The Swallows are my team by default. I decided the Swallows would be my team solely on the reason that they were the first team I saw play in person. If I had only known what I was getting myself into. The Swallows are basically the Japanese equivalent of the New York Mets. They are the sad, sometimes pathetic, often beaten little brother of the Yomiuri Giants. Even before I made the decision to put my support behind the Swallows, I knew there was no way the Giants would be my team. Just thinking about that makes my skin crawl a little bit. Rooting for the Giants is like being a Yankees, Real Madrid, or Golden State supporter. Cheering for rich teams who can buy the best players goes against the whole ethos of sport. Besides, it is fun rooting for the underdog. If I ever go to a bullfight in Spain, I will be cheering on the bull.
Maybe the saddest aspect of being a Swallows fan is knowing that the owner of the team is never going to really try to field a consistently competitive team. After all, it is rumored that the owner of the team is a huge Giants fan so why would he pay for good players to compete against his favorite team? I can’t verify that rumor, but it does make it easier to understand the performance of the on-field product at times.
Location
Meiji Jingu Stadium is located in West Tokyo. It is only three stops from the ever-popular Shibuya area and two stops on the Oedo line from Shinjuku. Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden is in the area as well. The National Garden is a beautiful park that is definitely worth a visit if you have a couple of hours and you want to relax in a peaceful urban setting.
Access
Meiji Jingu Stadium is very easy to get to. Just make your way to the Ginza line and head to Gaiemmae Station (外苑前駅). From the station, it is just a 5 to 10-minute walk to the stadium. The time of the walk depends on how much food and drink you want to buy on the way to the game. All along the road, there are street vendors selling yakisoba (焼きそば), edamame (枝豆), takoyaki (たこ焼き), yakitori (やきとり) okonomiyaki (お好み焼き), onigiri (おにぎり) and beer (ビール). Bringing food and drink into the stadium is allowed. You will have to pour your beer into paper cups, which are provided by the friendly staff, at the entry gates. Buying a couple of beers on the street is economically smart as a beer inside the stadium will run you ¥750.
Atmosphere and gameday experience
There is no real way to describe the typical Swallows fan. Hanshin Tigers fans are nuts. Giants fans are front running egotistical snobs. Chiba Lotte Marines fans seem to be a pretty blue-collar crowd. There are no Orix Buffalo fans. But Swallows fans seem to run the gamut from stressed-out salaryman to baseball groupie to hardcore stat nerd. Some of the young girls are dressed like there next stop immediately after the game is the clubs in Shinjuku or Shibuya. Others look like they just got off work at the fish market. It is a very mixed crowd. There are also a lot of foreigners in the crowd. The secret is out. All of the travel sites tout Japanese baseball as a must-see event. As Giants tickets can be very tough to get, the natural place to see a game is in Jingu as there are always good seats available.
The Swallows also have a dance team, of which I have a couple of low-quality pictures. So if you are interested, here is the link to Passion. Often, there are events outside of the stadium before the game. I was lucky to catch an Okinawa lion dance performance and during the late summer, there is a summer festival (夏祭り) outside of the stadium.
Maybe the most famous ritual inside Jingu is the umbrella dance. Every baseball fan in Japan knows about it. Opposing pitchers see it and hear it every time they give up a run. The first time I went to a game I wondered why all of these people were carrying all of these tiny umbrellas. The weather was gorgeous, and the umbrellas are so small, they would do nothing in a rainstorm. I soon had my answer as the Swallows plated a run. Everybody stood up, popped open their umbrellas and started to sing.
くたばれよみうり、くたばれよみうり、くたばれよみうり、くたばれよみうり、あー
おどりおどるならばちょいととうきょうおんど。よい！ よい！
はなのみやこの、はなのみやこのまんなかで それ！ やっとなそれ よい！ よい！ よい！
やっとなそれよい！ よい！ よい！
Kutabare Yomiuri, kutabare Yomiuri, kutabare Yomiuri, kutabare Yomiuri, Ah-
Odori odorunaraba choito Tokyo Ondo. Yoi! Yoi!
Hanano miyakono, hanano miyakono mannakade sore! Yattona sore Yoi! Yoi! Yoi!
Yattona sore Yoi! Yoi! Yoi!
You may not understand the whole song, but the first line says it all. Basically, it is, “drop dead Yomiuri” repeated four times for good measure. I can get on board with that sentiment.
stadium quality
Meiji Jingu Stadium is one of the oldest baseball stadiums in the world. Opened in 1926, it has hosted famous MLB players such as Babe Ruth, Jimmy Foxx, and Lou Gehrig during a 22 game tour of Japan. One interesting note from that tour was that the organizer, Matsutarō Shōriki, commonly known as the father of Japanese professional baseball, survived an assassination attempt for daring to bring foreign players to play in Jingu Stadium. Fenway, Wrigley, you think your history is exciting? What do you have? Bucky Dent and a billy goat. Lame.
Even though the stadium is very old, it is a pretty good place to see a game. There are great views from every area of the ballpark, except for a few obstructed view seats under the canopy behind home plate. Of course, it is the best place to be during games in June and early July when Japan is in the middle of its rainy season. It has to be coming down pretty hard for games to get called due to rain. The outfield bleachers are the cheapest seats in the stadium, but there is a reason for the low price. The seats are small, with no back support, and if you get there late, it is very hard to find a seat. The bleacher creatures arrive early and claim their seats by 4:30. First pitch is at 6.
The scoreboard doubles as the only video screen in the stadium, so it is far behind most of the modern stadiums in Japan. It may not be huge, but it does offer all of the relevant and necessary information needed to follow the game. I put it down to the fact that Swallows fans are just more hardcore and don’t need all of the flash and glitter. You come to Jingu to watch baseball, bad baseball more often than not, but baseball nonetheless.
I highly recommend seeing a game at Meiji Jingu stadium. The crowd is into the game, but not so much so that you will feel like you are not welcome. Just make some noise, buy some beer and have a great time. It really is a great place to spend a warm summer evening in Tokyo.
Rolling Tsuchinoko 
How good did we feel in 2021? I do agree, though. Being a Swallows fan is often an exercise in suffering — which makes victories so sweet! Great article and excellent historical background. I kind of became a Swallows fan in the same way though I was also a Dragons fan by default of living in Nagoya for two years. Both teams are not easy to be fans of. But this year the Dragons are doing pretty well although our round little birds are continuing their expedition to the basement of the league!
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I’m glad you enjoyed my story. 2021 and even 22 were pretty great years. I’d like to see the Dragons have a good year. I’ve followed them on and off ever since Mr Baseball. Thanks again for the compliment.
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