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On Tuesday, the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers kick off the 2025 Major League Baseball season in Tokyo. Yes, it’s extraordinarily early, since most teams won’t play their first games until late March or April.

In addition to bringing MLB games to Japan, the players have gotten a variety of culinary experiences, which they and their friends have documented on team and individual social media accounts.

The Dodgers and Cubs received tips from their Japanese players: Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamotor and Roki Sasaki (above) for the Dodgers, Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki for the Cubs. In addition, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was born in Japan and is half Japanese, and both teams have Japanese interpreters, staff and a few other players with experience there.

Here’s a look at each team’s dining adventures.

The Chicago Cubs

in just one year in MLB, Shota has been embraced by Cubs fans, both for his standout pitching and his love of all things Chicago. He’s an informal ambassador for Dunkin, where he picks up a daily iced coffee, and has done commercials for Uber Eats.

When the Cubs arrived in Tokyo, he and manager Craig Counsell kicked things off by opening a ceremonial barrel of sake, a traditional way to mark a new venture.

Then, Shota and Seiya took team members to the Kanda Myoujin Shrine, founded in 730 A.D. It’s traditionally a place where observers of the Shinto religion go to pray for prosperity.

Players donned happi coats with lettering that read, “Chicago” and “Chicago Cubs.” They underwent a purification ceremony, and then, it was time to eat.

Knives flew as the Cubs helped to butcher a massive tuna. There were also bowls of ramen available, which Shota dubbed “soul food” on his Instagram.

Shota also hosted a dinner for his management team, and players went out on their own to explore Tokyo.

Ian Happ, an investor in Connect Coffee, who you’ve read about in CulinaryWoman, took a group to experience a Japanese brew. He and his wife spent a two-week honeymoon in Japan last fall.

Meanwhile, catcher Miguel Amaya, who caught Shota and two other Cubs pitchers in a no-hitter last summer, ventured out to my old neighborhood, Azubu Juban, to collect what looked like a matcha latte.

The Cubs were treated to an upscale reception in the beautiful gardens of the U.S. Embassy. Former U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, the former mayor of Chicago, hosted Shota there last year before he left office.

The Los Angeles Dodgers

Before the team left spring training in Arizona, Dave Roberts revealed that Shohei, Yoshinobu and Roki had a players-only dinner planned for Sunday night.

Famed chef Nobu Matsuhisa, an avid baseball fan and frequent host for the Japanese Dodgers, flew over from Los Angeles to supervise the event, which also featured a giant-sized tuna.

Nobu tied a hachimaki, or head scarf, on Enrique “Kike” Hernandez head, to dub him as an unofficial assistant. Beloved outfielder Teoscar Hernandez dubbed the evening “una noche excelente” on his Instagram.

Members of the team took an excursion to the Tsukiji fish market, where videos showed them eating freshly cut sushi in the market’s aisleway.

Meanwhile, there was plenty of product placement for Ito En, the official green tea of the Dodgers, which boasts Shohei as its brand ambassador. Botles of Ito En flanked players and their manager at their press events.

Fans weren’t left out of the adventure, either. The branch of TGI Friday’s in the Tokyo Dome, where the Cubs and Dodgers are playing, dubbed itself the Cubs Hub. For $22, diners could order a beer bat like the kind they can get at home, or take home an empty bat for $13.

On the bar: miniature versions of the flag that Cubs fans wave when the team wins, giving Fly The W an international meaning.