June 2025 Japan Play Abroad Tour Recap & Photo Log
Interested in Play Abroad?
Days One & Two — June 2 & 3, 2025
Our first ever ‘Play Abroad’ trip is officially underway in Nara! Play Abroad is designed for teams, fantasy campers, and schools looking for unforgettable international baseball experiences. We’re so excited to get going with Odyssey!
The first stop on our way to our first game was Himeji Castle, also known as the White Heron Castle, a Japanese National Treasure and a World Heritage site. Its status as one of Japan’s 12 remaining original castles makes this fortress a must for anyone interested the history of Japan.
Then, we met with our opponents and hosts, the Aboshi Nishi Guts Buffaloes (@rinji.o9o). We were meant to play outdoors at Aboshi Minami Park, but since it was raining, we played games and practiced together inside a gymnasium.
Afterwards, we had dinner at the Shinmaiko Garden Hotel for a banquet dinner with our wonderful hosts. There was great food, music, performances, and culture exchange!
Day Three — June 4
The weather was much nicer today and we certainly made the most of it!
Our first stop for the Odyssey team was Ninja Kingdom Ise, a theme park based on a true replica of Oda Nobunaga’s historical Azuchi Castle. There were many activities including a ninja show, traditional Japanese games, a forest climbing adventure, Shuriken (ninja star), and much more.
We had a nice lunch at the theme park to prepare for the evening and headed off to nearby Futami Field to meet our opponents and hosts, Shinsei Futami (@futami_baseball). The boys fought very hard with great fielding and pitching to earn a tie. Hats off to Coach Derek for his great coaching with a new team.
Afterwards, we went to the Sumaro Chinese Restaurant for a banquet dinner with our wonderful hosts before the long drive back to our hotel.
Day Four — June 5
First, we went down to see the local branch of the boutique gym where Hall-of-Famer Ichiro Suzuki refined his legendary workout technique and collaborated with to design the custom cleats that he wore for a majority of his MLB career. Then, we walked to nearby store called Matsuda, a baseball sporting goods heaven!
After the shopping spree, we made a short detour to Nara Park. Established in 1880, it’s the location of many of Nara’s main attractions including Todaiji, Kasuga Taisha, Kofukuji and the Nara National Museum. It’s also home to hundreds of freely roaming deer!
In the evening, the boys took on Tenri Chibi Club at Tenriko Youth Development Square and got the first win in EIT Odyssey history with some awesome hitting! Afterwards, we went to Tenrikyo Tsuga Church Branch Office for an incredible banquet dinner with our wonderful hosts.
Day Five — June 6
In the morning, we drove out to an agricultural theme park called Shigisan Nodokamura, where we saw animals, went fishing, and had a great BBQ lunch. After that, we went to the nearby Sango-Kenmin Civic Sports Field to meet our opponents and hosts, Sango TFB (@sangotfb35)
It was another strong showing for the boys as Odyssey finished the trip undefeated in a close game! Our hosts were also kind enough to gift all of our players locally made speciality sandals — thank you so much!
Following the game, we had dinner with the Sango team at the Kuro-Ten Restaurant. All of our hosts this week were incredibly friendly, supportive, and best of all, baseball lovers just like us.
We’re off to Osaka tomorrow to catch a Hanshin Tigers game!
Day Six — June 7
Now that the boys are finished playing baseball on the trip…it was time to watch an NPB game at Koshien Stadium, a true Japanese baseball cathedral!
We hit the Babe Ruth monument in Mizuno Square, commemorating the legend’s appearance at Koshien in 1934, Susano Shrine, a Shinto site where the Hanshin Tigers faithful pray for the team’s continued success, and the Museum of Hanshin Koshien Stadium.
The weather was beautiful and it was an exciting Kansai Derby between Hanshin and their crosstown rival Orix Buffaloes! The Buffaloes were up 2-0 in the 6th inning, but the crowd erupted as Shota Morishita smashed a 3-run shot off ace Hiroya Miyagi to flip the score! The Tigers went on to add some insurance runs and the fans went home happy with an 8-2 win. It was a great introduction to Japanese baseball for the much of the group.
Tomorrow, we’ll stay in Osaka for some sightseeing and a sumo show!
Day Seven — June 8
For the final day of our trip, we started out with a visit to the Pokemon Center Osaka DX, a huge store with all things Pokemon. Afterwards, we enjoyed lunch at the epic food court in the downstairs department store before making our way to Dotonbori and having some fun at karaoke.
In the evening, we had an unforgettable cultural experience at the Hirakuza Sumo Show. The dinner show provided an up-close look at the fascinating world of sumo wrestling, Japan’s oldest and official national sport. We saw sumo wrestlers in action, learned the traditions behind the sport, and even had volunteers step into the ring for a chance to face off against a pro. Our very own Avi was selected to compete and was declared the champion after a spirited showdown!
And that’s a wrap! It’s sad to see it end so soon but our first ever ‘Play Abroad’ trip was a huge success — thank you to all our amazing hosts for all the memories both on and off the field!