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2026 Mini NPB Tour Recap & Photo Log
2026 Mini NPB Tour Recap & Photo Log
Next NPB Tour: May 2027
Days One & Two — September 8 & 9
Our annual Mini NPB Tour is underway in Osaka!
We started on Tuesday night with a visit to Kyocera Dome for the Saitama Seibu Lions and Orix Buffaloes. Unfortunately for the home team, NPB ERA leader Kaima Taira was in cruise control, shutting down the Buffaloes for 8 innings en route to a 2-0 victory.
The next morning, we planned to explore Dotonbori together, but heavy rains had other plans. Luckily, we were still able to make it to Namba Park to see some hidden baseball history connected to the old Nankai Hawks. We visited the site of former Osaka Stadium and the National Gallery of Nankai Hawks, remembering the club’s Osaka roots before its move to Fukuoka.
From there, we made the short trip to Kobe, where the group enjoyed a hosted Kobe beef welcome lunch before heading to Hotto Motto Field Kobe for another Lions-Buffaloes matchup — this time at one of Japan’s most scenic and underrated ballparks. Seibu proved too strong for Orix again with another shutout victory, this time by an 8-0 scoreline.
Next Stop: Fukuoka
Days Three & Four — September 10 & 11
After arriving in Kyushu from Osaka, we jumped right into one of the best baseball experiences in Japan with a visit to the Sadaharu Oh Baseball Museum and teamLAB Forest inside the complex.
From there, it was off to Mizuho PayPay Dome for a matchup between the Hokkaido Nipponham Fighters and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. We got to see a multi-homer game from future Hall of Famer Yuki Yanagita, and the first-place Hawks came away with a 3-2 victory!
Some guests also kept the night going with a visit to the Nakasu food stalls, one of Fukuoka’s signature experiences and a rare chance to enjoy true Japanese street food culture. Back at the hotel, we were so lucky to meet Fighters foreign duo Franmil Reyes and Rodolfo Castro! Thank you so much to them for their kindness!
The next day, we headed to Chikugo for a minor league game between the Hiroshima Carp and SoftBank Hawks farm teams at Tama Home Stadium Chikugo. Veteran Nao Higashihama got the start for the Hawks and secured the win.
It’s a nice, cozy stadium and we also saw Hawks prospect Yoshiyasu Sasagawa hit a big home run. Some fans refer to him as Yanagita 2.0, so it was great to see both of them go deep on this portion of the trip!
The last stop is coming up next – Nagoya!
Days Five & Six — September 12 & 13
Our final stop on the tour brought us to Nagoya!
After arriving from Fukuoka, we headed to Vantelin Dome for a matchup between the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and Chunichi Dragons. It was a long, back-and-forth game, but the Swallows came away with a 6-5 victory.
The next day was all about Ichiro. We visited Iseyama Ground, where Ichiro trained with his father growing up, then stopped by the I-fain Ichiro Exhibition Room to see memorabilia from one of the greatest careers in baseball history. We were so honored to have Ichiro’s father visit us again for a photo out front!
Of course, we also had to hit Kuko Batting Center, where a young Ichiro honed his swing, before finishing the pilgrimage with lunch at Bajoyutaka Sushi, one of his favorite hometown restaurants, and one of our favorite regular spots on NPB tours!
We wrapped up the trip with a farewell dinner at Takeyama, a yakiniku restaurant owned by former Chunichi Dragons catcher Shingo Takeyama — and our amazing manager on our most recent 13U-15U Play Abroad trip!
Huge thanks to Takeyama-san for stopping by to say hi and sign some autographs for guests, and to his wife Mayu for the phenomenal service!
That marks the end of our short yet loaded Mini NPB Tour that featured stops in Osaka, Kobe, Fukuoka, and Nagoya. Until next time!