The eyes of the boys from Okachimachi Junior High School in Tokyo light up as they grip the bats of professional Japanese baseball stars.
"I want to take this home," says one, flashing a smile as he lifts a bat used by Seattle Mariners' outfielder Ichiro Suzuki.
These boys at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at the Tokyo Dome are living proof that "yakyu" (baseball) still offers the stuff of dreams, even with its popularity losing ground to soccer.