A most American pastime is breathing life into rural Hokkaido.
In the sleepy dairy town of Betsukai, residents of all ages gather at the local stadium to cheer on the Pilot Spirits, their hometown professional baseball team. Between turns at the plate, the crowd roars and drums echo across the surrounding fields. People come out, rain or shine, to drink beer and chant players’ names.
This year, five newcomers have flown in from afar to enter the fray of Hokkaido’s newest baseball league. And this fresh blood has energized Betsukai, where the population of 14,000 is far outnumbered by 100,000 cows.
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