Mr. Ohtani’s hometown is capitalising on the economic effects brought by the 30-year-old baseball hero.

OSHU – A surging number of fans of Major League Baseball star Shohei Ohtani are going on a kind of “pilgrimage” to Iwate Prefecture to visit places related to the Los Angeles Dodgers player who won the National League’s Most Valuable Player award this year, making it his third. Ohtani received the honor two years in a row, winning the American League’s MVP in 2021 and 2023.

A shrine in his hometown of Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, throngs with tourists buying charms related to his two-way role as a pitcher and hitter. His old high school is now a tourist attraction and part of a taxi sightseeing course. Ohtani’s hometown is capitalizing on the economic effects brought by the 30-year-old baseball hero.

Komagata Shrine’s “Nitoryu,” or two-way, charms are popular among people in and outside the prefecture. PHOTO: THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN

Komagata Shrine in Oshu has a history of more than 1,500 years and is known for where people pray for victory. In October, when the Dodgers won the World Series, the number of visitors who prayed at the shrine increased by about 2,000 year-on-year to about 14,000. Nearly 1,000 people visit the shrine on a busy day, according to the shrine.

Bringing in the tourists are the shrine’s “Nitoryu,” or two-way, charms that are said to bring good luck in the areas of health and attaining one’s goals. In 2018, when Ohtani joined the Los Angeles Angels, the shrine created two kinds of charms that featured the team’s colors of red and white, selling them for ¥1,000 each. Following Ohtani signing with the Dodgers, the shrine added two more charms in May featuring the Dodger’s colors, one in blue and the other in white.

In September, when Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season, the shrine was flooded with inquiries and received orders from customers from various parts of the country including the Kyushu and Shikoku regions. The manager of a boy’s baseball team reportedly bought the charms in bulk as gifts for his team. Since both the blue and white charms went out of stock following Ohtani’s historic 50-50 achievement, the shrine plans to renew their designs and begin selling them again from Jan. 1.

The Oshu municipal government has an area dedicated to the baseball star near the shrine that features materials and documents related to him. Visitors can shake a model of Ohtani’s hand and see panels displaying his results for the season and past special editions of newspapers. The area is open on the weekends, too. At the end of September, around 20 people visited the area on the weekends. However, that number has recently increased to about 60, including large groups of tourists. Some take pictures while shaking hands with the model, according to the municipal government.

In Hanamaki in the same prefecture, fans are also visiting Hanamaki Higashi High School where Ohtani graduated.

In January, a monument was installed in front of the school to celebrate Ohtani’s winning the American League MVP award and AL home run title for the 2023 season. A taxi sightseeing course planned by a local tourism association included the monument in its course.

“I have been rooting for Ohtani for a long time,” an 87-year-old man said with excitement. He was visiting from Shibetsu, Hokkaido, and came the prefecture on a tour. “Now feel I have seen where he got his start.”

Katsuhiro Miyamoto, professor emeritus of theoretical economics at Kansai University who is familiar with the economic effects of sports, said, “Tourists visiting Iwate Prefecture for Ohtani may learn about the appeal of the prefecture and visit there again. The economic effects will last long.”