If there is something that Japanese people take seriously, it’s their culture. Since the introduction of baseball to Japan in 1867 and its professional debut in 1920, the sport has woven into the nation’s spirit as if it were invented there.

Support for all teams from the local beginners to the pro league is widespread. So much so that a high school baseball tournament is almost regarded as a holiday. Last month on May 10th, half of the Board of Education’s staff took the day off to drive an hour to Obihiro -the nearest city, to support Ashoro High School’s baseball team in an important baseball game against one of their high school teams. Among the crowd, we saw many other students, teachers, and local business owners, as well as current and former executive town staff. Several local news teams were also present. It was a big deal! The team fought hard but ultimately suffered a loss to a close game.

Winners of tournaments move up the ranks from regional, sub-prefectural, prefectural, to the national tournaments which are held twice a year in Hyogo. Ashoro’s team made it to the final sub-prefectural, Tokachi-wide game last year. The team is continuing to add to its roster of strong players so we are looking forward to seeing how they do later this month, which determines the next steps for entrance into bigger competitions.

Ashoro is blessed to have Hokkaido’s professional league team, the Nippon-Ham Fighters, involved in our local sports development. We have a former professional athlete working as a full-time baseball coach in Ashoro’s district schools, who works closely with all ages from 5-18 and runs phys. ed camps throughout the off-season. The youth are thrilled to be learning from a pro athlete, and it is evident that enthusiasm and skill continue to grow here. It is uncommon for municipalities to have these sorts of ties with the pro league so it is another reason that makes Ashoro such an incredible place to be.

I look forward until attendance to games open up again. It is a lively atmosphere to be a part of, and the crowds are engaged, respectful, and spirited. I would like to cheer on the local school’s teams, and larger games in Sapporo once that becomes an option again. Until then, we will quietly support the high school team as they prepare for the next tournament.

Originally written for and published in for the Wetaskiwin Times on June 10th, 2021.

Feature photo by Francisco Gonzalez on Unsplash. 🙂