#ajgbtt

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Day 8: Memories of Osaka

No game yesterday, and I'm hoping today's doesn't get nixed. Anyways, recap time!

I had been fighting off my usual sore throat that I always get a week into being in Japan (third time in a row it's happened!), so I was a bit cranky that day.

Packed up, rolled to Kinshicho, found some room on a post-rush hour Sobu rapid train to Tokyo, and transferred to a Tokaido Shinkansen. Nick suggested just getting non-reserved seats; first time doing so for me, I usually just reserved every time.

3 hours of gazing out the window and reading later, we made it to Shin-Osaka. Short hop on the Kyoto Line got us to Osaka proper, and our hotel. Had lunch while we waited for the room to be ready: okonimiyaki, of course.

Nick wanted to ramble around his old neighbourhood in Shinsaibashi, and I decided to join him. He found his old place from when he lived here, his friends' old apartment, a few bars he frequented. We even spotted a Canadian pizza bar that we may loop back to!

A quick stop for shopping in Namba Walks, then back on the subway north to meet up with some family friends of Nick's for all you can eat yakuniku dinner. That was a LOT of protein, oof.

I think Nick really appreciated meeting up with them again. First time in 6 years that he's seen them, and we're connecting again for lunch today.

We swung by Space Station in Shinsaibashi for some late night cocktails and retro games before calling it a night.

It is drizzling here, but I'm hoping that's not enough to stop our game at Koshien from going ahead. If so, I have some quick replanning to do.

[ajgbtt]

Day 3: From Here to There, the Long Way

This was always going to be a tricky part of the trip: in order to make it "all 12 teams by rail alone," we'd have to get from Sapporo to Tokyo by train.

That's 8.5 hours hotel to hotel for context. Oof.

Before we took that trip, Nick and I went for a stroll along Odori Park in Sapporo. Beautiful day, nice views.

And a Maypole, because of course Sapporo and Munich are sister cities.

With that out of the way, it was time for kaitenzushi... Or it would have been if about three dozen locals didn't have the same idea. We wound up opting for a "Chashu 3 Ways" miso ramen near the station. I don't think it's possible to have a bad meal here, even when it's a backup plan.

The Super Hokuto is a bit of a plodding route compared to the bullet trains elsewhere in Japan, but the views of the sea and some of the cliff faces are stunning. 3.5 hours from Sapporo to Shin Hakodate Hokuto, and our first Shinkansen of the trip.

The Hokkaido Shinkansen had more legroom and an on-board drink & snack cart, but there were so many tunnels along the way that the trip felt like it longer than the 4.2 hours it did.

One of those tunnels, the Seikan, connects Hokkaido and Honshu. It's under the Sea of Japan!!

Once we made it to our hotel in Tokyo, we finally unpacked a bit. We'll be here for five nights and can stop living out of our backpacks, thank goodness.

DevilCraft in Kanda was our dinner selection. Chicago deep-dish and craft beer in Tokyo... That's me to a T.

Nick and I are doing a split day tomorrow. I'm trying to figure out what my plans are, but one thing's certain: Game 2 goes at 6 at the Tokyo Dome. Can't wait!

[ajgbtt]

Day 2: A sip of Sapporo

That may have been the best 8 hours of sleep I've had in weeks, maybe months.

Got up today at 7am ready to take on the world. After a quick fuel up at the Yoshinoya across the street, we checked out of Chitose and made for Sapporo proper.

It was pissing rain at the outset, so outdoors activities were a nonstarter. We did find a neat walking path with trees to provide some cover. We went to the Hokkaido Modern Art Museum; there was one really neat glass piece that had coloured chips and grooves in it that I was enamoured with.

After that...Nick and I discovered *soup curry.* Gang, don't sleep on this. I need to learn how to make this at home, because it was so scrumptious.

After that, we went to the Sapporo Beer Museum. The tour is free (!), and we made sure to try the exclusive Kaitakushi brew before we left.

Right now, we're hanging out at the hotel before the game: Fighters hosting Rakuten at the Sapporo Dome. Likely another post once we finish that.

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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

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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

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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.

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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]

Day 19: Denouement

Appropriate to close the diary posts with a French word, given where we had lunch 36 hours ago.

Packing everything up proved to be something of a challenge. Glad I was able to matroshka-doll some extra bags into my checked bag. Still, was able to complete it in time to check out.

Of course on the last day of the trip, the heavens opened up and it rained heavily. We had to stick indoors as much as possible, but Nick’s pants still got soaked since he didn’t have an umbrella.

Our last lunch for the trip was going to be a splurge-y one. La Rochelle near Omote-sando station, owned by Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai. Sadly, Sakai-sama wasn’t in the restaurant that day, but it was still a FANTASTIC meal. Everything was excellently presented and tasted scrumptious.

