Japanese baseball has never been more popular. The rest of the baseball community is finally catching on to what JapanBallers have known for years: nothing beats the Japanese baseball experience. That’s why we are offering a bounty of Japanese tour options in 2025.
But it’s not all Japan in 2025 – we also offer tour packages to South Korea, Seattle, Alaska, Cooperstown, and the Dominican Republic (including our inaugural DR Fantasy Camp!).
Here’s a quick snapshot of our 2025 schedule, followed by in-depth descriptions and updates for each tour.
- February: NPB (and KBO!) Spring Training in Okinawa and Miyazaki – BOOK NOW!
- March: MLB Opening Series (Dodgers vs Cubs) in Tokyo
- May: Japan (NPB)
- May/June: South Korea (KBO)
- June: Pacific Northwest and Alaska Midnight Sun Game – BOOK NOW!
- July: Cooperstown HOF induction weekend (Ichiro and more) – BOOK NOW!
- August: Japan (Koshien tournament, NPB, and alternative baseball/softball)
- November: Dominican Republic
- November: Dominican Republic Fantasy Camp
If none of these fit your availability or needs, we offer custom tours too!
February: NPB (and KBO!) Spring Training in Okinawa and Miyazaki
Our first NPB spring training tour earlier this year was a rousing success, so we are going even bigger this year, extending our Okinawa spring training trip to Japan’s mainland in Miyazaki. We also will be sure to take advantage of KBO teams training alongside NPB teams and see them too.
Bookings for this tour have been surprisingly slow, and it is at risk of being canceled. I will have to call the trip off if we do not receive two additional bookings before Christmas.
March: MLB Opening Series – Dodgers vs Cubs at Tokyo Dome
JapanBall hasn’t missed an MLB Opening Day in Japan yet, and we intend to keep that streak going. Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Seiya Suzuki, and Shota Imanaga coming home to open the MLB season (and half-Japanese manager Dave Roberts) will make this a must-see event.
We have a hotel within walking distance of Tokyo Dome secured and a fantastic plan in place. However, at this point, I feel compelled to set some expectations.
First, we still do not yet have tickets in hand. There has been one presale so far in Japan and we were unsuccessful. We are now taking our chances in a lottery, but even if we win, we will be very limited in how many tickets we can purchase. I am also working other connections to see if I have any luck. As anticipated, obtaining tickets to these games is proving to be extremely difficult. These games could easily be the most in-demand games in the history of MLB’s regular season, and the corporate sponsors are taking an outsized share, making things even more difficult.
Second, we are receiving hundreds of requests for these games. If we manage to obtain tickets, we will hold our own lottery to allocate tour packages; unfortunately, many interested parties will be disappointed.
May: Japan NPB Tour
Our flagship tour will still feature all that has made it a can’t-miss opportunity for adventurous baseball lovers since 1999, just with better weather! We decided to move our annual NPB tour from September to May in 2025 so that we can enjoy cooler temperatures and less humidity while avoiding typhoon season.
We are close to finalizing the itinerary and will share it with you soon. It will take place in May and will still feature a variety of segments, from the Full Tour of all 12 NPB parks to the Tokyo Tour that keeps you in the same city for a handful of NPB games.
May/June: South Korea KBO
This year’s South Korea tour ventured outside of Seoul for the first time – we saw seven games in in four cities, and it went great! I now have the confidence to expand our South Korea tour in 2025 to all nine KBO ballparks – that’s right you can do the “See It All,” Korea-style!
The only thing I’ve been wanting to change about our tour is the August weather, so next year, our plan is to move the South Korea tour along with the Japan tour to May/June, when the weather is less oppresive on the Korean Peninsula.
June: Seattle + Alaska Midnight Sun Game
Our biennial Pacific Northwest Tour, highlighted by the Midnight Sun game in Alaska, is back in 2025. With the summer solstice landing on a weekend next year, the Midnight Sun Game perfectly aligns with the Fairbanks Summer Solstice Festival (and 10k run, for anyone interested in that), meaning that the festive vibes at this gem of a game will be at their highest level. For anyone who’s been, you know, the Midnight Sun Game is a truly unique, joyous, and unforgettable baseball experience.
