The 6-foot-4 star hitter and pitcher has been drawing fans from across the Pacific for years. But with his historic Dodgers contract, the influx of Japanese tourists has reached a fever pitch in Los Angeles for Ohtani’s first season with the team.
A mural showing Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani is painted on the side of the Miyako Hotel in Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles. Her nails are painted blue and white. There’s a Dodgers logo on one nail, the number 17 on another. Takayo Hizume had gone to a nail salon at home in Japan to get them done, then flew about 10 hours to Los Angeles, spending a great deal — considering the weak yen — to stay several days in California.
Hizume explained that she felt a connection because her son played baseball, and she feels Ohtani is like Japan’s son. Some of the six new Japanese-language tour guides at Dodger Stadium actually worked at Angels Stadium previously, serving the same fans. Mihana Hayashi, an Ohtani fan from Nagoya, Japan, said the guacamole and cheese takoyaki had great “American taste,” perhaps symbolic of how being American often means blending global cultures.Hayashi and her sister had travelled to see Ohtani before. When asked why they were such fans, her sister Nanoha said, “He’s good baseball player and so cute!”
Stan Kasten, president and CEO of the Dodgers, said the ad real estate was sold out at home, so sponsors are now buying space at other stadiums when the Dodgers play away games. Fans stop at the street corner, point their phones at a QR code on the sidewalk, then raise their phones to the mural to see an augmented reality where Ohtani swings, then pitches, before they hear the sound of announcer Vin Scully saying, “It’s time for Dodger baseball!”
While the organization says international tourism has been improving with pandemic recovery, a 91.7 per cent increase in visitors specifically from Japan far outpaces the overall growth in international tourists during the same year. Across the street, Mr. Ramen, which has been serving up noodles for more than 30 years, offers a 50 per cent discount on the first 17 bowls of ramen the day after any Ohtani home run. Far Bar offers a free shot after each Ohtani home run.
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