One of the most famous scenes in Major League Baseball is Hideki Matsui's performance in Game 6 of the World Series in 2009.
There is a museum of Matsui, who created many legends such as his five consecutive at-bats in Koshien while he was a student at Seiryo High School, about 10 minutes drive from Komatsu Airport.
Getting to the Museum
Hideki Matsui Baseball Museum is located near Komatsu Airport, and is basically accessible by car. You can rent a car at Komatsu Airport, and the museum is about 10 minutes away by car.
By car
To get to the Hideki Matsui Baseball Museum, rent a car at Komatsu Airport and drive about 10 minutes to the museum.
The museum has a free parking lot that can accommodate a large number of vehicles.
About the Museum
Location: 58 Yu, Yamaguchi-cho, Nomi, Ishikawa 929-0126, Japan
Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Closed Tuesdays
Fee: 400 yen
Basically, you are free to take pictures inside the museum.
There are things from Mr. Matsui's childhood to his major league career, and if you are a Matsui fan, there are many things you can look at all the time.
For example, this chair is from the old Yankee Stadium, where the seating was so complicated that even if your row number was A, seats 1 to 4 were in the front row, and seats 5 to 8 were in the second row.
So this exhibit is not just a case of seat numbers 5 and 6 being placed behind seat numbers 3 and 4, but the old Yankee Stadium had this type of seating configuration. Today's new Major League Baseball stadiums no longer have this type of construction.
If you went to see Matsui in New York between 2003 and 2008, you can also remember him as a Yankee from these seats.
Souvenirs
This is a museum, so if you like it, you will stay a little longer.
There is a corner at the entrance where you can buy souvenirs, so it's a good idea to check this out as well.
Explore Ishikawa
Travel Tips & Information
Here is the basic information about Ishikawa as a reference for planning your trip.
Professional Sports Teams in Ishikawa
（1）"Getting There & Around" Komatsu, Kaga
To get to the Komatsu/Kaga area, you can basically take the Shinkansen to Kanazawa, rent a car, and transfer to a conventional train, or if you are coming from the Kansai area, take the limited express train.
If you take the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo, it takes about three hours to get to Kanazawa.
From the Kansai area, it takes about 2 hours and 20 to 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach Komatsu and Kaga Onsen in Ishikawa Prefecture by limited express train "Thunderbird". From Nagoya, it takes about 2 hours and 4 minutes by the limited express Shirasagi.
Komatsu has its own airport, with domestic flights from Haneda, Sapporo, Fukuoka, and Naha.
From the airport, you can take a bus to the station, and then take a train to Kaga Onsen, Kanazawa, or Ashihara Onsen, Fukui.
（2）"Where to Stay" in Komatsu, Kaga
Kaga is famous for its "Kaga Onsen" (hot springs), so you can use this as your base.
Kanazawa is not too far away, so if you are thinking of a business hotel or a high-grade hotel, you may want to use Kanazawa as your base.
Kanazawa is a major tourist city in the Hokuriku region.
Famous foreign hotel chains have set up hotels in front of the station, and Kanazawa is a city with many high-ranked hotels in the Hokuriku area.
The following is a selection of hotels in the Komatsu and Kaga areas.
（3）"What to Do & See" in Komatsu, Kaga
Komatsu has the Hideki Matsui Baseball Museum.
Kaga has hot springs. The rest of the city, when it comes to sightseeing, you will have to go to Kanazawa.
Kenrokuen Garden, the biggest tourist spot in Kanazawa, is said to be one of the three most famous gardens in Japan, along with Korakuen Garden in Okayama City and Kairakuen Garden in Mito City. It is about two kilometers from Kanazawa Station.
At Higashi Chaya-machi, you can see the old streets full of emotion and enjoy meals.
The following is a selection of sightseeing spots in the Komatsu and Kaga areas.
（4）"What & Where to Eat" in Komatsu, Kaga
Ishikawa is a famous tourist city where you can enjoy both the sea and the mountains, so you have many choices of places to eat. You can eat ”nodoguro (red mullet)," Kanazawa curry, and gold leaf soft ice cream. The Hokuriku region is famous for its seafood, and especially in winter (December to February), yellowtail is in season and is also delicious.