Once we finished up there, it was back on the Ginza Line to Mitsukoshimae for a quick bakery stop, then the hotel for our bags, then a damp scramble back on the Asakusa Line to get to the airport. Made it with 110 minutes to spare.

We grabbed some small snacks, boarded, and settled in for 12 hours of flight. I watched a whole bunch of videos, drained my Switch battery, and tried to sleep. Didn’t happen.

Once we landed, our bags were among the first to be off the plane, so it was a quick exit into the waiting car of my parents, who gave Nick a lift to his place and a chance to me to crash at their house.

One ten-hour sleep, and I feel close to normal again. It’s springtime in Toronto, and I’ve got to restock the pantry today among the various forms of relaxing I plan on doing. I’ll queue up a bunch of photo posts for the blog here before the regularly-scheduled life starts up again Monday.

[ajgbtt]

The scoreboard and summary stats from the #AJGBTT. 20 HRs over 12 games, b/c #NPB is all about small ball /s. https://t.co/IUGcsJgTYk

[ajgbtt]

¥40,000 well spent. The spoils from my 12-team #NPB trip. Home safe, last day post to come after I've slept. #AJGBTT https://t.co/dsQ5gaX29p

[ajgbtt]

Day 18: A small world after all

Yeah, I should've spent the whole day at Tokyo Disneyland. I needed a top-up of my pixie dust.

Got sick of the free hotel breakfasts, so I went for gyudon instead. I'm going to miss savoury breakfasts when I get back.

Zipped down to Shimbamba on the Keikyu Line to visit something I read about in Japan Times last month - the Home Run Jizo. It's a memorial to a child that struck up a relationship with Sadaharu Oh, Japan's home run king. I left a few coins to thank it for giving us good weather this trip.

From there, I scampered to the free observatory at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Mercifully the line was much shorter than when I tried the first round in Tokyo, and I was able to get up and take some snaps on the good camera. Even spotted Meiji Jingu Stadium!

Opted for a small nigiri set at Mikorezushi nearby.

Going to miss that, too.

Headed back to the hotel to repack and see if I went over my duty exemption (yes, I had, oh boy). Then it was off to Tokyo Disneyland. Tokyo Disney Resort offers a cheaper ticket if you enter after 6pm on weekdays, which is what I took advantage of.

Stopped in at Ikspiari (their version of a Disney Springs) for a craft beer (!) and currywurst. Pretty darn good!

And then, into the land. As soon as that background music hits, it's hard to be in a bad mood or sulk about the impending end of your vacation.

Even though my primary purpose for going was for souvenirs and the FastPasses for the day were gone (they haven't implemented FP+ like at WDW...yet), I was still able to get five rides in. Lineup gods be praised!

Star Tours: The Adventure Continues - I was the Rebel spy, and we had Hoth and Naboo as our destinations

Roger Rabbit's Car-Toon Spin - new to me, and some very good sight gags in here

Pooh's Hunny Hunt - a Tokyo exclusive, and vastly better than what Magic Kingdom has. The Tigger bouncing and Heffalump/Woozle scenes are spectacular

Monsters Inc Ride & Go Seek - another Tokyo exclusive. The car is meant to seat two, so I on my own got to use both flashlights in the ride. Made some people chuckle in the queue by trying to be an airport ground crew.

Pirates of the Caribbean - this one started off in a Louisiana bayou since it abuts the Blue Bayou restaurant before becoming the standard ride. And yes, the redhead is still up for auction here.

The fireworks got nixed due to wind, and I skipped the parade - pretty sure these helped me get on as many rides as I did.

Checked in with Nick afterwards and we decided on one last ramen run for the trip.

(those bamboo shoots are actually his - oops!)

I'm writing this before checking out of our hotel. We've got lunch planned at an Iron Chef restaurant, and then we're bound for the airport. I have juuuust enough yen to see me through.

I'll do a final trip report once I'm home and lucid, and then start uploading the pictures from my DSLR.

[ajgbtt]

Day 17/Game 12: Sliding in Safe

Whew. Took us 2 hours to get home last night from the MetLife Dome, including an aborted stopover for ramen. Thus, posting this now.

It's funny, but I think I'm starting to run out of things to do and see in Tokyo. At least it felt that way yesterday.

Made my way to the Tokyo Metro Museum in the east end of the subway network. It's a decent museum for only 210¥. I particularly liked the dioramas they had, including one with all nine Tokyo Metro lines in it.

From there, I headed back to the Asakusa area to find some tempura. Nick mentioned a place (actually a bunch of them) that use sesame oil to fry the food, as they did back in old Edo. I found one of them, Sansada, that said they've been operating for over a century. Some of the patrons seemed like they were there opening day, but it was good.

I tried to make the most of my Common One-Day Subway ticket (valid for both Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway) and zipped from Akihabara to Harajuku to Shinjuku in search of a couple vinyl records I've had on my bucket list for years. I thought Cheap Trick was big in Japan; I might've overestimated.

