What will this card get you???

The first thing that you get is one free outfield unreserved ticket to 5 games of your choosing. In other words, with the 5000 yen membership fee, you’re essentially paying 1000 yen per ticket for tickets that normally cost 1500 yen. The fan club card also gives you the ability to buy up to 2 outfield unreserved tickets per game at 1000 yen, OR you can buy up to 2 infield B reserved tickets per game at 500 yen off (2100 yen or 2600 yen depending on the opponent). The former 2 deals are available on game day at the Fan Club window, which is located by Gate 6 near the front entrance. The infield deal is only available in advance through Loppi machines located in Lawson convenience stores. I should also note that you can only make use of one of these deals for any given game, so you won’t be able to get three outfield tickets for a single game by redeeming one of your free tickets and trying to buy 2 discount tickets.

Although the preseason exhibition season is now over, early adopters of the Fan Club card can also get free entry to all Jingu exhibition games.

The above perks have remained unchanged over the years, and as you can see, it’s a pretty good deal if you come to the stadium often. In fact the fan club is such a good deal, it’s not rare to see Tigers’ fans in line at the Fan Club window on days we play Hanshin.

The wildcard every year is the merchandise. The last couple of years the Swallows fan club merch has been bags (messenger bag in 2010, and backpack in 2011), that are so gaudy that you barely felt comfortable carrying them to a game. This year the Swallows have gone the opposite direction and have come out with a canvas tote bag reminiscent of ones offered at PBS pledge drives. Also, following in last year’s swag you also get a mini-umbrella adorned with Swallows’ player caricatures. If you don’t already own a mini-umbrella for Tokyo Ondo, you can save yourself 700 yen and just use this one. Oddly enough this year’s umbrella features Aoki in a panel with Ogawa and Keizo Kawashima.

You’ll also get a Fan Book with player profiles and a few articles, I’ve seen the Fan Book retail for 800 yen at bookstores. You’ll also get ONDO, the Fan Club only magazine. ONDO, which apparently stands for Our Native Drama is Open!, is filled with player interviews with softball questions and very random but sometimes interesting features. Typically 3-4 issues will be delivered to your home during the season. Finally, my favorite piece of reading material that comes with the Fan Club swag bag is the Official Goods Catalogue, where you can marvel at all the different products that can be adorned with the Swallows’ logo. (Can anyone say Snoopy doll in a Swallows uniform? No??? How ’bout the keychain?)

To round it all off, in the event that we’ll host Climax Series events again this year, Fan Club members will be able to apply in a preferential queue for tickets.

Are there other tiers of Fan Club membership?

There are three other tiers of Fan Club membership, Kids, Family, and Premium. The basics for all the tiers are the same, except some minor differences in swag. For 3,500 yen, Kids members (below middle school age) can get into all games in outfield unreserved for free, and get a cap instead of a tote bag. The Family membership is basically a combination of Regular and Kids memberships with the price dependent upon the number of adults (up to 2) and children (up to 3) in the arrangement. Every member gets everything that comes with their respective memberships, plus a fan and neck warmer. Finally, the Premium membership generally comes with a replica uniform and a completely non-functional piece of merchandise (e.g. crystal Tsubakuro statue). This year the swag for the 10,000 yen membership seems to be a powder blue uniform and a Tsubakuro doll. Premium membership also gets you the chance to be invited to exclusive signings and player meet-and-greets. We also found out last year that Premium members are allowed to book a bigger allotment of Climax Series seats. (12 seats as opposed to 4 for Regular members.)

How do I join?

You can join online or through a Loppi machine at a Lawsons to get everything delivered to your house. But the easiest thing  to do if you’re going to the stadium is to just sign up at Jingu. Tables are set up near the fan club window by Gate 6, fill out the form, hand over your cash, and they’ll hand you your new membership card and bag-o-swag right on the spot. The Swallows website says they’ll be accepting 11,000 members for Regular membership this year, up from the usual 10,000 members from past years. This has typically meant that the sign up tables have been out for the first couple of months of the season.

As of yesterday’s game, Tokyo had 116 steals! That easily bests Seibu’s 93, and second place in the Central League is way back at 63 (Hiroshima).

Anyway, without further ado:

Front of "Yes We Steal" t-shirt.

And here’s the other side:

Back of "Yes We Steal" t-shirt.

Romanized, it reads: Tsugi no rui itadakimasu.

Roughly translated, it says, “I’ll take the next base, thank you very much.”

This one costs 2,500 yen (about US$25) if I remember correctly.

For more information on GRAND SLAM t-shirts and where you can get them, click here.

Front view of "Jingu" T-shirt

Update: October 9th, 2011 – More than three years later, these guys are still going strong! They’re still located in the same place near the fan club ticket window, and they have increased the variety of products that they have available. Their selection is often superior to what is available once you have entered the stadium. You can also find a few merchandise options through our online shop here.

There’s a new game in town this year as far as t-shirts are concerned.

Grand Slam Sports Enterprises has found a niche market selling an ever-changing array of Tokyo Yakult Swallows t-shirts and souvenirs over by the fan club ticket window at Meiji Jingu stadium.

They’ve come out with a bunch of designs that are far superior to the stuff that is put out by the club in its official fan club catalogue despite the fact that they work from only a couple of tables.

The shirt shown here is GSSE’s “Jingu” design which is ideal for those of us who wish to pay homage to one of the oldest professional baseball stadiums in the country.

I might be wrong, but shirts run through XL and are typically between 2,500 and 3,000 yen apiece. Be warned, however, that they run through inventory VERY quickly!

In other words, if you saw a shirt in your size you liked last week and thought you’d wait until next week’s Hanshin series to pick it up, think again.

The good news though is that they’ll probably have two or three new designs in to placate you. There’s info on another design that they’re still selling here.

[scroll down below image for access details]

Back of "Jingu" T-shirt -- House of Gods / Home of the Swallows / since 1964 / Jingu Stadium / Tokyo Japan

To find GSSE’s wares, first you have to get to Jingu stadium on game day. Then you need to find the fan club ticket window (between gates five and six). GSSE’s tables are in that area under the overhang of the stadium.

• If you’re coming from Gaienmae station on the Ginza subway line, then you turn right once you reach the stadium.
• If you’re coming from Sendagaya station on the Chuo Sobu train line, and you’ve followed the crowds toward the stadium, then you’re probably going to arrive at the stadium near gate 13 which means that you need to turn right.
• If you’re coming from Shinanomachi station on the Chuo Sobu train line, and you’ve followed the crowds toward the stadium, then you’ve most likely arrived near gate 16 and you’ll need to turn left in order to find GSSE’s t-shirts. Be sure to pick up a ticket at the ticket box near gate 17 on your way through if you’re planning on sitting in the right field bleachers with the rowdies.
• If you’re coming from Kokuritsu-kyougijou on the Oedo subway line, then it depends on which exit you come out of. If you follow people to the stadium and end up at gate 13, turn right. If you arrive at gate 16, turn left.