When you get off at “Hanshin Koshien” station on the Hanshin Railway, you can find “Hanshin Koshien” stadium near the station. Now (in the middle of August), Japanese high school baseball tournament is being held, and you can see exciting games every day. This year marks the ninety ninth tournament.
I reached the entrance of the stadium in 2 minutes on foot after getting off from the train.
Long lines formed in front of the ticket offices to get a ticket for the next game, because the second game had just finished.
Here is the place of Number 7 in the following map, and I went around the stadium counterclockwise.
There were many plates showing the information of baseball games held in this stadium on a wall of the stadium.
The following plates are lists of matches in the tournament of this year. Just then, I heard the siren informing the beginning of the game. It was the third game in the tenth day of the tournament.
These are the school flags of participating schools.
The plates show the records in the previous tournaments.
These are the results of the games held today.
Here are the reliefs of images of the high school baseball tournaments.
These reliefs honor the activities of professional baseball players from the “Hanshin Tigers” baseball team.
Ivy was growing all over the walls.
This is a small park adjacent to the stadium.
I saw the characters for “Jinjya” when I went almost half way around the stadium. This is “Koshien Susano” Jinjya (Shinto Shrine).
Who knew there is a shrine so close to the stadium?
Returning to the stadium, I saw bricks on which names are carved on the road.
Outfield bleachers are for free in the high school baseball tournament, and so I entered the left field stands. The stands were filled with feverish excitement.
There was a large entrance when I went half way from the first entrance, a tower (“baseball tower”) stood.
The name of high schools which won the victory were recorded on the plates.
A light illuminating the ground in the night games, seen directly behind.
This is the “Museum of Hanshin Koshien Stadium.”
They may be a cheer squad.
I returned back to the starting point.
The place around the ticket offices, where many people were crowded when I reached this stadium, became quiet, because the game had started.
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