I have written about fandom for a baseball team in Japan and the next one I’m taking a look at is the love for the Yakult Swallows near Meiji Jingu Stadium.
For those who don’t know, there are two Tokyo baseball teams for the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) League and that’s the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants in the Bunkyo ward area and plays at Tokyo Dome, while the Tokyo Yakult Swallows are in Shibuya ward and play at Meiji Jingu Stadium.
Both teams play for the Central League Division and are crosstown rivals.
I have written about the stadium back in 2015.
But this time around, I want to focus on the Yakult Swallows near the Meiji Jingu area, probably the only area to find Yakult Swallows promotions.
A different vibe compared to fellow Central League teams Hiroshima Carp (who have merch all over the city and station), as with the Yokohama DeNA Baystars with promotionals at Minato Mirai but with Tokyo teams, it’s pretty much more focused near their stadium areas.
If anything, it’s always interesting to see how much the places change, especially the growth of the team store which has moved a few times since watching baseball games at Meiji Jingu Stadium.
But for the most part, it’s an interesting vibe but even much more interesting when the Giants take on the Swallows!
