is seriously evil~ so many things I wanted to buy!!

Each pillar has a dedicated poster of a Giants player!! Don’t forget to find your favorite player and take a photo with them Up~

Next, don’t scream!! Because this day was a work trip, we were taken to the sidelines to watch the players practice, but we got insanely lucky!! We saw Yang Daguang!!!! We didn’t dare disturb his practice lol, otherwise we really would’ve loved to take a photo with him!! But just being able to see him up close like that already made us really happy!!

If you also want to try your luck!! You can buy season tickets or annual passes, which also give you the chance to take a tour!! But since it’s pretty crowded, each tour is only about 5-10 minutes long ~~~~~

I also saw Yang Daguang’s good friend, Sakamoto Yuya!!!! He’s really handsome!! The sight of the two of them talking together was great lol, they’re both so good-looking!! Makoto Kobayashi is pretty handsome too!! I saw him in person!! The Giants team has so many good-looking guys, it really puts everyone in a good mood haha

Beige and I both bought jerseys with Yang Daguang’s number!!!! Originally, I really wanted to turn my back to him and show him the jersey~ but then I wouldn’t be able to watch him practice lol, so I just took a selfie to remember the moment!! We stepped on the grass of the Tokyo Dome field too!!!!!!

After the stadium tour, let’s check out the area around the stadium!!

You can buy food or souvenirs here too!!!!!! Once the game starts, this place gets super crowded during halftime~

There are also claw machines!!

And the Giants team is really thoughtful!! They’ve set up lots of photo spots!!

There are lots of frames to choose from!! They’re all super cute~ Girls who are afraid of getting bored when coming with friends!! You definitely won’t be bored here~ you’ll be too busy XDDDDD

We took this one!!!! And you can download it directly using the QR code!! Isn’t that super convenient!!

There’s also an interactive photo area here!! But the screen is bigger!! I’d recommend going with more people to get a better vibe~~~~~ but you can definitely come and try it out!! It’s all free too!!

The author of Conan is also a Giants fan too!!!! And I found some great photo spots around the stadium for everyone!!

If you enter right after the gates open, you’ll see the away team players practicing!!

Take advantage of the fact that it’s not crowded yet!! Snap some photos right away >///////<我朋友也太会拍了吧！！

I love this photo so much!!!! And we used our phones!! Because the lighting at Tokyo Dome is really bright!! So girls can take tons of photos haha, so remember, come in early when it opens to take some photos!!

You definitely have to show off the Yang Daguang jersey!!!!

The Giants team thoughtfully has a full-body height chart!!!! Do I look like the seventh teammate >///////<
It looks so cute in photos!! Everyone must come take a picture here～

We finally finished taking pictures willingly!! Then we bought bento boxes and went back to our seats to eat them!! I feel like Japanese people really have great business sense!! These are bento boxes designed by the players!! Just buy whichever one you like～ But unlike Taiwanese bento, Japanese bento is served cold!! So don’t wonder why it’s not warm!! I think it’s still pretty tasty!! It has a refreshing taste～

And there’s even ramen served in player caps!! Isn’t that super cool!? The bowls can be taken home as souvenirs!! This is perfect for families with kids XDDDD Anyway!! Being able to eat here makes things so convenient～～

Group photos are also essential souvenirs!! Can you see the huge crowd!? It’s really lively here!! Even someone like me, who’s usually self-conscious about appearances, couldn’t help but cheer along～

Isn’t the huge crowd just amazing!!!! And don’t worry that with so many people, the stadium will feel stuffy!! The Tokyo Dome is a pressurized stadium!! So the ventilation is great!! The stadium can hold about 44,000 people～ Another cool thing is!! Even with so many people, it’s very quick to exit after the game!! Not only are there many exits, but there are also lots of subway exits!! So no need to worry about waiting a long time to leave the stadium despite the crowd～

Besides watching the game!! There are also frequent cheerleading performances and mascot shows during halftime!!

Today’s game was against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars！！！ It was basically a defensive battle!!

The backs of the two fathers and sons sitting in front of us looked so heartwarming!! Dad bringing his kid to watch baseball together!!

There are also many cute girls in the stadium carrying beer kegs to sell beer！！！ I couldn’t resist ordering a sour beer too!! Remember to try one when you come here (lol)

Finally, let’s take a group photo with the huge crowd!! It’s such a great vibe!! I truly think the best part of this 9-day, 8-night trip to Tokyo was the baseball experience!! Even coming for two days in a row wasn’t boring haha, and I also want to tell everyone that buying tickets to see the Giants play has become so much easier!!!!!!! You can just buy them online in Taiwan and pay with a credit card～～～

【Yomiuri Giants Official Website】
https://www.tokyogiants.tw/
【Yomiuri Giants Taiwan FB Fan Page】
http://www.facebook.com/Giantstw
【Yomiuri Giants Ticket Sales】
http://www.e-tix.jp/ticket_giants/tw/ticket_pc_tw.php

Let’s all cheer for Wladimir Balentien!! ((cheers))