The Los Angeles Dodgers arrived at Haneda Airport (previously known as Tokyo International Airport and often abbreviated to Tokyo-Haneda) in Japan to plenty of excitement and a massive wave of fans ahead of playing in the Tokyo Series next week.
To no surprise, a large crowd gathered to welcome Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki, along with the rest of the Dodgers. A similar scenario unfolded for the team last year when the Dodgers played in South Korea for the Seoul Series. Particularly since Ohtani had just revealed his wife to be Mamiko Tanaka.
Mamiko did not travel with Ohtani back to their home country, presumably related to being pregnant with the couple’s first child. Mamiko did provide snacks and more for the Dodgers travel party, along with a letter signed on her and Decoy’s behalf.
A look from @kirsten_watson at some of the swag for #Dodgers flight to Tokyo. pic.twitter.com/IyP90e8G73
— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) March 12, 2025
Snacks for the plane! (via Austin Barnes’ wife) pic.twitter.com/r0I2x8wZL7
— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) March 12, 2025
ドジャースのチャーター機が着陸🛬
※映像がカクカクです🙇#ドジャース pic.twitter.com/C2FNGEIXIz— AYUMARO3110 (@MLB_AYUMARO3110) March 13, 2025
ちなみに私はこれのために来たんじゃなくてタイからのフライトで来る人の出迎えに来てます pic.twitter.com/sRVu3NogTo
— Akio Yo (@BkkAkioYoshi) March 13, 2025
結局スーパースターたちはここから出てこず
まぁセキュリティ面を考えれば正しいかもですね
バス乗り場で待ち伏せの方が正解仕事モードに戻ります pic.twitter.com/ZI7ac5Ki7H
— Akio Yo (@BkkAkioYoshi) March 13, 2025
Konnichiwa, Japan! 🇯🇵
日本の皆さん、こんにちわ！ pic.twitter.com/ONNcNpshZo
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 13, 2025
Rather than pass through a public area of the airport like they did in South Korea, the Dodgers were whisked away on buses that waited on the tarmac for their chartered flight to land.
The de facto welcome party for Ohtani and the Dodgers predictably exceeded that of the Chicago Cubs, who nonetheless have Japanese players on their roster as well in Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki.
Yamamoto and Imanaga are combining to make MLB history as two Japanese pitchers starting an Opening Day game.
Coming off a long flight, the Dodgers will quickly need to begin acclimating their bodies to a new time zone ahead of playing their first exhibition game on Saturday.
Manager Dave Roberts said the team was going to have a workout shortly after the Dodgers arrived in Japan.
Dodgers international history
The Dodgers are playing an international series for the second year in a row and fourth time overall during the regular season since 2014.
That year the Dodgers opened the season by facing the Arizona Diamondbacks in Sydney, Australia. Then in 2018 they played the San Diego Padres in the 2018 Mexico Series at Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey, and the Dodgers participated in the Seoul Series as part of the MLB World Tour in 2024.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
