Yokohama Stadium

Lore & Background

The stadium has the nickname 'Hamastar' (ハマスタ), a mix of the words yokoHAMA, STAdium and baySTARs. Due to the pronunciation also reminding people of the rōmaji pronunciation of the word 'Hamster', the hamster ended up becoming one of the BayStars mascots. The stadium features dirt around the bases and pitcher's mound, but with dirt colored turf infield and base paths. The entire green portion of the field is also turfed. As of 2026, the stadium had become a cashless stadium, being the 4th stadium in the NPB to adopt it. Notable concerts include Santana and Masayoshi Takanaka (2 August 1981), Anzen Chitai (31 August 1985), Prince (1986 Parade Tour), Michael Jackson (five sold-out concerts in September–October 1987), Tina Turner (March 1988), Madonna (25–27 April 1990), Bon Jovi (May 1996), Luna Sea (23 December 1996), Nana Mizuki (3 August 2014), ONE OK ROCK (September 2014), AKB48 (March 2016 and April 2019), and Hinatazaka46 (April 2023). In sports, in December 1978, UNLV played BYU in a sold out college football game. Yokohama Stadium served as the baseball and softball venue at the 2020 Summer Olympics. It annually hosts the Kanagawa Prefecture qualifiers for the Summer Koshien, as well some tournaments of Industrial Baseball level. It hosted an Australian rules football match and drew the second largest crowd for such an event outside of Australia.

In Their Own Story

The evening air off the Minato Mirai waterfront carries a faint salt tang as the floodlights snap on, one by one, painting the grass in an almost surgical white. Seventy thousand voices, scattered across the tiers, begin a low, rhythmic chant that builds like a tide pulling against the stands. A player in the red-and-white kit jogs to the halfway line, feels the vibration of the crowd through the soles of his boots, and for a moment the stadium is less a building and more a single, breathing organism. The referee's whistle cuts through. The roar swells. Yokohama holds its breath, then releases it all at once.

Reader's Guide

Yokohama Stadium is located in Naka-ku, Yokohama, Japan. It is the home field of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. The stadium has a capacity of 34,046. It is a cashless stadium as of 2026.

Did You Know?

• The stadium's nickname 'Hamastar' combines yokoHAMA, STAdium, and baySTARs.
• The pronunciation of 'Hamastar' reminded people of 'Hamster', leading to a hamster becoming a BayStars mascot.
• Michael Jackson performed five sold-out concerts here in 1987, more than any other artist in Yokohama.
• Prince destroyed two guitars, including the original 'cloud' guitar from Purple Rain, during his final show here in 1986.
• The stadium hosted baseball and softball at the 2020 Summer Olympics.