Grounds Tigers Fans like.

This particular post comes from a suggestion by Torakichi on a different thread. It is totally unscientific and mainly based on thoughts of Japanese Oendan fans (particularly from Tora Eye and its affiliates). So without futher ado here we are in order.

Central League
1. Koshien - quite simply because it is Tigers home ground. The fact that the food isn't particularly good and the toilet facilities weren't wonderful doesn't matter. This is the best ground for Tigers fans - for some it is like a temple. Jettos (Jetto Fusen - the balloons Tigers fans inflate at the beginning of the seventh) are of course allowed

2. Jingu - This is a pleasant comfortable ground to watch baseball. In summer it is very relaxing and is considered the Tigers Tokyo home. Swallows fans are not very common and the ground is mainly filled with Tigers fans who have even invaded the Swallows Gaia. The scramble to get seats though is one of the least well organised procedures in Japanese baseball. Basically, representatives from the cheering groups queue up sometimes hours before the game and then rush to find good seats. Jingu administration have instituted a ballot for the rights to a place in the queue. If you pick out a number five from the box you get the number five place in the queue. The irony is that Jingu seats are numbered. Just issuing numbered tickets like they do at Tokyo Dome would do away with the problem. Once inside the food is good, alcohol nice and ambience wonderful. The sound system is unobtrusive and jettos are allowed.

3. Hiroshima - an old crumbling stadium but very friendly and intimate. Food is OK and its open. Jettos are allowed

4. Tokyo Dome (also known as Gomido - rubbish dome, a play on Yomiuri and the Japanese for rubbish) - its expensive and the food is good quality. Sightlines are mostly good and the seats are numbered. Fans are generally well behaved but do not be caught wearing the wrong colours in the Gaia. For many years attendance at Tokyo Dome was reported at 55,000 which was around 12,000 higher than its actual capacity. Yomiuri Group had to have more than Koshien. This absurdity finally ended in 2005 and more realistic figures were quoted. The stadium roof is held up by a slight overpressure being unsupported. This is great for hayfever sufferers but does mean you have to enter and exit one by one. When you do exit you can feel the depressurisation. No jettos allowed but a very well organised stadium and very clean.

5. Nagoya Dome (Nagado) - not one of the favourite grounds. It's difficult to get Tigers fans to go there. Nagoya is seen as a rather boring city with a castle (and nothing else). Actually the food is rather good and often quite interesting. With the Dragons success this has led to Dragons fans invading the Tigers side as more take up the tickets. The cheering groups are trying to persuade more fans to make the journey but so far with little success.

6. Yokohama Stadium (Hamasta) - this ground is cramped, the food is abysmal and the drinks supply poor. In addition the sound system on the visiting side tries to drown out the visiting fans in an example of pettiness which is difficult to beat. Jettos are not allowed. The general advice for Hamasta is eat outside. On the plus side Yokohama fans turn out in large numbers for the games against the Tigers giving a nice atmosphere.

Pacific League
1. Saitama Seibu - a nice stadium. Uniquely in Japan a dome with open sides and very nice. The Gaia are a mixture of seats and flat areas and the ground is surrounded by trees. Its a lovely place to watch baseball on a fine day but a bit cold on a bad day. Very well organised. The food is awful though. It's main problem is its remoteness - Tokorzawa is a long way by train. Jettos are allowed.

2. Kobe Green Stadium - nice comfortable and relaxing. It's only problem is that it is not so easy to get to. Tigers fans turn out to this one in large numbers and food is good. Jettos are allowed.

3. Chiba Lotte Stadium - It is remote but is a reasonable stadium. Most Tigers fans do not care for the Bobby Valentine cult though and in fact there is a lot of bad blood between Tigers and Marines fans. This goes back to Valentine's comments about the Marines fans being the best in Japan. Whilst you can allow Giants and Tigers fans to mix sometimes stadium security has to seperate Tigers and Marines fans. Food is acceptable and jettos are allowed.

