Dutch Baseball Hangout Goes Tokyo Dome

Currently, yours truly is spending his vacation in Japan. The first four days are spent in Tokyo. Today several visits were planned. One of them was the Tokyo Dome, in order to buy two caps (one for myself and one for a friend of mine) of the Yomiuri Giants.

When my wife and I arrived at the Tokyo Dome, a.k.a. as the Big Egg, I was struck with awe. Not that the stadium is that beautiful, but I always had the wish to see it myself.

EventuallyI acquired three (!) caps, the two aforementioned plus a cap called Yomiuri Giants New Era 3rd Black Pro Collection LP 59FIFTY Cap. Even though it has the authentic NPB logo on the back, I don’t think it is an official game cap as the bottom of the visor has some black/grey camo pattern on it. But I liked it nevertheless and thus bought it. After some digging, I found out that the cap was used during some special games in 2025, called the Black Diamond Series. So it looks like it was an official NPB cap.

One thing must be said about these Japanese New Era caps. It is clear that the NPB or the Yomiuri Giants have a much higher standard regarding the merchandise than MLB has. Where MLB and MiLB caps are often bulky, off-shaped, not fitting properly, and the lids are often attached skewed, the NPB New Era caps have a perfect shape, fit like a glove and the lids are sewn on right in the center. MLB certainly can learn something from this.

After I visited the New Era shop, I went into the Nike shop with some slim hope I could buy an authentic Giants on field jersey. But 350 Euros is a hefty price tag.

Then I prepared to go to the Imperial Gardens but my wife took me to the Japanese Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame, located in the Tokyo Dome, and she even isn’t into baseball (I am married to the best wife in the world). This was a great experience. A nice museum with items from the very start of Japanese baseball in the late nineteenth century to nowadays items. The Hall of Fame was nice to see, but eventhough I like Japanese and Asian baseball, I am unfamiliar with most of the players and officials inducted to the Japanese Baseball HOF. The only three players that I really know are Tuffy Rhodes, Sadaharu Oh and Ichiro Suzuki.

Here is a lengthy photo impression of the exterior of the ballpark, the shops and the Japanese Baseball Museum/HOF. I hope you like it.