It’s that time of year again! Well, it could have been “that time of 2017” if I had renewed my Fan Club membership a little earlier! But I think I have reached the point in my fandom where the “extra prizes” don’t mean all that much. Most of them never end up getting used anyways. So anyhow, this box arrived in the post late last week…
This year, instead of getting a yellow mesh jersey (I got one in 2015, and hastily put Ryota Imanari 49 on it), a backpack (acquired in 2016 and used only on game day), a shoulder bag (acquired in 2017 and actually comes in quite handy), I decided the best option in this year’s (somewhat disappointing) selection was…
A ticket holder. (It also comes with a neck strap, not shown in the picture.) The one I had used until present was a freebie that I got on a Koshien Stadium tour a couple of years back. This one is pretty classy. Subtle with its logo on the front, and inside…
There’s space enough for tickets, the fan club card itself, plus a bunch of other cards. It even has a zipper pocket behind the card slots, which means I could even use it as a wallet if I wanted to. Perhaps on game day, it will be how I roll.
In any case, I am happy with my haul. Once again for those of you who are not fully in the know about what the fan club membership gets you… for ¥3600…
- You get to choose which prize you want from approximately 6 options. There’s always the yellow mesh jersey, plus sort sort of bag, some sort of plush or towel, and something practical.
- All regular season tickets for games at Koshien or Kyocera are discounted by ¥300 (special seats aside). So if you buy 12 tickets over the course of the season, the membership pays for itself!
- Advanced shot at buying said tickets. Usually the fan club gets a 2-week advance on buying tix. Plus you can choose the exact row and seats you want – something non-fan club people aren’t privy to.
- Four fan club magazines over the course of the year. They are mostly filled with ticket and event information, but there’s always at least one interview and one special feature per rag.
- A ¥100 discount into the Koshien Stadium Museum.
- Chances at extra prizes and draws. The longer you’re a member of the club, the more chances there are for goods!
- Kids’ Club (I will probably be investing in this once my sons are a bit older) include different prize options (see #1), plus free tickets to up to 10 games during the year (provided the parent is a fan club member and buys his/her own ticket in to the game), and the magazine for kids (see #4) is catered to their level and interests.
So there you have it. If you have a Japanese address, I highly recommend you show your loyalty to the team by putting down a few Noguchis in exchange for a better fan experience.