The Museum of Hanshin Koshien Stadium

Expanded! Renewed! Must-See!

“Museums are boring!” Not this one. The most hallowed baseball park in Japan has its own museum that will give you an even fuller appreciation for the stadium. Entrance is ¥900 for adults, ¥700 for high schoolers, and ¥500 for children under age 15. Take ¥100 off the fee if you’re a Hanshin Tigers Fan Club member. Hours are 10:00 am until 18:00 pm and outside of national holidays and game days; the museum is closed on Mondays. At present, there are no English resources available but you can still enjoy the exhibits without any explanations.

The main exhibits of the museum are now in a building adjacent to the stadium, near Lalaport Shopping Mall and the Susano Shrine. 

Soon after entering the museum, you will be greeted by the gigantic 1985 Japan Series Championship banner, plus various players’ equipment, profiles, pictures, and more.

Up next is one of my personal favorite parts of the museum: Hanshin Tigers team history! There are walls for each of the team’s eras, with pictures of important players and moments, plus a lot of equipment. The pictures below are just a small sample of what you will see in this part of the museum.

At the end of the Hanshin Tigers section, there is a small wall that will hopefully get bigger and bigger as the Hanshin Tigers Women team grows in accomplishments and glory.

Now a really fun part of the museum that was not in the older rendition (2010-21): try on, feel, experience Koshien! You can put on players’ batting gloves, fielding gloves, grab their bats, feel their spikes, brush your fingers on a real home plate and pitcher’s rubber, and more! There is also a virtual-reality corner where you can ride the bullpen car, sit on the back of the groundskeeper’s car, sit at the top of the right-field stands, stand with the closest of media at the high school tournament’s opening ceremony, and a whole lot more!

When you have had your fill of the Hanshin Tigers part of the museum (which will probably be never, but let’s assume you need to move on because of time constraints), next up is the seasonal exhibit. At the time of this posting, it was a Spring High School Tournament special. This section of the museum will probably change every three months or so.

Now, the last thing in the new museum building is a chance you will get to try batting against “real” pitching, plus soft-toss batting and pitching. Each of these costs a pretty penny but could be worth your while. You’ll see a sign that says “Be-Stadium Koshien” and then hand them your money and play ball!

Now as you leave this building, do not go back down the stairs that you walked up to get in! Cross the catwalk and enter Part 2 of the museum, which has been basically preserved from before and will be worth your while!

Up first: the high school baseball tournament exhibit!

Up next, you get treated to something that will have manga-lovers lost for hours: walls of the most famous manga ever centered around Koshien baseball…

Did you know that there is a football game played at Koshien Stadium every fall? It’s the Koshien Bowl and it is pretty important to universities that have football clubs! It is the annual national championship game! Learn more about it here!

In case you were not aware of this, you are currently walking through the backside of the stadium as you check out these exhibits. You can learn more about the history of this ballpark, checking out some important artifacts and historical items as you squeeze along under the scoreboard in center field.

And along this walkway, you get a chance to step out into the fresh air and see the scoreboard up close and personally. Plus, you can gaze at the field from the batter’s eye. Unfortunately, they have taken away from the grandeur of the experience by putting up a shield through which you can poke your eyes… but still, pretty cool!

So there you have it. A start-to-finish look at the Museum of Hanshin Koshien Stadium. If you ever want a tour guide to help you through and explain some of the museum’s finer points, send me an e-mail (thehanshintigers@gmail.com). Depending on your offer, I might be willing to join you and give you the best explanation available to baseball fans!