Es Con Field Hokkaido Home To The Nippon Ham Fighters Is A Must Visit
The Nippon Ham Fighters are a Nippon Professional Baseball team (NPB, Japanese pro baseball) that are located in Sapporo, Japan. Having played their games in the Sapporo Dome since the team re-located from Tokyo to Sapporo back in 2004, the Fighters unveiled Es Con Field Hokkaido to kick off the 2023 season. I went and visited this stadium during the off-season and was very impressed with everything it had to offer!
The Background
Construction for Es Con Field Hokkaido began in May 2020 and was completed in January 2023, just in time for the 2023 season. The newest stadium in the NPB boasts a seating capacity of 35,000, has a retractable roof, and natural turf (a rarity for an NPB team). The field dimensions are as follows: left field 318 ft, center field 397 ft, right field 325 ft.
The standout feature of the stadium is the massive glass wall in the outfield. It essentially runs from left field to right field and it’s absolutely HUGE. When inside the stadium, it’s really a sight to behold and provides great natural lighting.
Outside The Stadium
The surrounding area is lush with greenery so the background setting of the stadium is quite peaceful when outside the stadium. There’s a couple of shops and restaurants next to the stadium and even a hotel that is directly next to Es Con Field Hokkaido. There’s a kids playground, a small pond surrounded by what looked like outdoor suites which were just a large room with a TV and deck with bbq. I’m not exactly what these were. I’d be interested to see how they’re utilized on game day.
I’d expect this area to be further developed in the future since there’s a lot of space within the vicinity.
Es Con Field Hokkaido is a little bit of a trek since it’s not in central Sapporo and doesn’t have a direct station. The nearest station is Kitahiroshima station which will be about a 20-minute walk to the stadium. I didn’t mind this walk since the area here is peaceful. During game days the walk would most likely be quite fun with boisterous and excited fans making the walk together. During the season I’m guessing they must have shuttle services from the station to the stadium but in those times it may just be faster to walk.
Inside the Stadium
Something that was pretty amazing to me about Es Con Field Hokkaido, outside of how great the exterior looked, was how accessible it was to the public in the middle of December. You could literally walk in through one entrance that takes you to the left field seats which were open to sit in. You could walk the concourse from left field to right field and along the first base line before areas were roped off.
The team store is massive, with a ton of Fighter apparel and souvenirs, really cool and it’s two stories as well!
I expected the team store to be open, just didn’t think it was going to be on the inside of the stadium, but didn’t think the food court would also be open AND the brewery (!) too. There was a cool area in centerfield where the brewery was located.
Seeing that one the stadium had a brewery and it was open, I obviously had to grab a Playball Ale (800 yen, $5.29 USD) and roll pizza (Margherita roll 900 yen, $5.95 USD). The brewery is located in center field with both an “indoors” area and also a patio area that’s upstairs (this area’s bar wasn’t open).
I grabbed a seat at the counter that faces the field to enjoy my beer and food. Really cool place and location.
The Tour
Es Con Field Hokkaido offers a couple different tours. The Basic where you can walk around the diamond seat area and get to walk around in the dugout and stand on the field and then the Premium which includes everything from the Basic while also providing access to the players area / locker room. I went with the Basic (1800 yen, $12.42) USD). I really wanted to step onto the field and and see how the stadium looks from field level. You get some really great views of the stadium and the field and some behind the scenes looks into the inner workings of the stadium. It was a blast!
Es Con Field Hokkaido Is Worth A Visit
If you’re a sports fan and are visiting Sapporo, Es Con Field Hokkaido should be on the list of places to visit. The stadium is gorgeous and it’s a treat to walk around the surrounding area and within the stadium itself.
The next goal will be to go when the Fighters are playing. The atmosphere from the walk from the station to the field and then the game atmosphere itself would be amazing I’m sure. Certainly something I want to plan for in the future!
