Popular infielder Munenori Kawasaki joined the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks on Saturday on a one-year deal believed to be worth ¥90 million (roughly $808,000).

The deal brings the 35-year-old back to his roots. Kawasaki turned pro out of high school, joining NPB's only team on his home island of Kyushu as the Hawks' fourth pick in the 1999 amateur draft. He has spent the past five years in big leagues and the minors as a utility man.

"I didn't foresee coming back," he told a news conference at Yafuoku Dome. "Even I can't really understand how it came to be the right timing for me."