Which Team has the Most Energetic Fans?

The Hanshin Tigers fans are by far the liveliest and craziest in Japan. No other group of fans quite equals Tigers fans. Tigers play the Giants at Tokyo Dome from September 7th to 9th and the atmosphere is awesome for these games. However, tickets are hard to get and it may fall outside your trip.

Failing that, your other alternative would be the Chiba Lotte Marines. Their fans are not as crazy, but you should be able to get to their games during that period.

Chiba Lotte's oendan is far and wide the most talented and enjoyable to watch. Here are a few clips:

• Lotte Oendan 1
• Lotte Oendan 2
• Lotte Oendan 3
• Lotte Oendan 4

Unfortunately, Yokohama didn't score often enough for me to get their cheer on that day.

Michael,

I couldn't see the videos you posted.

File permissions fixed. Sorry about that. And thanks for pointing it out.

I personally think that Lotte's oendan are FUN, but their cheers are downright DUMB. On the other hand, this poster didn't specify whether they speak Japanese, and thus Lotte's group might be easier to get in with if they don't, just because it's not that hard to pick up "La la la la la, Go Benny" and other complex songs such as "We love love love love love Marines," etc.

Despite the fact that I'm not a Seibu fan, I had to admit that their cheering section always seems to be having a blast, getting up and running around and waving flags and dancing and whatnot.

The Swallows fans - well, you can't go wrong with them, just bring an umbrella and dance around a lot! The team hasn't been very good as of late, but Jingu's a historic stadium and all. Certainly, if you want crazy fans and a historic stadium you want the Hanshin Tigers, but they're based out of Osaka, so it's a matter of whether they'll be in Tokyo while you're there.

Of course, I think the Fighters' cheering groups are fantastic and fun and very open - part of how I became a Fighters fan was from when I accidentally sat right in the middle of the cheering group several years ago at the Tokyo Dome and people taught me the songs and all. The team isn't based out of Tokyo anymore, but still has a large fan base there.

In general, all teams have an oendan and are enthusiastic and fun fans to join up with and cheer. But if you want the craziest, it'd probably be Hanshin. People often compare Yomiuri and Hanshin to being like the Yankees and Red Sox, and it's really not that far off a comparison in most applicable ways.

I'd like to echo everything Deanna just wrote, a perfect summary.

As for the Seibu fans, they do have some interesting cheers. It's just a shame that all the noise that they make is doomed to just echo around the otherwise empty expanses of the Seibu/Goodwill/whatever-it's-called-this-year Dome.

A little off topic, but I went to Seibu to watch both Yakult games last week. Both beautiful spring evenings, which makes it even more upsetting to look up and see that big steel saucer they put right on top of the otherwise beautiful stadium. I never got the chance to experience the ballpark pre-dome, but it must have been nice on such an evening with the stars sparkling in a clear sky, and the breeze rustling the leaves of the trees that surround the stadium.

Anyway, enough rambling from me. I guess you just can't have people turn up at the stadium to find that the game's been rained out given how much of a pain it is to get to Seibu Dome. It is a shame though.