How to buy tickets for Chunichi Dragons home games

🎫 Getting tickets for Hanshin home games — whether at Koshien or Kyocera Dome — is seriously tough.
On the first day of sales (February 25), every ticket for the entire season — all 3 million of them! — sells out within just a few hours.
Yep, it’s “that” intense. 😱

✨ But here’s some good news: for Visitor games (hosted by other teams), tickets usually go on sale about two months before each game.
That means you can wait until your travel plans or time off are settled before trying for tickets! 🧳✈️

🐉 Today, I’ll walk you through how to get tickets for the Chunichi Dragons’ home games — one of the easiest tickets to score (probably)! 😉

📝 I previously explained how to buy tickets for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows’ home games.
The Swallows actually have an English version of their ticketing site (okay, it’s pretty minimal, but hey — by NPB standards, at least they’re trying!).
I mean… it’s something.
Japan really needs to work on its English support, huh? 😅

But! Their home stadium, Vantelin Dome Nagoya, is actually super convenient to get to. From Nagoya Station, it’s just a 15-minute train ride plus a 15-minute walk. And from Tokyo, it only takes about 90 minutes by the Shinkansen, so you can be at the stadium in about 2 hours! From Osaka, it’s a 50-minute Shinkansen ride — just give yourself about an hour and a half total. And if you’re coming from Kyoto, it’s only 30 minutes by the Shinkansen to Nagoya, so just over an hour total.

That’s why you’ll see lots of Hanshin fans traveling from Kansai to catch games at Vantelin Dome Nagoya. It’s way easier to get tickets than Koshien or Kyocera Dome, and since it’s an indoor dome stadium, there’s no need to worry about rainouts!

Plus, Vantelin Dome has a capacity of 36,370 seats — not as big as Koshien or Tokyo Dome, but still decent-sized. Even weekend games sometimes have tickets available close to game day.

So! Let’s dive in and break down how to get those tickets! 🎫🐯

Let’s start with how to get to the ticket sales page, since the team’s official site is only in Japanese.

On the Dragons’ homepage, look for the top menu tab labeled 「TICKET」 — click that!

That will take you to the:

👉 DRAGONS OFFICIAL TICKET SITE

If all that sounds like too much trouble, you can skip straight to the ticket site using this link:

👉 DRAGONS OFFICIAL TICKET SITE

You should see a screen like this 👉 👉

Now… let’s find the Hanshin Tigers game you want to go to!

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Hanshin Tigers, so instead of the usual logo, look for their special 90th anniversary emblem on the game listings!

See that “発売中” text? Yep — it means “On Sale” in Japanese… How are we supposed to read these words if you don’t understand Japanese… honestly, Japan, please! 🙃
But don’t worry — if it’s highlighted in this color, it means you can buy tickets now!

The ones in this other color? Those are for games that haven’t gone on sale yet — and yes, of course, the release date is listed in Japanese only… come on, seriously!

TORA-NEKO also shares upcoming ticket sale info, but if you’re using the official site, here’s a quick tip:
Only pay attention to the bottom-most date on the sales schedule — that’s for everyone who has or is about to make an account.
All the dates above that are for fan club members, so you can ignore them. Whew!

Click the “On Sale” button for the game you want, and at last…

Click the “On Sale” button for the game you want, and at last…

🎉 Welcome to the English-language ticket page!
(We made it… I’m emotionally exhausted…)

But hey — all this clicking and guessing is a pain, right?
So here’s a shortcut:

Alright… let’s talk about seating zones at Vantelin Dome Nagoya.

There are a lot of sections, and it’s confusing to be honest…
So let’s break it down, nice and easy.

Here’s a basic map of the entire stadium. Since Hanshin is the Visitor team, we’re on the third-base side — that means the left half of the diagram.
But unlike other stadiums, Vantelin has some special rules you really need to know. Let’s go one area at a time!

Let’s start with the infield, since that’s relatively easy to explain.

Sections 1 through 4 are considered “infield.”
But wait — what’s this!? Some of those sections exist on the first-base (home) side too!?

Yep — at Vantelin, even on the first-base side, Sections 1 to 4 are OK for Hanshin cheering!
That said… if you sit there, you’ll be surrounded by 80% Dragons fans. Maybe 20% Hanshin at best. 😅

So while cheering isn’t forbidden, it can get awkward — especially if you want to stand and sing.

That’s why we always recommend:
Even within Sections 1–4, pick the third-base side (Hanshin side) if you can!
If it’s totally sold out and you still want a ground-level seat… first-base side is acceptable… barely. 😬

Section 5 — ⚠️ CAUTION ZONE

Here’s where things get serious.

