TOKYO — Jake Flint and his girlfriend Jessica Griffiths are on vacation in Japan from England. They were milling around a Tokyo sporting goods store this week that boasts the largest array of MLB gear in Japan, much of which carries the Los Angeles Dodgers brand.
The name and image of superstar Shohei Ohtani are everywhere in the store — on caps, t-shirts, jerseys, stuffed animals — as all of Japan prepares to watch the World Series.
Television ratings in Japan have set records as the Dodgers and Ohtani prepare to face the New York Yankees. The first game is Friday evening in the United States, which will be Saturday morning in Japan.
Ohtani has stoked national pride, even among Japanese who don’t care about baseball. Youth players in Japan adore him and newscasts often lead with him, even though the country is voting on Sunday in critical parliamentary elections.
All of that said, Jake made a confession.
“I have no idea who he is,” he said, referring to Ohtani. “There’s not a lot of exposure to him back in the UK.”
His girlfriend summed it up. “We’re aliens. Never heard of him.”
“If I buy,” said Jake, “it will be purely based on aesthetics.”
Kakeru Watanabe, manager of the store called “Selection” in Tokyo’s Shinjuku area, said that during the week tourists make up half of the business. Some are baseball fans. Some are just curious like Jake and Jessica and are drawn by the color palettes of all 30 MLB teams. Merchandise for the 12 Japanese pro teams is also on sale.
“I think about half of our products here are Ohtani-related items,” Watanabe said. “And in terms of the percentage of the products sold, Ohtani-related items are even higher.”
Ohtani products have always sold well in Japan, but reaching the World Series has changed everything.
“After the Dodgers made it to the World Series, sales performance seemed to double or triple compared to a normal weekday,” Watanabe said.
Jiro Nishi, who works as a hairdresser, wore a New York Mets cap as he browsed but said he’ll be rooting for Ohtani and the Dodgers. The Dodgers eliminated the Mets on Sunday.
“I thought I’d wear something with the Dodgers logo to cheer them on,” he said. “I think the reason the Dodgers acquired Ohtani and (pitcher Yoshinobu) Yamamoto was to win the World Series. So I would like to see them winning it.”
Stephen Sipidias, a Canadian tourist, said he grew up playing baseball, but drifted to basketball. He said Ohtani pulled him back.
“A guy being able to pitch and bat, hearing him compared to Babe Ruth — he kind of sounds like a legend,” Sipidias said. “He got me back into watching baseball.”
Being a Dodgers and Ohtani fan in Japan is costly. It’s easy to find Dodgers caps in the store that sell for 16,000 yen — about $105. One dark blue Dodgers jersey was priced at about 100,000 yen — $650.
“Expensive,” Jake said.
Watanabe acknowledged the Japanese economy wasn’t great, but he justified the price tags. “I think that people are willing to spend money on things they like,” he said.
Ohtani heads that list in Japan.