Dear Ms Huth,

Warm greetings from the Hilton Fukuoka Seahawk. Congratulations! We are thrilled to inform you that you are being chosen as “The Guest of the Day”. You will enjoy all the privileges of Executive Members:

Unlimited access to the Executive Lounge

Breakfast 6:30-10:00

All Days snacks and drinks 6:30-21:00

Cocktail Hour with Refreshments 5:00-7:00

Hilton Seahawk in Fukuoka has more than one thousand rooms and is on the Sea of Japan. Cesar Pelli, the architect, drew his inspiration from giant cruise liners, and created a lobby of soaring, glass covered space. Our panoramic suite on the 32nd floor had a view of the sea on three sides and came to a V, giving you the impression that you were jutting out into the water. Initially we had been a bit disappointed by the city of Fukuoka, but now we were thrilled.

A Hawaiian couple joined us during Happy Hour in the Executive lounge on the first night. They come regularly just to see the local baseball team play. Our hotel was conveniently connected to the Fukuoka Superdome where the baseball team, The SoftBank Hawks play, and there were home games all weekend..

It’s so much more fun watching games here, the whole family comes together and makes a great party out of it. Who cares if they’re a great team or not- everyone has a lot of fun. You really should go. And don’t miss the seventh inning balloon event.

Now I have absolutely no interest in baseball, but I do know that Japanese go crazy about it, and I love delving into local culture when I travel. So after spending most of the day visiting Daizafu, a Shinto pilgrimage town, we decided it was time to get into the essence of contemporary Japan and get tickets for the game. I was super excited.

The crowds were pouring into the Superdome, wearing team jerseys,hats,pins- eating sushi from Bento boxes instead of hot dogs and popcorn.

Yei pun pun pun. Pun pun.

The chanting was deafening in the stadium. Alex Vargas from Cuba, the next batter up came onto the field, and salsa music was blaring from the loudspeakers. Each player has a fan club and they compose a song for them which is played and sung by the fans whenever they come to bat.

Young women,dressed as bunnies, or other odd costumes walked up and down the aisles with backpacks and spray hoses, selling beer from draft, or gin and tonics. They had perky smiles and didn’t seem to tire either of hauling that load around or trudging up and down the steps. The stadium was filled to capacity and there were as many women as men and a good number of seniors. Everyone got into the mood. Two sections were reserved for the fans of each team, with Taiko drummers, musicians and a crowd “conductor”. They would stand and wave giant flags and yell shouts of support. There was constant activity between the chanting, flag waving, and music playing each time a new batter was up. As much fun as all this was, I was getting bored and by the fifth inning was ready to leave. But I had to hold out for the balloons. I saw the girls selling packets of white and yellow balloons.

Maisie told me that in the middle of the seventh inning the fans blow up balloons, white if the team is winning and yellow if not, and let them loose in the stadium, but I don’t see many people with balloons.

Gerald had gotten the scoop from the Hawaiian wife about what happens during the game, but he thought it wasn’t going to happen. The man next to me gave Gerald and I a balloon to blow up and we started feeling the crowd getting ready. Instead of the traditional seventh inning stretch, which occurs at American baseball games, thousands of balloons were set free and the crowd went wild. Cheerleaders descended onto the field, along with giant mascots, and they encouraged the fans to cheer the team onto victory. But alas, it was not to be and the home team lost in the last inning.

I think the most impressive thing about the game was the family atmosphere. Despite the sale of alcohol, there was no yelling, aggressiveness or unseemly behavior. After all, it’s just a game, and the idea is to have fun, and I think that is something that gets forgotten back home.