As seen in Daily Sports in Japanese Here / デイリースポーツの記事はこちら
I’m not sure how old the term “bucket list” is, but it sure does feel like it takes the Grim Reaper rather lightly. I mean, we’re talking about “before I die” so casually, but if you stop and think about it, the term kind of promotes morbidity. Or could it be that in this day and age of unprecedented wealth, convenience of travel and access to information, that humanity is finally coming alive and enjoying the gift of living?
For baseball fans in America in particular, a recent box on the bucket list checklist is to make it out to Japan and take in a game in a country whose fans are gaining notoriety for being passionate yet prudent. It doesn’t hurt that the on-field product is nearly on par with MLB. After all, it spawned great players like Shohei Ohtani, Masahiro Tanaka, Yu Darvish, Kenta Maeda, and of course, Ichiro. Surely there are more hidden gems across the Pacific! Why not come check them out, enjoy a ballgame in an intense environment, and take in some Japanese culture on the side?
That being the case, the Mecca of Asian ballparks, Hanshin Koshien Stadium, has to be the most popular of destinations who feel compelled to see just one Japanese baseball game before they die. It’s nearly 95 years old, making it the oldest still-standing ballpark in Japan. It has the same reverent feel as Fenway Park (Boston) or Wrigley Field (Chicago). The fans are famous (infamous?) for being some of the wildest in the whole sport – in Japan or elsewhere.
Having gone to the stadium on multiple occasions over the past 5 years, I have noticed a huge spike in the number of foreigners in attendance. Some are locals, but the vast majority are tourists. They don’t speak Japanese, and while part of the charm of taking in a game “in Japan” is being surrounded by a different culture, it sure would be nice to be able to read and understand signs, menus, and so on.
At present, the team appears to be taking baby steps towards making the product more global-friendly. It is possible to buy tickets without knowing Japanese, thanks to their English guide of the Ko-Ticket website. (The site itself is still Japanese-only, mind you.) The Hanshin Koshien Stadium Museum has brochures and guidance available in English, as well as other languages, too.
But right now, that’s about as far as things go. What about team information? Player profiles? Even information about rainouts and ticket refunds? All of that is where H-TEN comes in, which is both a good and bad thing. Good, because it gives me a platform and an outlet for my creative energy. Bad, because it means a lot of people are waiting for information from someone who is not answerable to anyone. Case in point: throughout this rainy season, and any time during the season when the weather looks stormy, I get a plethora of inquiries about cancelations and refunds. But I also have a full-time job, and cannot always get the information about the game in a timely manner, let alone disseminating it to those who need it most.
What’s my point? I guess it’s a rather simple one. The Hanshin Electric Company needs to step up its game and start looking at the wonderful product they have as a potential global juggernaut. And they can’t become that if they continue to provide minimal information in the global language. (PS – I’m open to listening to your offers, Hanshin.)
