The Hendersons in Himeji: Aquarium and TIGERS Game

A little back story: So back in October we had the big Shinzaike festival where we walked through the neighborhood with a portable shrine and had battles with other neighborhoods around us. Well, the night of the festival we had dinner with a bunch of people from our community. That night I met this wonderful man who also happens to be a big baseball fan like me. During our conversation I mentioned that I was so excited to see a game here in Japan and that I couldn't wait for the next season to start so I could experience a game here in Japan. One thing led to another and he asked me for my email address and said that when the season started he would email me and take me to a game. Now if there is one thing I have come to know about Japanese people is that they are true to their word. Out of the blue last week I got an email from my friend saying that he had tickets for a game he wasn't going to be able to go to, so he wanted to know if Audrey and I wanted to go. My response was, "Ummm.... is Michael Jackson still white?!" Audrey and I decided to make a day of it and go visit an aquarium in Osaka since we were going to be in the area. The aquarium was so magnificent. We took an escalator to the top level and then worked our way down through the middle of the aquarium. We were constantly surrounded by sea life. Everything from otters to dolphins, penguins to whale sharks... it was incredible! We took tons of pictures and hung out in there for at least 2 hours. After we were finished at the aquarium we took train out to Koshien Stadium, home of the Hanshin Tigers. Now here in Japan baseball is life. Baseball is easily the number one sport in Japan and they love their local teams. The trains were packed with people wearing their team colors, with their noise makers in one hand and their glove on the other. It was awesome! Now, Koshien Stadium is by far the oldest ballpark in Japan; built in 1924, the stadium was once visited by American baseball legend Babe Ruth on a tour of Major League stars in 1934. The field is considered sacred and many times player bow before entering or leaving this hallowed field. Needless to say, I was in Japanese baseball heaven. Before the game even started the chants began. The fans at Koshien stadium were unbelievable. They all had noisemakers and they chanted the same thing over over an at the top of their lungs, the stadium was electric. There was a section of Carp fans sitting near us and they were just as loud and animated. It was almost like we were in the middle of a battle. Some of the Carp fans had even brought trumpets which gave it a bit of a college football rivalry game feel. The game itself was great. The left fielder for the Tigers hit 3 homeruns that night and the Tigers went on to an easy victory. It was another wonderful experience here in Japan. We still pinch ourselves sometimes because it doesn't quite seem real.