Day 1: Chunichi Dragons vs. Hanshin Tigers

That evening we took the subway to the Nagoya Dome to see the Chunichi Dragons (中日ドラゴンズ) take on the Hanshin Tigers (阪神タイガース,). We figured we'd better do a comparison of the Japanese stadiums to the American experience.

Well, it was definitely a cultural experience. The crowds were extremely high energy. The fans of each respective team did a cheer for every batter (It's the same cheer all the time, other than the player's name thrown in). We sat next to a Little League team (pictured) who were definitely into the cheering.

In between innings cheerleaders came out and led the fans in more cheers. We were not feeling quite as peppy as the fans. Our jetlag began to kick in (5th inning for Sam, 7th for Ben), and by the end of the game we were both very ready for bed. It didn't help that the Japanese game is very slow in comparison to the MLB. The game was three and a half hours long, which is unheard of (in the States) for a low scoring game.

In the end, the Dragons pulled out the win, 3-2.

Woo! Thus concludes our first full day in Japan!