What is Tokyo Dome?

The Tokyo Dome, completed in 1988, was Japan's first indoor baseball stadium. In addition to the official name "TOKYO DOME", there is also an alias "BIG EGG". Some people may think that it comes from its appearance resembling a giant egg, but in fact it is the name of "BIG Entertainment and Gold Games" The abbreviation also clearly states the purpose of this stadium - to provide multi-functional entertainment and exciting games of all kinds. At present, in addition to providing professional baseball performances, it is also a competition venue for urban competitions held by the social football community.

Tokyo Dome’s pressurized fan and loudspeaker on the dome roof

Tokyo Dome is the only inflatable dome among the five current domes that uses pressurized air blowers. It creates a pressure difference that is 0.3% higher inside than outside, similar to a balloon blowing up the roof. The roof is made of special fiberglass material coated with Teflon. It is divided into two layers. The outer layer is 0.8 mm thick and the inner layer is 0.35 mm thick. It can transmit about 5% of the sunlight. The inner layer is also equipped with There are lighting, loudspeakers, cameras and other facilities, and there is also a laser sensor light at the highest point to detect whether there is any gas outflow causing the roof to sink. In addition, in order to maintain the air pressure inside and outside the Tokyo Dome, the air conditioning must be turned on 24 hours a day and the door must be closed. Normally, the revolving door is used for entry and exit.

The revolving door of the Tokyo Dome

In addition, in order to maintain the air pressure inside and outside, the Tokyo Dome must turn on the air conditioning 24 hours a day and close the door, and almost use the revolving door when entering and exiting. Like several other domes, the air conditioning can be turned off when there is no game, or one or two doors can be opened for easy entry and exit. Some people may be curious about what would happen if they wanted to use a normal door to enter the Tokyo Dome? The answer is that there will be strong winds of 15 meters per second equivalent to a typhoon blowing from the inside to the outside. Either you cannot walk in at all or you will be blown out immediately.

The teams currently using Tokyo Dome include the Giants of the Central League and the Nippon Ham of the Pacific League. Both teams have their own characteristics when serving as their home stadium. The signature of the Giants is the cheerleading team called "FIRE GILRS", which is responsible for performing before, after and during the game. FIRE GILRS is also the most famous cheerleading team in the entire Japanese professional baseball team. It must have considerable strength to pass the strict selection. There are many top students in the dance department, and even former national gymnasts. In addition, the Giants’ caddy also has a character who is very familiar to Taiwanese fans. NHK’s famous anchor Junko Kubo worked for the Giants when she was studying at Keio University. During home games, she works part-time as a ball-feeding girl.

When the Hams play home, their mascot FIGHTY is the main focus. He can be seen walking in the stands in the early stages of the game, sometimes leading the cheerleading team in the outfield, sometimes going to the infield to watch the game with the audience, and occasionally He would make gestures and "chat" with the people next to him, and he would also lead the cheerleading team to dance during the fifth and seventh inning. His tricks can be said to be one of the must-see attractions when watching the Hams games.

There is a baseball museum on the right side of the main entrance of Tokyo Dome, which displays a lot of information on the development of baseball and many important historical sites of Japanese professional baseball. The special exhibition hall changes every few months. The theme is quite worth reading again and again. After entering the year 2000, the Wild Baseball Museum also made some internal changes. A new exhibition hall was opened in the original IBM BIS data room, which mainly displays the equipment of players who went to challenge the American Major League Baseball, and allows fans to try out the Japanese Professional Baseball. The supplies that the players actually used, and of course, computers that can be connected to IBM BIS to check results, are still in the corner here for everyone to use. In addition, there is a library in the Wild Football Museum, but you need to make a reservation in advance to enter.

There is also a small exhibition area in the infield corridor of the stadium. Directly behind home plate, photos of the construction process of the Tokyo Dome are displayed as well as the lights used on the scoreboard and large screen. The scoreboard only has white lights. , the large screen is composed of three colors of lights: red, blue, and green. There are also samples of artificial turf and home plate used in the Dome on the ground. Fans who are curious about artificial turf can try it here. Take a look and see that on the walls on the first and third base sides are commemorative plaques of the annual Tokyo Dome MVP winners and artists who have held concerts at the Tokyo Dome.

Tokyo Dome Hotel

The Tokyo Dome is also a gathering place for professional baseball-related shops. In addition to the Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League product stores on the left and right sides of the gate, The yellow building in front of the stadium has a store mainly selling Giants merchandise. On the first floor of the blue building, there is the Yamashita Bookstore with a full range of sports books. There are also several stores on the ground floor near Korakuen, including the baseball-themed restaurant Baseball Café. Among them, the Baseball Café, which is full of American baseball decoration and style, is a place that must not be missed when visiting the Tokyo Dome. In addition, there are many other facilities around Tokyo Dome, which forms an entertainment circle with Korakuen Amusement Park, such as exhibition halls, bowling alleys, ice rinks, video game stores, horse racing centers, etc. If you have the opportunity to go to Tokyo Dome, you may wish to call more Take time to visit these places. At the same time, the Tokyo Dome Hotel has also opened in June 2000. If you want to watch a football game in the Tokyo Dome, this is a very good place to stay, but the cost is not low.

Appendix: Tokyo Dome roof pressurization operation on June 28, 1987

At 5:00 a.m., pressurization started

At 6:25 a.m., Both sides gradually bulged

At 8:30 a.m., the pressurization operation was completed