4. Fukuoka Dome - sightlines aren't particularly good and the food isn't wonderful. Most Tigers fans of my acquaintance prefer fences as they can see through them. They aren't fond of walls and the walls at Fukuoka Dome are high. Jettos are allowed and seating is OK.

5. Kyocera (Osaka) Dome - sightlines are poor and there are pillars in the way. Most people think that money changed hands in getting it built. Tigers fans don't really like the ground because of the sightline issues. It's not considered easy to get to and it involves Orix which most Tigers fans would like to pretend doesn't exist. Jettos are allowed.

6. Rakuten and Hokkaido - the only reason these two are at the bottom is because not many of my friends have been there. One I know has been to Sendai and he thought it was good. The few who have been to Hokkaido liked it a lot - in fact they said it was the best dome in Japan.

I agree with a lot of your rankings, especially with domes at the bottom! I think when you see a game at Sapporo Dome your opinion might change. I was anti-dome, but my one game at Sapporo Dome was a good experience. It's very spacious, almost too big! And it has a MosBurger inside, which beats Koshien curry and whatever other crap they sell there!
On a side note, I'm not making my first Koshien trip until the 16th. Anyone been inside yet? Any notable improvements to vending, bathrooms, etc.?

Tora eyes must be really weird, because I think the Seibu Dump pretty much combines the worst aspects of indoor (terrible lighting, bizarre acoustics) with outdoor (it's still windy or humid or horrible). The food is awful and the bathrooms are inconvenient and the outfield "bleachers" are, for the most part, just that tilted turf where people end up spilling beer down the field all the time, plus the sightlines are godawful. I pretty much won't bother going out there in general except for Fighters games.

I also don't get why people hate Yokohama stadium. Of course, I've never actually been in the visitor's bleachers, just the home bleachers, which are full of fun people. But I think it's a super-convenient stadium in terms of trains and neighborhood and everything; I think the food and drinks are pretty normal/reasonable, and best of all, NO FENCES! It's a camera geek heaven and pretty good for autograph-seekers too.

I think when the members of Christopher's oendan makes it to Koshien they'll see some improvement in the food, toilet facilities etc. I've never been to Jingu, but I can vouch for many pleasant relaxing afternoons in the Koshien bleachers with a gentle breze blowing down from Rokko san - that is, until the Tigers started to win too often and pack out the stadium. Maybe Jingu will become as frenetic if Yakult keeps up their early 2008 pace. No more relaxing gin and tonics, or whatever they drink up there.

I must say I can't entirely agree with the Osaka Dome assessment. Hard to get to? I think the good denizens of Tokyo expect all their stadiums to be built on pieces of prime real estate in the center of the city! Yes, you've got to transfer once at Shinsaibashi, but Osakans are used to subway transfers - no big deal. On humid days I confess I'd rather much see a game at Osaka Dome than at Koshien. The sightlines are fine if you don't sit in the press box. There's a particularly good view from the sides.

Tokyo Dome is definitely the most expensive but also the best quality. For example they sell Jojoen beef bento (Jojoen is a very famous beef restaurant). These are expensive but sell out very quickly - Yokohama seems to have a poor reputation among all fans (don't ask my why). I personally don't like the ground either but at least Yokohama China Town is close by.

This is actually a really good critique of stadiums, albeit biased towards Tigers' fans preferences. I'm not going to Japan any time soon because of a tight wallet, but I'll be sure to keep some of these in mind. I've heard that Jingu is a really nice stadium atmosphere-wise. I'd like to see a game both there and at Fukuoka Dome.

The katsu curry isn't too bad a Koshien. Orange seats are bearable, but I love the green seats!

Anyone sat in the newly named "Ivy seats" yet? I had heard they made them more spacious, which was very necessary. Despite the higher price, they were very cramped plus the section lacked the atmosphere of the Alps or Gaia.