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As diehard baseball fans flock to watch the two biggest US cities battle it out for a World Series title, many are coming from across the globe to this Los Angeles neighbourhood because of one single player. <\/p>\n
People here in the Little Tokyo suburb of LA call it the \u201cOhtani effect\u201d.<\/p>\n
Shohei Ohtani \u2013 the Los Angeles Dodgers\u2019 star player – looms large over the historic neighbourhood, personified in a 150ft (45m) mural and his name emblazoned across jerseys worn by fans here.<\/p>\n
Baseball may be known as \u201cAmerica\u2019s pastime\u201d, but its biggest star is from Japan. The player signed a recording-breaking contract to play this season – a whopping $700m (\u00a3540m) over 10 years – and the hype surrounding him has only grown, luring in new fans and new traditions in multicultural Los Angeles. <\/p>\n
Business has boomed here. Tourists come from all over – including from the star\u2019s home country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cWhen Shohei comes to bat \u2013 they know if he hits the home run we start pouring sake shots,\u201d says Don Tahara, the owner of Far Bar where dozens of TVs show Dodgers games. Home runs equal free rice wine – often to hundreds of fans.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a lot of sake. Ohtani has hit 54 home runs during this regular season \u2013 although none so far in the World Series against the New York Yankees.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good for the Dodgers \u2013 maybe not so great for my pocketbook. But it\u2019s meaningful, it warms my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Far Bar has been packed during the World Series.<\/p>\n
Mr Tahara passed out mochi, a Japanese rice cake, decorated with the Dodgers\u2019 logo and free margarita shots to honour Fernando Valenzuela, the Dodgers legend who recently died. The Mexico-born, left-handed pitcher is also being immortalised in a mural \u2013 across the river from Little Tokyo in Boyle Heights.<\/p>\n
Splattered in paint, muralist Robert Vargas took a break from painting Valenzuela to watch the game at Far Bar. It\u2019s hard to imagine Mr Vargas buying his own drink at Far Bar \u2013 in Little Tokyo he is possibly as beloved as Ohtani for immortalising the baseball star on the massive wall of the Miyako Hotel.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been a Dodger fan my whole life,\u201d says Mr Vargas, who says he painted Ohtani \u201cin the spirit of representation\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
And the mural has become a popular destination for tourists from Japan who come by the busload to pose for photos with the artwork.<\/p>\n
Takatani Kiuchi travelled from Japan to attend Game 2 of the series at Dodger Stadium in the heart of Los Angeles and he watched Game 3 from Far Bar with his friends. Dressed head-to-toe in Dodgers gear and Ohtani jerseys, Kiuchi met fans from around Los Angeles and the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are new Dodgers fans. From Tokyo. For us it\u2019s more about the Yankees versus Dodgers \u2013 that means a lot more than the World Series.\u201d<\/p>\n
They were excited that the second game of the series also featured the other Japanese star on the team – Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, pitching six innings, allowing just one hit by the Yankees.<\/p>\n
Kiuchi last came to Los Angeles as a child 50 years ago and says he will definitely return to see the Dodgers play again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe came here to see this,\u201d Kiuchi cheered as the Dodgers\u2019 Freddie Freeman hit a home run during Game 3 and the bar\u2019s crowd erupted into cheers.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s tourism board is also cheering. In 2023, there were 230,000 visitors from Japan to Los Angeles, a 91.7 percent increase from 2022. <\/p>\n
And by year-end, the city is projected to welcome 320,000 visitors, says Bill Karz, the senior vice-president of brand marketing at LA Tourism. It\u2019s still a drop from pre-pandemic levels, but tourism officials are celebrating the rise.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Ohtani effect is real,\u201d says Karz. \u201cIt impacts our entire economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
That, he says, results in boosted hotel occupancy, ticket sales at area theme parks like Universal Studios and tours of Dodger Stadium, which has, in turn, increased the number of Japanese language tours it runs.<\/p>\n
Even some devoted Yankee fans have jumped on the Ohtani bandwagon.<\/p>\n
In a sea of Dodger blue, Vince Gonzales sported a black and red \u201cOhtani\u201d shirt from the Japanese national team.<\/p>\n
\u201cShhh, I\u2019m a Yankee fan,\u201d he whispered at the bar while mingling with tourists from Japan. \u201cBut more importantly, I\u2019m an Ohtani fan because I have a passion for Japanese baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Far Bar erupted into cheers and \u201cI love LA\u201d blasted from the sound system when game three ended in a Dodger victory. <\/p>\n
Robert Vargas \u2013 the muralist \u2013 wasn\u2019t able to sneak away. A woman from Japan ran out of the bar to beg him for photos in front of the mural. He obliged and soon, there were dozens of people posing with him for photos and chanting: \u201cLets Go, Dodgers!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n