Hyogo Goodwill Envoy Newsletter October 2012

Hanshin Tigers

Hello Goodwill Envoys, UK CIR Ben Preece here, bringing you the Hyogo Goodwill envoy news for October. The seemingly endless heat of summer has finally subsided and autumn, probably my favourite season in Japan, has taken its place.

This month I’d like to talk a little bit about a very important Hyogo-related past time that I recently took part in – watching a Hanshin Tigers (HT) baseball game.

Game day

Growing up in the UK, my only exposure to baseball came through watching The Simpsons. As an exchange student, several years ago I attended two installments of the infamous Soukeisen –matches that take place between Keio University (that I was attending at the time) and its arch-nemesis, Waseda University. What shocked me most was how typically well-mannered and polite everything was. Teams took it in turn to sing strictly regimented songs in their specific order, no one booed or swore or made fun of the umpire. Although I’m not a huge sports fan, I am well aware of how crowds of rowdy supporters act back home and in other countries. Here in Japan, it is quite literally, an entirely different ball game.

Around mid-September, just as the new ALTs were settling into their new workplaces, a friend suggested we go to see the Tigers play the Yokohama Baystars. Remembering the fun I had several years ago at the university matches, I was eager to check out a professional match, especially a home game of our region’s most famous team.

Tiger Spirit: Atsukunare!

After arriving at the stadium, my friends and I finished buying HT merch and snacks just in time to find our seats for the start of the match. The HT fans soon lived up to their reputation for being rather “rowdy” (by Japanese standards). Most of the songs, drumming and more lively support seemed to come from the stand on the far side, around 1^st base where the cheaper seats are. The rain did nothing to dampen their spirits and I’m sure that these seats would be perfect for those who wish to be right at the heart of the action.

Throughout the match, something I personally came to realize is that baseball matches (in Japan at least) are as much as about the pageantry as they are about the match itself, which wasn’t exactly a nailbiter the whole time (5 innings without a single point scored?!) Fans who were cheering at the top of their lungs while the Tigers were batting retired quickly to the food court for what seemed like hours during the other team’s innings. I suppose it’s more about having a fun evening at the game rather than watching every minute development of the game, (although I’m sure there are many die-hard fans that do just that).

The highlight of the evening, when the HT fans showed their true colours, came at the end of the 7^th inning. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, everyone in the stand started to inflate long, colourful balloons. My friends and I looked on bewildered until a nice old man sat behind us gave us some balloons and indicated that we’d need to inflate them soon. We followed suit, joining in with a special balloon chant before everyone in the packed stadium let their balloons fly up into the rainy sky. This was a hilarious and almost touching moment, when all the rigidity and formality of Japanese life seemed to evaporate completely, even if just for a minute or so. This is in fact a well established custom that takes place at every home game, and even some away games. Overall it was a very entertaining evening that turned me and my friends into some die-hard, albeit rather clueless Hanshin Tigers’ fans.

The moment everyone in the stadium let off their balloons

Take me out to the ballgame
Like nearly every other supporter, you’ll probably want to deck yourself from head to toe in HT paraphernalia before hitting the stands. This couldn’t be simpler, there are souvenir stores scattered around the stadium complex that sell everything from pencils to whole replica kits. The tickets were fairly simple to get hold of; you can order them online or just buy them at a Loppi terminal at most 7/11 stores. Not knowing where the best seats were, we decided to just go for the more expensive ones at 3^rd base, which at only 4000 yen, were actually very reasonable. Not only did we have a great view of the action, we were sheltered from the sporadic but rather heavy downpours of rain that punctuated the match. As an added bonus, we were well out of range from the foul balls that were frequently pelted into the crowd, much to the amusement and excitement of everyone in the vicinity (except the poor guy the ball hits of course!). The game itself ended as a disappointing draw as the Baystars snatched a cheeky last minute homerun, but this didn’t detract from the great fun we all had experiencing this very Japanese pastime.

Awesome mini cars to bring players on to the pitch

Arigato, Aniki
Another memorable moment was the cheer that accompanied the arrival of Tomoaki Kanemoto to the field. The infamous wearer of the number 6 jersey retired earlier this month, so the match that we saw was one of his last. Affectionately nicknamed Aniki or “big brother” by the players and fans, his 21-year career that took him from his home town of Hiroshima to the Tigers made him one of the sport’s best-loved personalities. I was glad we were able to see him play so soon before his retirement.

Access: Koshien Stadium
By train: Take the Hanshin line to Koshien. Koshien Stadium is a 5 minute walk from there.

Bus: Take a Hanshin bus bound for Hanshin Koshien , get off at Hanshin Koshien (210 yen).

Located opposite the stadium is Lalaport, an up-market shopping center that is well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Upcoming Events: Kobe Luminarie
As I’m sure all of you former Hyogo-ites know, every year in December, the streets of Kobe are decked with a beautiful light installation called Luminarie, in order to commemorate those who died in the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. You may not know, however, that the hand-painted lights that make up Lumiarie were originally donated by the Italian government and put together in collaboration with Italian artist Valerio Festi.

This is by far one of my favourite events. While the lights aren’t Christmas decorations in the strict sense, the wintry atmosphere mixed with the hot food and bright lights all contribute to giving Luminarie a noticeably holiday feel. The details for this year’s event are as follows:

Date: Thursday 6^th December – Monday 17^th December 2012/10/19

Lights are turned on 6pm-9pm Monday-Thursday
                   6pm-10pm Fridays
                                5pm-10pm Saturdays
                                5pm-9.30 pm Sundays     (weather permitting)

Location: Former Foreign Settlement of Kobe & Higashi Yuenchi

Official website (Japanese): http://www.kobe-luminarie.jp/