"It's Sewage Water There"... Japanese Baseball Fans Dive In to Celebrate First Championship in 75 Years

Set New Record for Earliest Championship Since 1950
Fans Overcome with Joy Jump into the Dotonbori River

The Hanshin Tigers, a professional baseball team representing the Kansai region of Japan, secured the Central League championship at the earliest point in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) history, returning to the top after two years. Fans who witnessed the championship moment could not contain their excitement and created a spectacular scene by jumping into the Dotonbori River in Osaka. On September 8, Japanese media outlets such as Mainichi Shimbun reported that, as of 12:30 a.m. that day, the Osaka Prefectural Police had confirmed that at least 29 people had jumped into the Dotonbori River. Fortunately, no major injuries or accidents were reported.

Fans who witnessed the Hanshin Tigers' championship moment could not contain their excitement and created a spectacular scene by jumping into the Dotonbori River in Osaka. Photo by Mainichi Shimbun

On September 7, Hanshin won a home game against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp at Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture with a score of 2-0, marking their 78th win of the season (with 45 losses and 3 draws). The team widened the gap with the second-place Yomiuri Giants to 17 games, clinching the league championship regardless of the remaining games. With this victory, Hanshin set a new record for the earliest championship since Japanese professional baseball began operating with the Central and Pacific Leagues in 1950. The previous record was set by the Yomiuri Giants on September 8, 1990.

In 2003, as many as 5,300 people jumped into the river to celebrate the championship

Hanshin fans have a unique tradition: "If Hanshin wins the championship, jump into the Dotonbori River." In fact, during the 2003 championship, as many as 5,300 people entered the river, resulting in fatalities. Because of this, the police deployed over 1,000 personnel to the site the previous day and restricted parts of the walking path to prevent accidents.

It was not enough to contain the excitement of the fans who had confirmed the victory. Police officers blew whistles and shouted, "It's dangerous, do not jump," but people lined up and jumped into the river from the nearby walking trail instead of the Ebisu Bridge. Instagram hiro_kazzz

However, it was not enough to stop the excitement of the fans who had confirmed the victory. Police officers blew whistles and shouted, "It's dangerous, do not jump in," but people lined up and jumped into the river from the nearby walking path instead of Ebisu Bridge. An American tourist who witnessed the scene told Sankei Shimbun, "I heard that Japanese people are quiet and value etiquette, so seeing them jump into the river was shocking," but added, "Watching them enjoy themselves made me feel happy too."

However, experts point out concerns about the water quality of the Dotonbori River. According to a survey by the Japan Analytical Chemistry Technical School, between 200 and 5,000 E. coli bacteria per 100 mL of river water were detected last August. Takashi Miyamichi, head of academic affairs at the school, stated, "The Dotonbori River is not suitable for swimming and there is a risk of diseases such as diarrhea," adding, "To put it bluntly, it's no different than jumping into toilet water." Meanwhile, Korean netizens who saw Hanshin fans jumping into the Dotonbori River commented, "I want to see Lotte fans enjoying themselves like that in the Busan sea if they win the championship," and "If Hanwha wins, should everyone rush to Seongsimdang?"