With the Red Sox in Seattle the week before the Midnight Sun game, we will have a pre-tour in Seattle to see the Sox and M’s at T-Mobile Park, as well as either a Tacoma Rainiers or summer wood bat league game. We’ll then hop on a flight up to Fairbanks together for the midnight summer bonanza. Also new this year – you can extend your trip by a day to take a scenic summer train ride to Denali National Park.
Bookings are now open. We sold out last last time, so reserve your spot now!
July: Ichiro Hall-of-Fame Induction Weekend in Cooperstown
For years now, JapanBallers have inquired whether we would offer a trip to Cooperstown to see Ichiro’s inevitable formal introduction into baseball immortality. I can finally say that the answer is a resounding “YES!”
I was thrilled to learn in early December that Dick Allen and Dave Parker will be joining Ichiro Suzuki in Immortality that weekend in July. Ichiro has yet to be officially announced, but the only questions with him are whether or not he will be unanimously inducted and who else the writers will elect. I think that CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner will get in this year, too, and I have my fingers crossed for a big class!
We are partnering with Sports Travel and Tours, the official tour provider of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, to offer an exclusive Ichiro induction weekend experience in July 2025. You are welcome to book any of STAT’s tour offerings through us, but we encourage you to opt for the official JapanBall package. Some of the reasons why you might want to join us:
- Travel with fellow JapanBallers, including me! I can’t wait to finally attend induction weekend.
- STAT has better access than any other tour provider. Our package will include VIP reserved seats at the induction ceremony, and access to various other events throughout the weekend.
- I am working to organize special meetings with baseball figures in Cooperstown.
- Potential for unique baseball cultural exchange, as we are going to market this package to Japanese baseball fans too. Bringing people together through baseball is what we’re all about, and experiencing this weekend alongside Japanese fans making the pilgrimage will be a fantastic experience.
August: Alternative Japanese Baseball Tour
Tentative dates: August 19-26. Highlighted by attending the legendary Koshien National High School Baseball Championship, this new tour offering will focus on alternative Japanese baseball and athletic offerings. Potential tour activities include: Koshien National High School Baseball Championship, minor and independent leagues, girls high school baseball championship, college baseball, professional women’s softball and/or baseball, sumo wrestling, other Japanese pro sports, cultural sightseeing, and, OK fine – probably at least one or two NPB game! Stay tuned for dates and sign-up info.
November: Dominican Republic Winter League Tour (with new tour stops!)
Any past tour guest will tell you that the DR is a baseball wonderland, and with five years under our belt now, Pachy and I want to take this tour to the next level!
We will continue to offer our deep dive into the Dominican Baseball Machine next November, allowing you to be immersed in the vibrant Dominican culture on and off the field. However since many parts of our itinerary haven’t changed since our inaugural tour I have been discussing ideas with our local guide, Pachy, on how to incorporate new activities, games, destinations, and meetings in order to attract past DR tour guests while still maintaining the spirit of our annual tour. And don’t worry, we are definitely still going to dine at the famed gas station with “the best ribs in the Caribbean!”
The DR tour is our most exclusive, with behind-the-scenes, insider access, and it’s our most inclusive too, with most of your food and drink included in the tour price. If you haven’t been yet, have been and want to experience our new itinerary, or haven’t completed the six LIDOM ballparks yet, then let 2025 be your year!
November: Dominican Republic Fantasy Camp
But we aren’t just offering our annual DR tour in 2025 – we are also offering Dominican Fantasy Camp next winter! Our fantasy camp will follow the model of MLB team fantasy camps, in which adults get to live out their childhood dreams of playing on big-league fields and yakking it up with former big league stars. But this fantasy camp differs from your typical camp due to its location on a beautiful Caribbean island where baseball reigns and ex-pros are shockingly accessible.
Shoutout to JapanBaller Doug Miller for inspiring me to make this endeavor happen. Doug and I are working with Pachi to finalize the details.
Custom and Team/Group/Student Travel
Even with our biggest year yet of offerings, we’d love to work with you on custom or group travel. This year we have already arranged tours for a student group from the University of South Carolina and a father in Colorado who wanted to have a special, baseball-centric trip with his teenage son. We are in talks with universities, youth travel ball teams, and high school teams to offer customized tours that meet their group’s needs.
Whether you’re interested in traveling as an individual or with a team, school, or other group, I’d love to have the opportunity to put together an incredible trip for you.
