OSAKA -- It's a hot and humid night in the Kujo district, but nobody seems to mind. That's because just a few blocks away, at the Osaka Dome, the Kintetsu Buffaloes are locked in a battle with the Seibu Lions for the Pacific League pennant.
The game sold out long ago, but about 100 locals have gathered in front of a closed pachinko parlor beside Kujo Station to watch the game on a wide-screen TV that somebody put up. Someone else is selling beer for 100 yen a cup, and children run around.