Game day inside the Fukuoka Dome. Photo by Jim Spavins.

Fukuoka Yahoo! Dome Stadium Guide

Built in 1993, the Fukuoka Yahoo! Dome in the only retractable roof stadium in Nippon Professional Baseball.  The portion of the roof covering the playing field opens by rotating around the circular stadium over the infield roof.  The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks call this stadium home.

What to See at the Ballpark 

Before heading into the ballpark, head towards gate 9 and visit the Sadaharu Oh Museum.  the museum chronicles the life of one of the best hitters in Japanese professional baseball with displays of memorabilia, videos, and photos.  From there you can head over to the Hawks Dugout store with every possible souvenir you can imagine.  Inside the ballpark, you will find the largest selection of bento boxes, over 80 varieties, at the numerous concession stands that ring the concourse.

Getting to the Game

The city of Fukuoka offers a subway system with a train station located within a 10 minute walk of the stadium.  If arriving at the main train station in Fukuoka (Hakata), take the Kuko Subway to Tojinmachi Station then follow the crowds to the ballpark.  You can easily catch a cab as well from any place in the city for a fairly reasonable fare if you don't want to deal with the subway system.  There will be plenty of cabs lined up after the game to get you back to were you started your journey.

  Want more? Japanese Baseball Road Trip Guide »  

Related Links

Hawks Website (Japanese)

Wikipedia Info (English)