I kept an eye on the time, and wended my way to Seibu's Shinjuku station to get out too the MetLife Dome. Took a couple transfers, including on a tiny one-track rubber-tired train called the Leo Liner, but I got there with ample time. Had a MOS Burger on the way, too

The MetLife Dome is an odd duck. It was previously an open-air ballpark, but they put a lid (like a yarmulke) on top of it while still exposing the insides to the outdoors by not having walls around the whole field. On a nice day like yesterday, it works. On a rainy, windy day... Might be tough to be in the ouendan.

MetLife also had three things that seemed uncommon at NPB parks: a warning track in the outfield, an organist on the PA playing baseball standards, and visible bullpens. In fact, I think the MetLife Dome is the only NPB ballpark with exposed bullpens!

The game itself was tight for a few innings - the Carp scoring early, the Lions responding, the Carp getting ahead again - but the Seibu bullpen melted down in the last three innings, and Hiroshima ran away with it 9-1. Valiant effort by the home side, but the Carp are just too damn good.

And I heard it all night because I accidentally sat us on the 1st base side where the visitors are. Ah well.

Of course, for perfect balance, the home team went 6-6 over the twelve games we attended. The Lions lose their lone game in our schedule - Nick pointed out each of the four teams we only see once lost their games - and the Carp move to 2-0.

Still, that's a completed baseball tour. 12 games to cover every team's home ballpark in 16 days. What a ride.

Of course, the vacation isn't done yet. I did put a contingency day at the end just in case there was a rainout in Sendai or Chiba. A time to pack, shop, relax, and get one or two more meals in.

Now where is it people say they're going to go when they accomplish something big in sports? I think I'll be heading there myself later today.

[ajgbtt]

That'll cap it. (Har har) I wore every team's hat at their game. These will all be coming home with me and hanging on my wall as souvenirs and a makeshift standings board. #AJGBTT https://t.co/LcTDiqMUW4

[ajgbtt]

And that's the ballgame! 12 games, 12 ballparks, 16 days, and all by rail - the All-Japan Great Baseball Train Tour is now COMPLETE!! Thanks for following along with us, tweeps! #AJGBTT (Art by @soveryunoficial) https://t.co/QLMnrjCWmX

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Here's what ¥3400 gets you at MetLife Dome. Game 12 underway soon! The last of the trip!!! #AJGBTT https://t.co/AaUNeADsvI

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Day 16/Game 11: Luck

Today's plans had some element of luck involved, including the game. Also, I'm running out of title ideas.

I realized it was high time to start getting into my shopping requests in full force. Half my list is Tokyo Disney Resort, so that'll be Thursday, but I had a bunch of plans for today.

Kappabashi Street was the first destination to try and find a bento box for a friend. I stomped up and down the street, not finding any good options, and the one I liked the most was at a wholesaler who wanted me to buy a minimum of 10. Urgh.

Found a cute and better option at Loft in Ueno nearby. Luck!

From Ueno, I scooted to Shimbashi for lunch (veggie curry!), and the Advertising Museum. It's a cute, albeit small, exhibition space. Also, free.

With my curry cravings finally sated, I made the most of my last day of the JR Pass. Rolled to Ishibashi to get a silk scarf at Kukuli (recommended by Reddit), to Shinanomachi to get a Swallows cap for a friend at the team store, and back to the hotel to drop everything up, picking up a couple bottles of melon soda for friends at home on the way.

A quick refresh at the hotel, then back on the JR lines to get to ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba. My luck held out, as I was able to make a perfect transfer from the Chuo-Sobu to the Musashino line, easily shaving 15 minutes off my travel time.

The stadium itself is an oddball one, located a walk south of Chiba's main convention space. If you're on the top deck (we were), you can see Tokyo Bay through some large spaces in the outfield wall. The ballpark also lacked cup holders (first one all trip, iirc), and had smoking areas in the open on the concourse. And the breezes from the bay are hardly warm.

We had karaage from a food truck set up outside the ballpark. Tasty stuff for 650¥.

The game itself was back and forth for a couple innings. Hanshin struck early, complete with a run scored on an error by the Lotte left fielder who bobbled a catch and threw home... Only to have the ball clank off the catcher's helmet, allowing a run to score. The Marines answered back in the bottom of the 2nd to knot the score at 3s, but then the Tigers lumber crew went to town. Umeno and Marte had solo shots, with Itoi's 2-run blast in top 8th proving the backbreaker in the game. The Tigers posted 5 runs in the top of the 9th to put this one well away. Nick had fun, at least.

Home teams are now 6-5 when I'm there, with Hanshin breaking even at 2-2 and Lotte losing their lone appearance.

Tomorrow, the 12th and final game of the trip, plus some last museum gallivanting that I've been meaning to do. Rounding third and heading for home...