When attending a baseball game in Japan, one must experience the food in tandem with the action on the field! Japan is world-renowned for putting a lot of thought, effort, and quality into its cuisine… and the ballparks are no exception!
There is a lot of great food besides what we have for you here, but if you really want to experience a marriage of palette and player, then this is where you must begin your journey! Warning to you: these items often sell out quite quickly, so make sure you get yours as soon as you can! They are seldom served hot, so if it’s a main dish, you can always buy it right when you arrive and save it for an hour or two before digging in if/when the game has a lull in the middle innings or whatever.
It is also worth noting that some of these are available for purchase at a booth between Koshien Station and the stadium, but they should also all be on sale once inside the ballpark. Just, as I said, they may not still be available to YOU if you wait too long!
This wide assortment of food is “player-themed” because either the motif is connected to the player’s hometown (for example, Koyo Aoyagi is from Yokohama, which has the largest Chinatown in Japan), or it happens to be the player’s favorite food. In one case (Masumi Hamachi) it is even tied to the family business!
I have tried to keep the explanations to a minimum because of space, but also because you really just have to see (and taste) them for yourself! This will give you an idea of what to keep your eyes on when you get to the ballpark, though.
And while you’re at it, why not check out these cool chopsticks that are made out of broken baseball bats? You know you want some!
As you can see from the bottom of this graphic, you can also collect stamps for every item you purchase. If you collect them all, you get some kind of bonus swag! (Also, I should add that some of the player items come with a little keychain or player card or something as well.)
So now you know what you need to do when you go to Koshien next time! Make a special connection with the team by getting your player-themed food!