Watching NPB/Pro Baseball in the Tokyo area

Last update: Oct 21st, 2025 - Teams advancing to the Japan Series have been decided. Once the Japan Series is over, the All-Japan team ("Samurai Japan") will be playing a pair of exhibition games against Korea at the Tokyo Dome, on Nov 15/16.

Post Season (Updated) 

Playoff:

CL - Hanshin Tigers swept the Yokohama DeNA BayStars and advances to the Japan Series.

PL - Fukuoka Softbank Hawks defeats the Nippon-Ham Fighters 4-3 and reaches the Japan Series for second straight year.

Japan Series: From Oct 25. Games 1, 2, 6 and 7 at Mizuho PayPay Dome in Fukuoka. Games 3-5 at the Koshien Stadium near Osaka. Since 1995, all Japan Series games are scheduled in the evening.

Preseason

The 12 teams will have their spring training in Okinawa or Kyushu. In 2025, preseason games started on Feb 22nd.

The last game was on March 23rd (Sunday). The teams then took a few days off before the regular season opening day.

Admission fees are charged for preseason games but it is generally much cheaper than the regular season. It is very rare for a preseason game to sell out. If a preseason game is rained out, the game will not be rescheduled.

From March 5th-10th, there will also be WBC (World Baseball Classic) Pool C games at the Tokyo Dome. Pool C consists of Japan, Australia, South Korea, Czech Republic and Taiwan with the top two teams advancing to the quarterfinal in Miami. NPB preseason games will still take place while the WBC games are being played but the Giants will obviously be on the road during this time.

Regular Season 

The preliminary schedule (without the start time of the game) is announced in November of the previous year. The full schedule is announced in mid January.

Some games are held in a neutral site away from the usual home venue, which will only be announced when the full schedule comes out. For example, the Giants played a few home games outside of the Tokyo Dome in 2025 such as Yamagata and Fukushima.

There was a short pause after the interleague competition finished in late June (no games scheduled from June 23-26) and another pause for the All-Star break from July 22-25. NPB always has two all star games; Game 1 was at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka on July 23, Game 2 at the Yokohama Stadium on July 24.

Any rainouts will be rescheduled to a later date usual at the tail end of the season in late September or early October. For 2025, the Central League announced on July 29th the schedule for 15 games which were postponed earlier in the season.

The last regular season game was on October 5 with a cushion of five days before the playoffs were to begin. The NPB will always try to avoid doubleheaders unless it is absolutely necessary to finish the regular season in time. There has even been cases where non-playoff bound teams were playing their final game while a playoff game was being held on the same day. The last doubleheader dates all the way back to 1998. 

Of the five teams in the Tokyo area, the Giants and Swallows have decent information available in English on their websites, including the option to buy tickets. Other teams will require a Japanese phone number for signing up and even with the aid of Google Translate, acquiring tickets might be a big pain.

There used to be organizations like JapanBall, where someone would secure tickets on your behalf for a fee. The NPB has apparently been cracking down on these type of services. 

Giants English Website: http://www.giants.jp/en/

The ticketing site gives you the option to choose tickets from a seating chart. You either print the tickets yourself or pick them up at any 7-Eleven in Japan.

Not all tickets are sold through the official ticketing site and sometimes there is better availability showing on other agency sites (mentioned below).

Swallows English Website: https://www.yakult-swallows.co.jp/en/

The calendar shows the dates when home games are held. If the ticket sales have already begun, the "buy tickets" icon will be appearing. There is a seat view for each section which should assist with your preference. There is dynamic pricing so usually the price goes up as the game date approaches.

The Yokohama DeNA BayStars also opened an English ticketing option though it is poorly designed and not all the information is correctly translated. It uses the Lawson Ticket system though only a small number of tickets (Category FA and FB, infield seats on the third base side) are sold from this English page.

https://l-tike.com/st1/baystarsEng/sitetop

Tickets will need to be retrieved from the LAWSON convenience store by first going to the Loppi kiosk that is located near the ATM or the copy machine. You then receive a receipt to take to the register where the staff will print out your ticket.

The Chiba Lotte Marines or Seibu Lions lack any English options on the official ticketing site, though it is rare for the tickets to sell out. Going to the box office on game day should be fine for a normal weekday game. 

Starting in the 2025 season, the Pacific League tickets (including the Marine and Lions) can be bought from abroad through a service called Tickets in Japan (https://www.ticketsinjapan.com/en/). However I notice that tickets are sold inclusive of some company merchandise (completely unrelated to the team) and the price is way more than the face value. 

”Ticket Pia” and "e plus" are reputable online services that sells tickets for all teams, but with only a Japanese option. Also both websites will require a Japanese phone number for verification when opening an account (It will make an automated call to the specified number as part of the signing up process, so you cannot put a random number)

"Lawson Ticket" is another agent. It might allow you to purchase from overseas but payment with a foreign credit card is not possible. It means you have to go to a Lawson convenience store to pay to a clerk within the due date. Usually you are given only three days after purchase. (Information Source https://l-tike.com/guide/en/)

There might be other third party sites offering the tickets but reselling tickets for higher than the face value is now illegal in Japan. In theory one could claim that the ticket was given by a family or friend but some event organizers are refusing entry for tickets linked to an account with suspicious activity. 

(FYI) For teams outside the Tokyo area:

The Chunichi Dragons added the English ticketing option in July 2024, using the same platform that the Swallows use.

https://quick.pia.jp/dragons_en/

The Rakuten Eagles (based in Sendai), Hiroshima Carp and SoftBank Hawks (based in Fukuoka) all have the English option on their websites, but not the choice to purchase tickets directly in English. The Hawks do have a link posted to Klook Travel, a third party booking site where tickets can be purchased. The Hawks officially announced their partnership with Klook, so the tickets sold there are legitimate.

For the Pacific League teams, there is also the option to use Tickets in Japan. However as mentioned above, they sell tickets that are bundled together with unnecessary merchandise, so you are not really getting a fair deal.

MORE ON THE EXPERIENCE

The season starts around the last weekend of March and continues on until early October. There are two teams in Tokyo and another three in the vicinity, so usually there will be at least one game going on somewhere. Just keep in mind there are usually no games on a Monday, unless it falls on a National Holiday. Games typically start at 6pm on weekdays and anywhere between 1-3pm on the weekends, though this can vary depending on the team. During the hot summer months (July-mid September), most games are moved to the night slot starting from 6pm. 

When getting tickets, take the following into consideration:

Home team fans sit on the first base side, the visiting team on the third base side (It's the opposite at the Belluna Dome; home fans on the third base side)

The most loyal fans occupy the outfield bleachers with continuous cheering/noise throughout the game. In contrast, seats behind home plate are much quieter, and often reserved for season ticket holders who may or may not show up.

Many teams now have a dynamic pricing system where the price will increase with demand. I've never seen the cost drop below the original price, so it's a good idea to secure them early if your plans are firm. Games on weekends and holidays will always attract higher demand regardless of the teams they are facing. Weekday games earlier in the season (April/May) are easier to get, especially if the weather is still chilly at night. From late June to mid July, the Tokyo area heads into a wet season when games can get postponed; getting tickets for the Tokyo Dome or Belluna Dome will eliminate any risk of the game being washed out.