Recreation in Hiroshima
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Know Your Carp
The Hiroshima Carp have no competition for the city's sports loyalty. Some key facts to get you up to speed:
- The Carp own the color red in Hiroshima, but it wasn't adopted by the team until 1973, along with their Cincinnati Reds-style logo. Red is intended to symbolize a never-ending fighting spirit.
- The 1978-80 Akaheru (Red Helmets) team was almost certainly the team's apex, setting league records for home runs and winning two championships.
- However, the Carp's last pennant was 1991, giving them the longest title drought in Japanese baseball.
- Slugger Koji Yamamoto is Mr. Red Helmet, the team's all-time great (now retired). The cream of the recent crop are outfielder Shigenobu Shima, the Red Godzilla; outfielder Tomonori Maeda, the arrogant samurai; and pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, a recent export to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
- Cash has been a recurrent problem throughout the team's history, with local citizens pitching in to keep the team afloat on more than one occasion. Today, Mazda is the team's largest minority owner, but without a deep-pocketed sponsor like Tokyo's Yomiuri Giants or even Sapporo's Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, the Carp struggle to hang on to free agents.
- The Carp's mascot, Slyly, bears a striking resemblance to the Philly Phanatic because he was designed by the same firm.
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Hiroshima Toyo Carp Baseball, Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium, 2-3-1 Minami-Kaniya, Minami-ku (10 minute walk east from JR Hiroshima Station, or a shorter walk from the Enkobashi-cho tram stop), ☎ +81 082-223-2141, . The much-beloved and much-bemoaned Carp are Hiroshima's entry in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball . After more than fifty years in a stadium across the street from the Peace Park, the Carp moved to the new Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium to begin the 2009 season. While the team doesn't win much, the enthusiasm of the fans can hardly be faulted, and Hiroshima is as good a place as any to witness the fervor of Japanese baseball fandom. Tickets range from �1800 to �3500. Ask for the Carp Performance (カープ パフォーマンス) tickets ? that's where the drums, chants, and excitement are. Tickets are sold at the stadium starting at 10AM, the "Green Window" at JR Hiroshima Station, and a number of convenience stores. �
Hiroshima Sanfrecce Soccer, Big Arch Stadium, 5-1-1 Ozukanishi, Numata-cho, Asa-Minami-ku (Astram to Koiki Koen-mae), ☎ +81 082-233-3233, . Sanfrecce (Japanese/Italian for "three arrows", from a Japanese folk tale) are Hiroshima's entry in the J-League , although they date back to 1938 as a semi-pro team. As such, they're thoroughly grounded in the local athletic tradition of rarely playing well yet never badly enough to be remarkable about it. But the fans are great, and the quality of play in the J-League is all right, although obviously not comparable to the major European leagues. Tickets are available at most convenience stores. Reserved seats ¥3000-4500 in advance, ¥500 more at the stadium; unreserved ¥2300 in advance, ¥300 more at the stadium. �
And if you're on a quest to complete the whole set of Hiroshima professional sports, visit the JT Thunders of the V-League (volleyball), who hold court at the Nekoda Kinen Gymnasium, and the Hiroshima Maple Reds of the Japanese Handball League , Women's Division, who play at the Hirogin no mori Gymnasium.
Family Pool, 4-41 Moto-machi, Naka-ku (Genbaku dome-mae tram stop), ☎ +81 082-228-0811. 9AM-6PM daily. Open from 1 July-31 August, right when it's needed most, this huge, open-air pool/water park is a popular place for kids and families to beat the heat. And it's easy to find ? in Chuo Park, right in the center of town. ¥670 adults, ¥340 kids. �
Big Wave, (Astram to Ushita), ☎ +81 082-222-1860, . 9AM-9PM daily, except 8:30AM-9:30PM July-early September. On the other hand, if you're a serious swimmer, Big Wave offers longer hours and Olympic-size 50 meter swim lanes from July to early September. Then, from November to April, it turns into an ice-skating rink. (Rental skates are available, although people with big feet may not manage.) Swimming ¥260 kids, ¥530 adults; ice-skating ¥910 kids, ¥1520 adults. �
Shimizu Theater (清水劇場 Shimizu Gekijo), 2-1-15 Matoba-cho, Minami-ku (Matoba-cho tram stop), ☎ +81 082-262-3636, . Classical dramas alternate with classical bondage porn at this strange theater ? check out the posters in the lobby for the range of shows they do. Performances are in Japanese only, with no English supplements available. The respectable side of the house performs two shows per day, excluding Sundays, from noon-3PM (quite popular with old folks) and 6-9PM; after the shows, the performers (still clad in their rather impressive costumes and makeup) head out to the street to wave goodbye and pose for pictures with exiting audience members. Tickets are usually ¥1800, but a peek in the lobby and the post-show merriment are free. �
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Hiroshima
