Team Samurai Japan 04-07-2026
Hello! This post is coming out of the study lounge once again. This morning I woke up early to watch the Orioles and Dodgers win their games, led by Gunnar Henderson and Shohei Ohtani both hitting a home run for their respective club. In light of this, I decided to wear my Dodgers Ohtani shirt and in light of that, I am going to finish talking about my trip to Tokyo - specifically the Team Samurai Japan games I watched in the Tokyo Dome Area's bar which turned out to be the spot.
The first game was Friday, March 6 at 7 PM. Outside of the Tokyo Dome, there were long lines to get in before the game before ended, about 2 hours before gates opened and 5 hours before first pitch. The lines for the Japanese Baseball Museum / Hall of Fame were the shortest they had been so I spent the time before the game in there. Even though most of the plaques were in Japanese, the memorabilia was some of the coolest stuff I have ever seen. I have never been to the MLB Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, mostly because I think I don't want to lose the vision of what I think it should be, and also because I would spend an annoying amount of time reading everything. Whenever I visit a new stadium I love to look at every old piece of history they have. The best stadium museum, the one in the Bronx, is filled with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig bats and autographs older than my grandparents as well as gear worn by my least favorite player ever, Raul Ibanez, when he went crazy against the Orioles in the 2012 ALDS, a crazy back and forth series that capped the first season I had ever seen my team win anything. I would not describe myself as a history guy, I never did very well in history classes nor do I really care about happenings thousands of years ago, but baseball history is an exception - different than just 'it's my favorite sport' or 'it's the thing I know most about'. Because it is both America's pastime and has remained virtually unchanged relative to other sports in the last 120 years, there is an element of familiarity attactched to every story of every player. Even in the ABS era, the automated balls and strikes technology introduced this year that I am vehemently against, every player is trying to hit home runs, every pitcher is looking to strike batters out, and every game is filled with thousands of fans cheering and booing with every pitch. The first super bowl half time show was in 1967 and featured a marching band act which when contrasted by the importance of the MLB in the 19th century feels miniscule. The first US president to go to an MLB game was Benjamin Harrison in 1892, 134 years ago, which I believe speaks to the unparalleled significance of the sport. 134 years ago!!!! There are so few things that are sustained in importance for 134 years, and even less that have stayed almost the same in structure for that time. The Japanese Hall of Fame had a section devoted to Baltimore native Babe Ruth too, highlighted by a picture of 'modern Babe Ruth' Ohtani holding his bat.
Because the bar opened at 6, I got in line around 5 and was one of the first 50 people inside. There was a TV crew for a Japanese news channel and about 25 TVs, all tuned into the pregame introductions and excitement of the names known in every Japanese household. Unfortunately for the bar, their "50% off 1 drink for every Team Samurai Japan run" promotion backfired in the second inning, one that Japan put up 10 runs, 4 of which driven in by Ohtani in a single swing, and another on a single later in the inning, in route to a 13-0 victory over Taiwan that was called due to mercy rule in the 7th inning. Every Japanese player had their own chant that echoed through the broadcast and was matched by the attendees in the bar, and it was by far the most pure excitement and joy I had seen in a baseball setting anywhere.
Team Samurai Japan won their other two games in their pool, even with a scare vs Australia who carried a 1 run lead into the 7th inning, and I watched them all in the Tokyo Dome bar. By the last night, after the Australia vs Korea game that Korea won in order to move on to the next stage, I was recognized by some workers, and some regulars, which was made cooler by our lack of language overlap. Unlike US stadiums, the Tokyo Dome had an open bag policy. The only prohibited food or drink were cans, so I bought food before each at the convenience store nearby and had a feast. At the last game though, I got the Tokyo Dome stamped ice cream sandwich that I had seen on social media and it was awesome.
I checked out of my Airbnb on a Tuesday afternoon under pouring snow and rain, said goodbye to Tokyo, and boarded my bullet train back to Osaka. It was a crazy packed week, I was up at 8 and asleep only a couple hours before everyday, but definitely one that I will remember as long as I live. Thank you for reading.
Oliver
