Baseball mania reached fever pitch in Japan on Friday with public appearances of national hero Shohei Ohtani and other Japanese players set to take part in MLB season-opening games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs.

Giving his surgically repaired pitching arm a rest, Ohtani became MLB’s first 50 home run, 50 stolen bases man, culminating in a World Series in his first year with the Dodgers after six frustrating seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.

The Los Angeles Dodgers arrived at Haneda Airport (previously known as Tokyo International Airport and often abbreviated to Tokyo-Haneda) in Japan to plenty of excitement and a massive wave of fans ahead of playing in the Tokyo Series next week.