No one in the history of Japanese baseball is more legendary than Sadaharu Oh, so it is no surprise that there exists a museum dedicated to preserving the legend.
The man, after all, hit a world-record 868 home runs. He was batting champion five times, a Triple Crown winner twice, and Central League Most Valuable Player on nine occasions. His Yomiuri Giants won 11 Japan Series during his playing career, and he later managed them to a Central League title. After that, he managed the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks – currently the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks – to three Pacific League championships and two Japan Series titles and, in a side hustle, directed Team Japan to victory in the initial World Baseball Classic in 2006. And, by the way, the Hawks won seven Japan Series titles between 2009 and 2020, with Oh first as general manager and now as chairman.
Legendary, indeed, and deserving of a museum.
The Sadaharu Oh Baseball Museum opened in July 2010 at the Fukuoka Pay Pay Dome, home of the Hawks. In 2020, it was moved next door to a facility called “Boss E-ZO Fukuoka”.
The museum begins with a “History Zone” that delves into various aspects of Oh’s life and baseball career, with much data and numerous artifacts on display. One can visit a “Home Run Theater,” in which visitors can see replays of many of Oh’s homers on a large wrap-around monitor, see a detailed analysis of the leg lift that helped give him his power at the plate, and go deep into the data surrounding his career.
Another interesting component of the museum is “89 Park”, which includes some interactive activities, such one in which the visitor selects an image of a Hawks player and competes against him in a race over a short distance. Among many others are one that lets the visitor experience up close the speed of a ball thrown by a professional pitcher, another in which one hits off a tee toward a screen and sees how far the ball would have gone in “real life”, and a third in which one throws a ball toward a screen and is told the velocity. Yet another is “Catch & Throw”, which enables visitors compete to see who can catch and throw most quickly and accurately.
Those at the museum can also get food at “MLB café FUKUOKA”, a restaurant said to have “popular gourmet food at Major League Baseball stadiums and premium food limited to Fukuoka.” The restaurant also shows telecasts of Hawks games and MLB contests.
When at the museum, visitors can also download an app for the Oh Sadaharu Baseball Museum for iPads and iPhones that will help guide them through the museum. Click on “more” after “main functions” for details.
Entry fees to the museum – The History Zone – itself are 1800 yen for people aged 16 and older and 900 yen for those aged seven to 15 years. Children aged six and younger can enter at no charge.
Tickets to 89 Park cost 1000 yen for those 16 and older and 500 yen for people aged seven to 15. Children aged six and younger can enter at no charge. Holders of tickets to 89 Park must purchase separate tickets to enter The History Zone.
The museum is open at the following times:
- Weekdays: 11:00-20:00
- Saturdays: 9:00-22:00
- Sundays and holidays: 9:00-20:00
If the Hawks are playing a night game at the PayPay Dome, the museum will close an hour later, at 23:00.
Getting There
Get off at Tojinmachi Subway Station, get out from Exit 3, and walk for about 15 minutes to the PayPay Dome. The subway trains between Tojinmachi and Tenjin Stations operate every three to eight minutes. It then takes just a few minutes to walk next door to Boss E-ZO Fukuoka, which is located at 2 Chome-2 Jigyohama, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka, 810-0065.
