The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

In short

The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum dedicated to baseball, located in a corner of Tokyo Dome City. It opened in 1959 as Japan's first dedicated baseball museum. It gathers materials on domestic and international baseball from both professional and amateur levels, with more than 2,000 items on display at all times.

• ​Hall of Fame​​: Features commemorative relief plaques (bronze bust plaques) of those inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
• ​Legendary Players in Baseball History​​: Displays equipment and memorabilia of famed players, centered around exhibit cases for Oh Sadaharu, Kaneda Masaichi, Kinugasa Sachio, and Fukumoto Yutaka.
• ​Monument to Fallen Ballplayers and Memorial Monument​​: Exhibits paying tribute to baseball players who lost their lives in war.

History and Highlights

​The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum​ is located in a corner of Tokyo Dome City in Koraku, Bunkyo Ward. It is a dedicated baseball museum operated by the Japanese baseball world as a whole. Collecting materials on baseball from Japan and abroad, spanning professional and amateur levels, it continuously displays over 2,000 items.

On June 12, 1959, it opened in a location adjacent to Korakuen Stadium as Japan's first dedicated baseball museum. At that time, its name was the Yakyu Taiiku Hakubutsukan (Baseball Museum), which was changed to its current name in 2013. On March 17, 1988, following the construction of Tokyo Dome, it relocated inside the dome and reopened with twice its previous floor space.

The Baseball Hall of Fame, which gives the museum its name, was established in 1959 to permanently honor the achievements of individuals who made significant contributions to the development of baseball in Japan. In the first induction, nine individuals, including Sawamura Eiji, were honored. Since then, two selection committees—for players and special inductees—select honorees every year, and as of 2026, 223 individuals have been inducted.

Viewing and Experience Highlights

• ​Hall of Fame​​: Displays commemorative relief plaques—bronze bust plaques—of Hall of Fame inductees.
• ​Professional Baseball Section​​: In the 12-team section, equipment of core players is displayed in cases designed to resemble stadium lockers. In the "Legendary Players in Baseball History" section, equipment and memorabilia of prominent players are showcased, with display cases in the center highlighting Oh Sadaharu, Kaneda Masaichi, Kinugasa Sachio, and Fukumoto Yutaka, who achieved monumental records. A Japanese sword used by Oh Sadaharu in practice is also exhibited. In an area modeled after a dugout, visitors can sit on benches actually used at Korakuen Stadium and take commemorative photos.
• ​Baseball History and the Memorial Monument​​: In the history of baseball section, there are photographs of Horace Wilson, the American teacher who introduced baseball to Japan, as well as equipment from the Meiji era. Also featured is a Japan-US baseball poster with caricatures, which is said to have prompted Babe Ruth to decide to visit Japan upon seeing it. The "Fallen Ballplayers" monument commemorates middle school, university, and adult/corporate league baseball players who died in the last war. The "Memorial Monument" (Chinkon no Hi) was erected beside the former Korakuen Stadium in April 1981 to comfort the spirits of players from the early days of professional baseball, and was moved to its current location in March 1988.

Tips for Visiting

The entrance is on the right side of Gate 21 of Tokyo Dome. It is a 5-minute walk from Suidobashi Station on the JR and Toei Mita Lines, or Korakuen Station on the Tokyo Metro, and an 8-minute walk from Kasuga Station on the Toei Oedo Line. Touring the exhibits takes about 30 to 60 minutes. The exhibited materials are rotated frequently. The library is a specialized library holding about 50,000 materials primarily on baseball, and is open to anyone for browsing. Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens is located about 340 meters to the west.