ajgbtt

[ajgbtt]

Hi! A friend of mine sent me your site. I am thinking about doing this exact same trip next spring (around April/May) and was hoping that I could pick your brain a little. I've done the 30 stadium tour in the States several times, but Japan is completely new to me. Is there an email address I can reach you at? Thank you so much!

I would happily share what I’ve learned. Check your inbox. :)

[ajgbtt]

With the #NPB Climax Series starting in...just under 4 hours, I finally decided to put together this comparison of team records before our #AJGBTT trip, during it, and after it. Hey @TigersDreamlink and @Rakuten__Eagles, wanna pay for me to come back for the playoffs? https://t.co/2vOoMmDXHg

[ajgbtt]

The summary post

If you’re visiting this blog for the first time, welcome! Nick and I have long finished our All-Japan Great Baseball Train Tour (minor miracle we pulled it off without a rainout wrecking things).

So since I’m not likely going to be posting anymore here, might as well put some kind of quick-link post here to easily find my posts.

Vancouver: Photos | Diary

Sapporo: Photos | Diary (Part 2) | Fighters Box Score

Travel Day 1: Photos | Diary

Tokyo: Photos (Part 2) | Diary (Part 2) | Giants Box Score | Swallows Box Score

Yokohama: Photos | Diary | BayStars Box Score

Sendai: Photos | Diary | Eagles Box Score

Osaka: Photos | Diary (Part 2) (Part 3) | Buffaloes Box Score | Tigers Box Score

Nagoya: Photos | Diary | Dragons Box Score

Hiroshima: Photos | Diary | Carp Box Score

Miyajima: Photos | Diary

Fukuoka: Photos | Diary | Hawks Box Score

Travel Day 2: Photos | Diary

Tokyo again: Photos (Part 2) | Diary (Part 2) | Marines Box Score | Lions Box Score

Tokyo Disneyland: Photos | Diary

Home: Diary

[ajgbtt]

Figured I'd collect my #AJGBTT tweets into a moment for posterity. Hard to believe the #NPB season ends in a day! ⚡️ “All-Japan Great Baseball Train Tour” https://t.co/PQdeRDZ5bs

[ajgbtt]

Reminiscing about the AJGBTT, and decided to finally get this snap of all my ticket stubs. Hawks used an on-phone QR code, thus the receipt.

[ajgbtt]

On the Subject of Beer

Well, for starters, I like it. And since the days of Christian Von der Ahe opening a beer garden in play in right field at Sportsman's Park in St Louis, beer and baseball have been bosom buddies.

Although I missed having suds at Meiji Jingu, thus going 11 for 12 on Untapped and eternally regretting the miss, I still kept an eye on things at each stop (Hiroshima’s picture was crap, so I cut it). Here's what I saw.

First, the common point across all 12 ballparks was that the beer vendors in the stands were almost entirely women with draft kegs on their backs. This is a far cry better than the American system of lugging around an assortment of cans in a cooler.

Second, the usual price was ¥700 a pour, around $6.50 US or $8.50 Canadian. The Giants were the most expensive at ¥800 each serving, and the Fighters the cheapest at ¥650 each. Bonus points to the Hawks and Marines for having "happy hour" discounts of ¥200 off in the hour before first pitch.

Third, and most surprising to me, there were craft options. Four years ago, my last visit, you had to go actively looking for craft beer in Japan; clearly its time has come. The ballpark has long been the domain of the macros in Japan, so I can't understate how big of a deal this is.

The BayStars have their own craft beers, including a rotating seasonal offering, and they're sold in the stands by keg girls just like the macros and at the same price

The Eagles have a wider selection of their own craft options (six!), but they're only sold in kiosks around the park. Our spot in the left field bleachers was near one, luckily, and it was also the same price as the macros

The Giants have a few craft options at storefronts, but they don't serve a full pint for your ¥800

The Lions had an international beer storefront, including Guinness and Chimay (?!), understandably at a higher price point than the local macros

Not sure if I want this to be the last post on the travel-blog, so I might do a ballpark review next over the weekend.

Till then, kampai!

[ajgbtt]

Tokyo Disneyland. I still think I should’ve spent the whole day. Dangit.

[ajgbtt]

The non-Disney pics from Day 18 in Tokyo.

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Days 16 and 17 around Tokyo.

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Senso-ji is incredibly photogenic at night if you can keep your camera steady. Day 15 back in Tokyo.

[ajgbtt]

Day 14 in Fukuoka was also short on photos. Ah well.

[ajgbtt]

And I almost forgot to include this post from Day 13 in Miyajima Island. Oopsie.

Itsukushima’s torii was accessible because it was low-tide. Made for some GREAT snaps.

[ajgbtt]

Might as well merge Days 12 and 13 in Hiroshima proper together. I forgot that we went to Hiroshima Castle and the nearby gardens after the aborted ferry plan on Day 13!

[ajgbtt]

A decent summary of Day 11 in Nagoya - the JR Central museum and Legoland Japan area (didn’t go in) were all I could get to before game time.

[ajgbtt]

Didn’t take too many pics in Osaka, so here’s Days 8-10 summarized. Shitennoji shrine, some other buildings, and Gokuraku-jodo garden.

[ajgbtt]

Day 7 in Sendai. The castle ruins are actually a hike from a subway stop (!), and getting the sunset behind the statue of Date Masamune turned into neat pictures!

[ajgbtt]

Day 6, these pics are from Yokohama where we spent the bulk of the day. We found this neat former Embassy up a hill, which had a garden and a miniature village within it. Top pics are from Chinatown which directly abutted the stadium.