Tokyo Sparrows v Yokohama Baystars

Some observations made while attending a Japanese baseball game:

   1. Seating in the stadium based on team allegiance is strictly enforced.
   2. The home team has just as many vendor stalls devoted to the opposing teams gear as it does its own.
   3. There were 26, yes 26, home-run spotters in the outfield stands that spot incoming balls and blow whistles and wave red flags to alert the crowd to get out of the way.
   4. Baseball fans avoid catching baseballs as if they were contaminated with H1N1.  Just as Americans dive for that home-run ball, it is not a surprise to see a Japanese dive under their seat to avoid a ball.
   5. You must root and sing for your team on for the entire half of the inning in which your team is batting. No exceptions and the Japanese are more than willing to teach a Westerner the fight song so they can keep up.  This is by far the loudest and most vocal display I have seen while in Japan.
   6. The stadium fills up from the outfield forward... the most unpopular seats are those near home plate.
   7. Forget the cans, the Japanese beer girl carries an entire keg on her back and can dispense drafts to an entire clan in seconds flat.
   8. Don't eat the meat on a stick at a baseball game. While typically an advisable option everywhere else in life... stick to the miso hot dogs at the ball game.