Seiko releases celebratory Shohei Ohtani watch in their Astron Nexter series
Japanese wristwatch giant Seiko is releasing a new model for their SEIKO ASTRON NEXTER series to celebrate Los Angeles Angels and MLB star Shohei Ohtani’s…
Baseball
Ylvis performs “What Does The Fox Say?” in Japan at Nippon Ham Fighters baseball game
Nine years since the 2013 viral hit song “The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)” by Ylvis hit the airwaves, the Norwegian comedy duo performed…
150 feet of Shotime! Shohei Ohtani springs into action on giant video wall in Shinjuku Station
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels has been attracting a lot of attention as a two-way player the likes of which major league baseball…
Shohei Ohtani Chosen as an MLB All-Star for the Second Straight Year
Among MLB’s most feared hitters and pitchers, Ohtani will appear in the July 19 game at DH ― and surprise no one if he pitches,…
Join Spy x Family at the ballpark with 12-league Japanese baseball goods lineup
As fans of the internationally popular hit manga and anime series Spy x Family will probably agree, Yor and Anya Forger know a thing or…
Japanese cheerleaders’ cute fox dance goes viral, videos rack up millions of views
Foxes feature prominently both in Japanese folklore and popular culture. As some grape Japan readers may recall, you can see fox wedding processions, find an…
Test your baseball pitching skills at the Hanshin Koshien Stadium this September
Come test your pitching abilities this September at the legendary Hanshin Koshien Baseball Stadium. Limited to Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th of September, 120 lucky…
Hit The Diamond With Dragon Ball Z Baseball Equipment
For anime fans, Premium Bandai remains an oasis for quirky goods such as a life-sized Pot of Greed and a huggable plushie that lets you…
![[Hidden Wonders of Japan] A Maiko Does the Ceremonial First Pitch at Koshien Baseball Stadium](https://grapeejapan.com/wp-content/uploads/maikoball.jpg)
[Hidden Wonders of Japan] A Maiko Does the Ceremonial First Pitch at Koshien Baseball Stadium
Kanako, a maiko from Miyagawacho, Kyoto, does the ceremonial first pitch in Koshien Baseball Stadium on May 22, 2019. Photo by Sankei Shimbun | ©…
Japanese Horror Icon Sadako Throws Out First Pitch At Baseball Game, Happy To Hit 60mph
Sadako is perhaps the most iconic character in modern Japanese horror, scaring fans for years with multiple entries in the Ring franchise. She hasn’t been…
Creepy Evolving Japanese Baseball Mascot Reveals Its Fifth and Final Form
The Mysterious Fish: Nazo no Sakana The funky fishy mascot for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Nippon Professional Baseball, known as Nazo no Sakana (Mysterious…
Every Year Has A Character: Japan Chooses Its “Kanji of the Year” 2017
For the last 23 years, people in Japan have turned on the evening news on December 12 (Kanji Day) to learn which “kanji of the…
Creepy Evolving Japanese Baseball Mascot Hunted Down And Stripped By Other Mascots At All-Star Game
You may remember that the latest in Japan’s long line of bizarre but adorable mascots literally “evolved” on the baseball field. The newest mascot for…
Japanese Baseball Team’s New Mascot Stuns Crowd By “Evolving” Into Creepy Third Form
We have some fairly recent proof that Japanese mascots sometimes step out of the box to gain attention–such as Tokyo’s newest mascot, the pink poop…
Wasabi The Dog Celebrates His 10th Year As Japan’s First-Ever Shiba Inu Ball Boy
While they might spend the bulk of their time watching from the sidelines, being a ball boy/girl is no easy task. It’s even harder with…