Extra Innings Travel

🇯🇵 Japan Play Abroad 13U-15U Days 6-7 ⚾️

After wrapping up the baseball exchange portion of the tour, we returned to Osaka for the final stretch of the trip! 🚌

On Tuesday, the group had some free time around Namba and Dotonbori before coming together for an afternoon of karaoke. Later, we visited the site of the former Osaka Stadium’s home plate and pitcher’s mound at Namba Parks, where the Nankai Hawks played from 1950 to 1988. 🏟️

From there, we headed to the Hirakuza Sumo Dinner Show for a great cultural experience, getting an up-close look at the traditions of Japan’s national sport. Shoutout to Declan for getting called up to the dohyo and pulling off the win!

On Wednesday, everyone had more time to explore Osaka. Some families visited the Mizuno store for more Japanese baseball gear, others explored Dotonbori, and some of the players hung out at Round One, where they met a few local teenagers around the same age and were able to play together! 🏀

Finally, our last event together was an NPB game between the Orix Buffaloes and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles at Kyocera Dome. The home team came away with a 3-1 win, and Jaxon gave the group one more great memory by catching a foul ball off the bat of Carson McCusker! ⚾️

That’s a wrap on an incredible week for Team Odyssey. We started the tour without knowing each other at all, but ended it with friendships and memories that will last forever. 🙌

Thank you to all of our players, families, coaches, and hosts for making this Japan Play Abroad tour so special. 💙💙💙

Until we meet again! 💯

🇯🇵 Japan Play Abroad 13U-15U Day 5 ⚾️

Monday marked our final baseball exchange of the tour!

We started the day with a local guided tour of Nara Park and Todaiji, where the group met the famous deer and took in one of Japan’s most iconic cultural sites. 🦌

Then, we shifted back into baseball mode for the afternoon to play our hosts, Tenri Boys (天理ボーイズ【公式】)! It was also so cool to reunite with Kina, who was the talented 12-year-old girl on the Blackbears on last year’s trip! She graduated and is now a first-year on Tenri!

We got just 3 innings in before the rainstorm came in after and cut the game short, but both teams made the most of the time we had on the field. Congrats to Declan on his first hit! 🌧️

Even with the abrupt ending, it was a fantastic week for Team Odyssey, made possible by the leadership of manager Shingo Takeyama and coach Bianca Smith. Shoutout to Takuto, who continued to expand his role as a swiss army knife by stepping in as our third base coach for the final game.

We quickly changed course by returning to the hotel to change from being drenched before heading to Tenri’s manager’s restaurant for a a wonderful joint dinner with our hosts. His daughter was a women’s baseball national champion in high school and is still playing in college! ⚾️

The restaurant was filled with cool high school baseball memorabilia and delicious izakaya food, making it the perfect setting to close out the baseball exchange portion of the tour.

A huge thank you to everyone at Tenri for welcoming us yet again, battling through the weather with us, setting up an incredible event, and giving our players a memorable final baseball day in Japan. Let’s meet again next year! 🇺🇸🤝🇯🇵

🇯🇵 Japan Play Abroad 13U-15U Day 4 ⚾️

Sunday took us to Wakayama prefecture to meet our wonderful hosts, Senshu Boys (.boys), at Tsutsugo Sports Academy Baseball Field! ⭐️

Former MLB player and current Yokohama DeNA BayStars slugger Yosh*tomo Tsutsugo donated more than $1 million to build the facility, creating a first-class environment for youth baseball in his hometown.

We were lucky enough to meet his older brother, who runs the Boys League team and played a major role in supporting the academy!

After greetings and exchanging gifts, it was time for a doubleheader. We opened with a traditional game (where Senshu Boys showed off how good they are), then transitioned to a mixed roster game, allowing Japanese and American players to become teammates rather than opponents! ⚾️

By this point in the tour, the players needed very little encouragement to interact as they were already finding ways to communicate through baseball. We even played with a Japanese rubber ball in the final inning. 🤝

In between games, our hosts introduced our players to suikawari, a traditional summertime game where blindfolded participants try to split a watermelon with a stick while everyone else calls out directions. Great job by Liam on getting the clean split! 🍉

After the doubleheader, our manager, former NPB catcher Shingo Takeyama, took batting practice off coach Bianca Smith, giving everyone a chance to watch true professionals doing their craft. Of course, Takeyama-san parked a few balls over the fence!

We finished the day with some cold ramen, fried chicken, and shaved ice together before making the trip back to Nara. 🍧

A heartfelt thank you to everyone at Senshu Boys and the academy for welcoming us to Wakayama and giving our players and families such an incredible opportunity for cultural exchange. We can’t wait to see you again! 💙

🇯🇵 Japan Play Abroad 13U–15U Day 3 ⚾️

After transferring from Osaka to Nara on Friday night, we spent Saturday morning visiting Matsuda Sports, where everyone had the chance to shop for some awesome Japanese baseball gear from gloves and bats to cold spray, magnetic necklaces, and plenty more.

Then, following a group lunch at the hotel buffet, we boarded the bus and headed to Takashinohama Baseball Field in Osaka to take on our hosts, Naniwa Boys (浪速ボーイズ［大阪南支部］)!

Although we came up just short, falling 14-11, our players never stopped competing as they battled back late to make things close, showing some grit and determination that made manager Takeyama and coach Bianca proud! ⚾️

Following the game, everyone gathered for a postgame meal with our hosts, giving the players another opportunity to trade gifts, take photos, and continue building friendships off the field.

We also celebrated a pair of birthdays, surprising Jack with a cake while wishing a happy birthday to Naniwa Boys player Jion as well! 🎂

Thank you so much to Naniwa Boys for their incredible hospitality and for another unforgettable baseball exchange. We wish you all the best and hope to see you again in the future! 🇺🇸🤝🇯🇵

🇯🇵 Japan Play Abroad 13U-15U Days 1-2 ⚾️

Our new Play Abroad trip is officially underway in Osaka! This is the oldest age group we’ve had on these trips and we’re so excited to spend the week together with families from all around America!

On Thursday night, the group came together for the first time to enjoy a welcome buffet dinner, giving players, families, and coaches the chance to get to know one another before an exciting week of baseball and cultural experiences.

The following day, we kicked off the tour with some sightseeing at one of Japan iconic landmarks, Osaka Castle, before hopping back on the bus for our first baseball exchange of the tour. 🚍

We took on the Horie Boys (大阪堀江ボーイズ), who also hosted at last year, at the beautiful Nanko Chuo Park Baseball Field — complete with spectator seats, bullpens, locker rooms, and more — that hosts local high school, college, and industrial league matchups, making it an incredible setting for us to experience our first game together.

We had a great joint warmup before playing a highly competitive game, duking it out for 6 innings before coming away with a 12-11 walk-off victory! ⚾️

It was the perfect way to kick off the trip, and our wonderful coaching staff — former NPB catcher Shingo Takeyama and former professional coach Bianca Smith — were incredibly proud of the team’s effort.

Perhaps even more importantly, it’s been awesome to see the players bonding so quickly. New friendships are forming, and the group is already beginning to feel like one team! 🇺🇸🤝🇯🇵

A huge thank you to Horie Boys for hosting us for baseball and dinner and giving our players such a memorable first exchange. 🍕