the game ends in a tie. Games lasting into the early morning hours just don't work in Japan.

"Around the Tokyo Dome, there's no parking," Graczyk said. "Everybody comes to the game by train. And the trains stop running shortly after midnight."

Utsumi celebrated his birthday by throwing seven scoreless innings and the Giants won, 2-0. After the victory, the Giants' players bowed in unison to their fans. The following day the two teams played to an 11-inning scoreless tie. Offensive production is way down in Japan the past two seasons; some believe the decline stems from a change to a less-lively baseball introduced at the start of the 2011 season.

Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities in the world. A decent-quality sushi dinner can easily cost $100. Agame in Latvia, kickboxing in Thailand, and a soccer match in Brazil. Going to a sports event abroad -- like a Japanese baseball game -- can often give insight into a culture that you just can't get in a museum, castle or religious shrine.

In addition to writing about baseball, Graczyk works for a company -- JapanBall.com -- that offers baseball tours in which visitors can attend games in all 12 Japanese big-league ballparks.

"It's one of the things you should see when you come to Japan," said Graczyk. "It's just an awesome experience."

Dan Fellner is a faculty associate at Arizona State University, travel writer and former TV sportscaster. His website is www.FellnerTravelInfo.com