Complete guide to 2025 Japan baseball: game schedules, ticket purchases, and more!

• Table of Contents
• What is Japanese baseball?
• 2025 Full year schedule
• How to buy tickets?
• 2024 results
• Enjoying baseball all over Japan
• Must-to-do: How to enjoy Japanese professional baseball!
• For advanced fans: The history of baseball in Japan
• Let's watch baseball, a unique experience for traveling to Japan!

What is Japanese baseball?

Japanese baseball has become increasingly popular both inside and outside of Japan, spurred by success of the Japanese players in the MLB and the World Baseball Classic.

When we talk to foreign tourists who have actually attended matches, we often hear them say that in addition to the game itself, they were also attracted to the atmosphere of the stadium, the chanting of the fans, and the stadium food and drinks, and that it was "the highlight of their trip."

Let's have a look at the information on how to enjoy Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) while traveling in Japan.

2025 Full year schedule

The preseason begins in late February, and the regular season begins in late March, with heated battles continuing until October . If it fits into your travel schedule, it might be a good idea to have a unique experience at the stadium.

Check the 2025 Japan baseball game schedule

How to buy tickets?

Japan Sports Ticket will help you find the games that fit your schedule based on the game schedule and your desired area, and reserve seats in your desired seating area. For particularly popular games, it can be difficult to secure the seats where multiple people can sit together, so be sure to book your tickets as soon as they go on sale.

Search request for finding baseball tickets

2024 results

There are a total of 12 teams in Japanese professional baseball, competing for the championship in two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League. Here are the final results of the 2024 regular season and the standings.

2024 regular season results

In the 2024 season, two teams won the league: Yomiuri Giants and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks .

2024 Playoff/Postseason Results

In the 2024 postseason, the Hawks made good progress while the Yokohama BayStars, who finished third in the Central League, advanced to the Japan Series. Many fans expected the Hawks to win, but Yokohama DeNA BayStars won their first Japan Series title in 26 years.

Enjoying baseball all over Japan

1. Tokyo area

Tokyo Dome is the home stadium of the Japanese professional baseball team, the Yomiuri Giants, where you can enjoy games all year round. You can enjoy watching the games with the latest equipment and comfortable seats, and there are plenty of shopping and dining spots in the surrounding area. It is a multi-purpose entertainment facility where concerts and events are held in addition to games.

Tokyo Dome

112-0004 1-3-61 Koraku, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo

Tokyo Dome is a baseball stadium located 15 minutes from Iidabashi Station. In Japan, baseball is so popular that many people learn sumo, baseball, and soccer in school physical education classes. The area around Tokyo Dome is a complex where you can enjoy an amusement park, shopping, and hot springs. In addition, the Baseball Hall of Fame Museum, which exhibits the history of baseball in Japan, has the WBC trophy on display, so it is a recommended spot for baseball fans.

Hotels near Tokyo Dome

Hotel Grand Hill Ichigaya

Tokyo

4.2 /5

Very Good

27 reviews

$72～

First Cabin Ichigaya

Tokyo

4.2 /5

Very Good

31 reviews

$45～

Acoustic Garage

Tokyo

4.1 /5

Very Good

$205～

2. Osaka/Kyoto area

Kyocera Dome Osaka is the home stadium of the Orix Buffaloes, located in Osaka. With modern facilities and spacious seats, you can watch professional baseball games in comfort. It is also easily accessible from popular tourist spots such as Umeda, Dotonbori, and Universal Studios Japan.

Kyocera Dome Osaka

3-2-1 Chiyozaki, Nishi Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture 550-0023

It is the home stadium of the Japanese professional baseball team, the Orix Buffaloes.

Hotels near Kyocera Dome Osaka

hotel androoms Osaka Hommachi

Osaka Prefecture > Osaka

4.4 /5

Very Good

56 reviews

$95～

Hotel Yururito Osaka

Osaka Prefecture > Osaka

4.7 /5

Amazing

89 reviews

$114～

Super Hotel Premier Osaka Honmachi Ekimae Natural Hot Springs

Osaka Prefecture > Osaka

4.5 /5

Great

268 reviews

$40～

Must-to-do: How to enjoy Japanese professional baseball!

In Japanese professional baseball, in addition to the games themselves, there are many other ways to enjoy the game, such as cheering on the team and eating delicious food.

As guests of Japan Sports Ticket, we will introduce the highlights recommended by people who have actually seen the game.

1. Fans' chantings

In Japanese professional baseball, fans enjoy the game by singing cheering songs almost without a break and encouraging their team with megaphones and applause. There are many different types of songs, such as team songs, songs for each player, songs for when the team is losing, and songs for when the team is winning, and there is a sense of unity in particular when fans sing songs led by the cheering squad.

This seems to leave an impression on many spectators as a big difference from MLB. One of the guests from Japan Sports Ticket commented, "I wasn't particularly interested in baseball itself, but there was always cheering, so I never got bored."

In addition, there is a cheering area for the visiting team in the stadium, and the visiting team's cheer song is played when the visiting team is on bat and at the top of the seventh inning. This is another thing that surprises people as something "impossible in MLB" and "generous (friendly to the visitor fans)."

If you're going to watch baseball at the stadium, you might enjoy it even more if you do a little preparation beforehand on YouTube or elsewhere.

2. Stadium food

At Japanese sporting events, you can enjoy many unique meals both inside and outside the stadium. You can enjoy a variety of foods, including local specialties, dishes named after home team players, and stadium-exclusive dishes. Many guests arrive at the stadium more than an hour before the game to carefully consider what they want to eat. Spending time that way can be fun, too.

3. Salesgirl

Also, at baseball stadiums, drink vendors called "Uriko" (sales girls) will come close to your seat carrying beer and other drinks.

Here too, each stadium has its own characteristics, selling not only various brands of beer, but also highballs, sake, ice cream, and in some stadiums even green tea.

For advanced fans: The history of baseball in Japan

Baseball was first introduced to Japan by an American teacher in 1872. It then spread among universities, and there are records of games being played between Japanese universities around 1900.

The first National High School Baseball Championship was held in 1915.

Japan's professional baseball league was founded in 1936 and is said to have initially had seven teams. It has been 160 years since baseball was first introduced to Japan, and over 80 years since professional baseball began.

The top category, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Currently, the highest level of baseball in Japan is professional baseball, the NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball), but high school baseball is just as popular. National tournaments are held in spring and summer at Koshien Stadium (the home stadium of the Hanshin Tigers), and each tournament attracts a great deal of attention.

Recently, college baseball and independent leagues (leagues that are just before professional baseball) have become more active, and these leagues are attracting more attention as they produce many professional baseball players every year.

Let's watch baseball, a unique experience for traveling to Japan!

The appeal of Japanese tourism is not just its traditional culture, architecture and food. More and more tourists are also planning to visit sports, with baseball being a prime example of this. We encourage you to include watching a Japanese baseball game in your schedule.

Find baseball games for the 2025 season