Japan baseball’s interleague season is here!
Every year, as the Japanese summer approaches, pro baseball does something a little unusual: For three weeks, it switches things up and throws all 12 teams into a cross-league free-for-all. This Interleague play is one of the most exciting stretches of the entire season.
This year, the interleague season runs from May 26 through June 14, and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp will be hosting three separate series at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium. If you’ve been curious about catching a game, this is a great time to scratch that itch.
Two leagues?
Japan’s top baseball league, the NPB, is split into two divisions that operate almost independently for most of the year. The Central League and the Pacific League each have six teams, and they mostly play within their own league from March through October.
That means fans in Hiroshima rarely get to see Pacific League clubs in person — except during interleague play. During these 3 weeks, every Central League team plays every Pacific League team. The games count fully toward the regular season standings, so there is plenty on the line. A hot stint in the interleague play can rocket a team up the table; a cold one can be season-defining in the wrong direction.
There’s also a wrinkle that makes the tactics especially interesting: the designated hitter rule. The Pacific League uses a designated hitter all year; the Central League does not. During interleague play, each team plays by the home park’s rules — so at Mazda Stadium, pitchers bat, and Pacific League managers suddenly have to think about sacrifice bunts and double switches they’ve barely needed all season. Central League teams that adapt quickly often have an edge.
2026 Interleague games at Mazda Stadium
The Carp host three Pacific League clubs this year, each for three games:
Hiroshima Carp vs Chiba Lotte Marines
May 26 (Tue), 27 (Wed), 28 (Thu) — First pitch 18:00
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The Marines are one of the quirkier franchises in NPB, with a fiercely loyal fanbase and a reputation for producing talented pitching. For Hiroshima fans, this is a rare look at a club they’d otherwise only encounter in the Japan Series.
Hiroshima Carp vs Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
June 2 (Tue), 3 (Wed), 4 (Thu) — First pitch 18:00
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The Fighters are based out of ES CON Field in Hokkaido — arguably the most modern ballpark in all of Japan. Their visit to Mazda Stadium offers a contrast in baseball cultures: the high-tech north versus Hiroshima’s famously passionate, community-rooted atmosphere.
Hiroshima Carp vs Orix Buffaloes
June 5 (Fri), 6 (Sat), 7 (Sun) — Fri/Sat 18:00 · Sun 13:30
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The weekend series against Orix is the marquee home stand. The Buffaloes have been one of the Pacific League’s most formidable clubs in recent seasons, and the Sunday afternoon game is the perfect entry point for first-time visitors — a day game at an open-air ballpark on a June afternoon, with a sea of red in the stands.
New to Hiroshima Carp and Mazda Stadium?
Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima — or just “Mazda Stadium” to locals — is one of the best ballparks in Asia. Its asymmetrical outfield, the open-air design, multitude of seating options and food offerings, plus views of the shinkansen pulling in and out of nearby Hiroshima Station, give it a unique character.
Then, there is the crowd. Hiroshima’s fanbase is unlike any other in Japanese baseball. The Carp are not owned by a media conglomerate or a railway company — they are, at heart, a community team, born from a city that pooled donations to field a team just years after the war. That history runs deep, and you feel it on game nights. The chants are coordinated, relentless, and genuinely moving, especially when the signature red balloons launch into the sky in the seventh inning.
All to play for
Intergame play can have a real impact on the fortunes of the teams involved. In NPB’s 143-game season, a swing of five games over three weeks can reshape an entire pennant race. The Pacific League has historically dominated interleague play — a fact that Central League fans find genuinely irritating — so there’s pride as well as points on the line every night.
For the Carp, who enter Interleague play looking to climb the Central League table, these home games represent a real opportunity. Playing without the DH, on their own turf, in front of one of the loudest crowds in Japan? Let’s see if they can make the most of it!
