  Opened in 1978, Yokohama Stadium is
still clean, well-maintained and the steep seats
put fans right on top of the action. From the
infield nose-bleed seats, there's a great view of
Landmark Tower and the beautiful Yokohama
skyline. And when there's a fireworks display in
town, Yokohama Stadium is a great place to watch
the show.Few ballparks in Japan can boast of a
better location--a few minutes walk from
Chinatown, Yamashita park, Motomachi shopping
district and Landmark Tower. But once you pass
the ticket gates, the fun stops.
It's not really one overwhelming
problem, but a series of little ones. As with
most Japanese ballparks, the playing field is
encircled with a high protective chain link
fence. The stadium would make a
great POW camp.
Advertisements twice encircle the
ballpark, once around the blue walls of the
playing field, again, along the rim of the
stadium. If you sit in the outfield, anywhere
near the scoreboard in center field, you won't be
able to see the opposite field.
Since the ticket office routinely
oversells unreserved tickets, unless you get
there early, you may have to stand or sit along
those steep steps (and pray there isn't a
stampede-inducing earthquake).
Slightly smaller than most Major
League ballparks, Yokohama's five meter (16.5
foot) outfield fence measures 94 meters (310 ft.)
from home plate down the foul lines, 114m (365
ft.) in the power alleys and 118m (386 ft.) to
straight-away center field. Despite the short
distances, the high wall tends to lower the
number of home runs.
Should you get a seat in the reserved
sections, if a foul ball comes your way, the
stadium nazis will soon arrive to take it away.
More stadiums are allowing fans to keep foul
balls--Yokohama is not one of them. Fun is
frowned upon.
Aside from a lame organist in a
baseball cap-shaped booth in the right field
bleachers and a plaque of Babe Ruth and Lou
Gehrig welded to each of the foul poles, there's
not atmosphere.
The field is vacuumed rather than
mowed, bullpens are hidden, and relief pitchers
are brought in via a baseball shaped-golf cart,
amid a parade of obnoxious star-shaped mascots.
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