Shohei fan here. And this is my very favorite Shohei Ohtani baseball card (he has tons!) I was in Japan during the Tokyo Series and got to experience a bit of that energy. This card is part of that memory.

“Small kid time,” my favorite players were Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. Now as an “old fart,” it’s been Shohei. Part of the affinity is that I’ve been studying Japanese language & culture for more than 5 years now. And Shohei is a national hero. But this blog post is not as much about him as it is about me being a fan.

Shohei started out with the Angels in 2018 as a two-way player, billed as the “Babe Ruth of Japan.” Yup, I was an Angels fan for 6 painful years😖 Nope, never finished reading this book🤣

2nd fave card. 2018 Topps Heritage pays homage to the 1969 set. I’ve been (hardly) working on completing a ‘69 set for over 25 years now🤣 Aging myself, but these are the very first bubblegum cards that I ever bought as a little kid. Simple, clean, nostalgic…

If you remember, Shohei donated gloves to every elementary school in Japan back in 2023. I was actually able to play catch with his glove at Keio Yochisha Elementary in Tokyo last November. The principal was kind enough to bring them out to the playground. Hopefully he got ‘um all back🤣

Only regained interest in the hobby after Shohei joined the Dodgers. Now collecting his Topps base card each year. Fun and inexpensive (except for his rookie…)

Got his first Topps Dodger card from a garage sale thanks to my sis. It’s these stories that make collecting fun & meaningful.

And no collection would be complete without his Japanese cards. These are his 2014 Calbee & 2017 BBM base cards.

Last season he became the first 50/50 player and reached superstardom. (If your face is on ITO EN, you’ve made it!) This is what I was drinking in Japan back in March🇯🇵

This is his 1st Dodger Stadium bobblehead giveaway from last May. I’ve been waiting for almost a year to find a good deal on eBay. Snatched it!

Finally… Never thought I’d be “that guy” to ever wear some other dude’s name on the back of a jersey.

I am him😬

Our Kamehameha Schools Children’s Chorus had a Japan trip scheduled back in 2020. Unfortunately, COVID happened. Five years later, we were blessed to go and share the gift of aloha through music🎵

I went as a chaperone for a group of 5th grade boys and as a co-emcee (日本語 translation.) A highlight was visiting the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. Grateful for the blessing🙏

I had the privilege of accompanying Kaʻāmauloa Pathway’s visit to Keio University & Affiliate Schools on November 19th-20th. The purpose of the visit was to establish an exchange program based on the SDGs. My role was as a guide / “interpreter” / video documenter.

It was a whirlwind 2-day business trip, but we had an amazing time visiting with the students, teachers, and administrators. We went to Keio Yochisha Elementary, Keio Chutobu Junior High School, Keio Girls High School, and the Keio University Mita Campus.

The visit was a huge success, and I’m looking forward to the future & potential of this collaboration. お疲れさまでした。

Went back to Tōkyō during Fall Break. This time, I wanted to explore the 下町。　Shitamachi literally translates to “downtown” but refers to the retro-towns on the outskirts of Tōkyō.

Spent most of my days in shōtengai and evenings in izakaya. Best part was meeting up with my cousin and my language partners who have become good friends. I also got to check out some of the autumn festivals. The luckiest highlight was seeing my close friend from Kumamoto who just happened to be in Tōkyō on a work trip. 楽しみ！Hope to be back soon…