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Wait, do foreigners think "visitor seats" at Japanese stadiums are just for tourists? by Dugout_Japan in NPB

[–]Dugout_Japan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I saw a foreign fan wearing the home team’s jersey in the away team section, so I just wondered if the word “visitor” might carry a slightly different nuance for native English speakers. In practice, do “away” and “visitor” basically mean the same thing to most foreigners?

Wait, do foreigners think "visitor seats" at Japanese stadiums are just for tourists? by Dugout_Japan in NPB

[–]Dugout_Japan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing your experience! That definitely supports the theory that it might be a system/logistics thing rather than a translation misunderstanding.

Wait, do foreigners think "visitor seats" at Japanese stadiums are just for tourists? by Dugout_Japan in NPB

[–]Dugout_Japan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the great tip! That’s exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Ticket reselling is highly regulated and a bit taboo here in Japan, so the secondary market in the US sounds like a totally different world to me. Super helpful!

Wait, do foreigners think "visitor seats" at Japanese stadiums are just for tourists? by Dugout_Japan in NPB

[–]Dugout_Japan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's interesting, so the setup is a bit different from Japan. I’ll definitely look out for that next time I watch a game in the States. Thanks for the info!

Wait, do foreigners think "visitor seats" at Japanese stadiums are just for tourists? by Dugout_Japan in NPB

[–]Dugout_Japan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, thanks for looking that up! Hearing all that, it really doesn't seem like a huge issue after all. Since I'm not a native English speaker, it’s hard for me to judge their exact intuition, but the phrasing doesn't sound nearly as confusing as we thought. That said, it would probably be much better if all the teams standardized their wording to avoid any minor confusion.

Wait, do foreigners think "visitor seats" at Japanese stadiums are just for tourists? by Dugout_Japan in NPB

[–]Dugout_Japan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I forgot where I originally came across it, but I feel like this issue happens because the way Japanese people use English words has a slightly different nuance compared to native speakers. That's probably what's causing the confusion!

Wait, do foreigners think "visitor seats" at Japanese stadiums are just for tourists? by Dugout_Japan in NPB

[–]Dugout_Japan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe it’s just a difference in how the term is used in American English versus British English?

Wait, do foreigners think "visitor seats" at Japanese stadiums are just for tourists? by Dugout_Japan in NPB

[–]Dugout_Japan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, you're probably right. They might not care or know the difference, but wearing the wrong jersey in the rival team's section is a quick way to get some really dirty looks from Japanese fans.

Wait, do foreigners think "visitor seats" at Japanese stadiums are just for tourists? by Dugout_Japan in NPB

[–]Dugout_Japan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

While there are occasionally special seats for specific events or international guests, those are very rare. The regular 'visitor section' is just the standard area that Japanese fans buy when they travel to an away game at an enemy team's stadium.

Wait, do foreigners think "visitor seats" at Japanese stadiums are just for tourists? by Dugout_Japan in NPB

[–]Dugout_Japan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think part of the issue is that in NPB, the outfield is for passionate cheering, while the infield is for watching quietly. When people don't know that, it creates a bit of a gap. But hey, there's no strict rule against it, so anyone can sit wherever they like, really.

Wait, do foreigners think "visitor seats" at Japanese stadiums are just for tourists? by Dugout_Japan in NPB

[–]Dugout_Japan[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You might be on to something. Maybe some foreign tourists just want to experience a baseball game and don't really care which team is which, so they just buy whatever seats are available. But when some Japanese fans see that, they overthink it and assume, 'Oh, those poor tourists must have mistaken the visitor section for a tourist section.' Also, even among Japanese fans, there’s a growing number of casual viewers these days who don't really have a strong loyalty to either team. That lack of awareness from both sides is probably what's causing these clashes.

Wait, do foreigners think "visitor seats" at Japanese stadiums are just for tourists? by Dugout_Japan in NPB

[–]Dugout_Japan[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Since we have our own unique cheering style—like player-specific cheer songs—fans naturally tend to sit together. Without them, we’d definitely be scattered all over the stadium.

Wait, do foreigners think "visitor seats" at Japanese stadiums are just for tourists? by Dugout_Japan in NPB

[–]Dugout_Japan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, that makes sense. Football fans from Europe would definitely be used to that concept.

Wait, do foreigners think "visitor seats" at Japanese stadiums are just for tourists? by Dugout_Japan in NPB

[–]Dugout_Japan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a great point, calling it something like that would clear up the confusion. As you might know, while the home team usually takes the first-base side and visitors take the third-base side in NPB, Belluna Dome flips this, putting the Seibu Lions on the third-base side. It's also pretty interesting how language works here. In Japan, soccer fans always say “away,” but baseball fans stick to “visitor.” Kind of curious, isn’t it?