Section 5 is located closer to the right-field stands on the first-base side.
Translation: it’s where the hardcore Dragons fans go.

No tigers allowed. Just joking… sort of. Since this area is for Dragons fans, cheering for the Tigers are not allowed. So if you sing Tigers chants or wear the Tigers uniform, the security may tell you to stop singing or take of your uniform. If you want to cheer for the Tigers, make sure to avoid this area.

Seriously — if the lower 3rd-base seats are sold out, the 2nd floor is your next best bet.
It’s clearly split between 1st and 3rd base sides, just like the infield.

The 2nd-floor sections are labeled 41–46, but there’s a catch:

• Section 45 only exists on the first-base side, so skip it.
• Section 46 is at the very back of the 2nd level, and only available in groups (sets of 5 or 6 seats).
  It’s great for families or friends — as long as you’re on the 3rd-base side, of course!

The best 2nd-floor Hanshin option?
Sections 43 and 44 — those are your sweet spots.
They’re wide, high-capacity areas, and usually have more Hanshin-side tickets still available!

⚠️ Section 11

This is right field — which means it belongs to the Dragons’ cheering squad.
If you walk in wearing Hanshin gear, you might be force-fed endless bowls of Nagoya’s famous KIBUN-brand oden and chikuwa until you become a Dragons fan. (Okay, not really — but you can’t wear Hanshin gear here. For real.)

❗ Section 12

You’d think, “Ah, left field! Our turf!” …Wrong.
Section 12 is also a Dragons cheering-only area.
Buy a ticket here by mistake and you might have your “World-famous Yama-chan” spicy chicken wings confiscated. (Delicious. Pairs perfectly with beer. Don’t risk it.)

🤝 Section 13

Now this one’s… complicated.
Section 13 is labeled as a “neutral zone” — meaning both teams’ fans are technically allowed.
Why even have a neutral zone? Because if Hanshin and Dragons fans sat directly next to each other, it’d be like the Battle of Sekigahara all over again. 420 years later, the Kansai-Tokai front lines would ignite, reducing everything from Nagoya to Osaka to ashes. 😇

So yes — Section 13 was created as a demilitarized buffer zone.
But why do I say “technically”? …Because we Hanshin fans have de facto control over it.
That’s right. Effective occupation. Consider it our unofficial base camp. 🐯

So if you can’t score a seat in one of the real Hanshin cheering zones, Section 13 is a fine backup.
Just… try not to start the next civil war, okay?

What do we gain from this tactical occupation?
We’ll talk about that — right after Section 14. 🎀

Earlier, we introduced the English ticket site — but just in case you missed it:

👉 Dragons Tickets (English)

When you land on the page, it’ll recommend the next upcoming game by default (see the screenshot).
But don’t let that distract you — click the red circle area to open the full schedule of available games.

Now, find the Hanshin game you’re aiming for…

…But WAIT!! THIS IS THE BIGGEST TRAP OF ALL!!!

⚠️ READ THIS BEFORE YOU CLICK ANYTHING! ⚠️

Remember all those section numbers we talked about earlier?
The nice and tidy system we worked so hard to understand?

YEAH, IT’S TOTALLY DIFFERENT HERE.

Why? Who knows.
Why make it easy when you can confuse the visiting fans, right?

But don’t worry — we’ve got you covered.
Let’s break it all down right now and get you through the chaos. 🧭🐯

🎖️ #1 Recommendation – Area 11 on English Site (JP: Area 14)
→ The Hanshin Tigers fan stronghold in the outfield!
This is where Tigers fans bring the noise — standing, cheering, and roaring! If you manage to grab a ticket here, you’re in the heart of the action. But… it sells out instantly.

🎖️ #2 Recommendation – Area 8 on English Site (JP: Area 6)
→ The infield’s Tigers cheering zone!
Right next to the outfield fans but with an infield view. Super passionate Tigers supporters gather here. Also sells out super fast.

ーーーーー ✨ Now for the realistic top picks… ✨ ーーーーー

nlike most NPB stadiums — where bringing in small bottled drinks or snacks from a convenience store is usually fine — Vantelin Dome Nagoya strictly prohibits all outside food and drinks.
Yep. No PET bottles. No onigiri. No cookies. Nothing. (Chunichi really said “no joy allowed” 😢)

If you forget and bring something, you’ll have two choices at the gate:

1. Toss it in the trash with tears in your eyes, or
2. Chug it all, end up with a super full stomach, and spend the rest of the game running to the restroom — before you get to enjoy Sekai no Yamachan’s spicy fried chicken wings, Kibun oden and chikuwa, and of course… stadium beer! 🍺

So, yeah — heads up and double check your bags before you enter!