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Sports in Japan

Sumo
It’s that time again for the Sumo tournaments to begin for the 2008 season. The first tournament of the year will take place in Tokyo from January 7th -21st. The next tournament will be the Osaka tournament that will be held on March 11th -25th. If you happen to be in Tokyo and you can't attend a match, you can always visit the Sumo Museum on the first floor of the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Ryogoku to some of past sumo wrestlers. If you are wanting more you can also book a tour where you can catch a morning sumo practice, have a photo session with sumo wrestlers, and have lunch with the oyakata (stable master) while eating chanko-nabe. More information:http://www.sumo.or.jp/eng/

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IACE Travel: Simple Sumo Tour

Play Ball! Puro Yakyu in Japan
Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui, Daisuke Matsuzaka are just a few players that have come from Japanese Pro Baseball. As spring rolls around, it is that time again for baseball to begin. In Japan, baseball or in Japanese, Puro Yakyu, is a time when all the crazy fans come out to cheer on teams like the Carp, Giants, Tigers, and Dragons. The atmosphere at the park is a bit different from MLB baseball. First off, the fans, they are crazy! You have fans sitting in the outfield bleachers waving flags, playing instruments, and cheering every minute of the game. Going to a Puro Yakyu game is part of modern day Japanese cultural and it is a must see event, even if you don’t like baseball.

The season begins for the Pacific League March 20th and 22nd and the Central League begins March 28th. Tickets to baseball games can be purchased at stadium kiosks either the day of the game (if not sold out) or beforehand. Japan Ball, a Seattle based company that also runs baseball-themed tours to Japan, can order advance tickets for you for a small fee http://www.japanball.com/tickets.htm. Tickets for baseball, soccer, boxing, pro-wrestling and other such sports may also be purchased from Ticket Pia or convenience stores.

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JapanBall.com: 2008 Japan Baseball Tour.

Inside the Tokyo Dome watching the Tokyo Giants at play.

Cheers are consistent from the outfield stands. All are choreographed. A drummer keeps the beat.

Photographs from Bob Bavasal's japanball.com

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