The Shohei Ohtani Economy: a two-mile journey to Dodger Stadium, for $85

It’s virtually time for Dodger baseball. I’m standing outdoors a resort in downtown Los Angeles.

I may stroll six blocks to Union Station and journey the free Dodger Stadium Express. I may soar into an Uber and pay about $18 for the two-mile journey.

Instead, to make that quick hop to the ballpark, I’m about to board a really good bus that prices $85.

Is it value it?

First, some background: The Japanese journey company JTB final yr signed a sponsorship settlement that makes the corporate the “official Japanese tourism partner” of the Dodgers. JTB sells tour packages to Japanese followers desirous to make the pilgrimage to see Shohei Ohtani play.

“Some people go to Disneyland and Universal Studios,” mentioned Masakazu Nakafuji, normal supervisor of JTB’s New York workplace. “Mainly, people want to see the Dodgers for three straight days at Dodger Stadium.”

The tour packages embody recreation tickets, resort rooms and transportation. However, not each fan from Japan buys the whole tour bundle, so the corporate launched a shuttle service: If you get tickets and accommodations by yourself, we’ll promote you a VIP journey, with a bilingual information.

“So far, our shuttle customers are 90% Japanese,” Nakafuji mentioned. “We are going to try to expand in the English-language market.”

On the shuttle bus I rode final week, I met Tsutomu and Sayuri Ichikawa, a pair from Tokyo sporting his and hers Roki Sasaki jerseys. The Ichikawas visited in May, on a JTB tour wherein they noticed three Dodgers video games. The couple got here again to see six extra Dodgers video games on their very own, so the shuttle provided them a well-known method to get to Dodger Stadium.

Tsutomu, left, and Sayuri Ichikawa have been amongst these on a JTB shuttle bus for a July 30 Dodgers recreation towards the Seattle Mariners.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

I additionally met a girl named Colleen and her 8-year-old son, wearing an Ohtani jersey. Colleen, who declined to provide her final identify, was visiting from Chicago. She mentioned she had looked for shuttle buses on-line and thought of them a greater choice than “having to take an Uber or take public transportation at night with a child” on a primary go to to Dodger Stadium.

And I met Lina Endo of Seattle, right here for 3 video games towards her beloved Mariners. She attended the primary two video games with pals and selected to take the shuttle for the third recreation, since she could be alone.

“I wanted to check out the early entry too, so it makes sense from a cost perspective,” Endo mentioned.

Ah, sure, the associated fee. Is the $85 value it?

As if the Dodgers don’t already cost sufficient for tickets, the staff gives an “early entry” add-on option for many video games: For anyplace from $40 to $70, relying on the sport, you may get in three hours earlier than recreation time, an hour earlier than most followers. That lets you watch the Dodgers take batting follow on the sphere, though Ohtani not often does, and get to the pinnacle of the road for giveaway objects, stadium sights and staff shops.

The JTB excursions and shuttle buses embody early entry. For one fan, $45 for Dodger Stadium parking plus $40 for early entry equals $85 for a JTB shuttle.

For a household of 4, although, $45 for parking plus $160 for early entry continues to be lower than $340 for 4 tickets for the shuttle bus. In equity, JTB shouldn’t be focusing its shuttle service on locals.

“They are driving, right?” Nakafuji mentioned.

The shuttle bus driver factors within the route he’s attempting to go within the Dodger Stadium car parking zone earlier than a recreation final month.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

They could be taking the Dodger Stadium Express from Union Station, or an Uber or Lyft. If there’s a gross sales pitch to native followers, that is it: Just how lengthy do you need to take getting out of Dodger Stadium? The watch for the Dodger Stadium Express or a rideshare pickup, and the slog out of the stadium and alongside Sunset Boulevard, might be excruciating.

“It’s a headache,” Nakafuji mentioned.

The JTB shuttles go away precisely half-hour after the tip of the ninth inning. If you need to keep for additional innings, a fireworks present, or a drone present, you threat discovering your individual manner again.

Sounds harsh. But, on the night time I rode the shuttle bus, it took simply quarter-hour to flee the car parking zone and return to the resort. If time is cash, possibly the $85 is value it.

Of course, in quarter-hour, you’ll be able to stroll downhill from Dodger Stadium to the Metro Chinatown station, and one other 5 minutes to Union Station.

Still, past the gross sales of takoyaki (octopus fritters) at a Dodger Stadium concession stand and Ohtani-endorsed pores and skin serum within the staff retailer, right here’s one other financial indicator within the Shohei Ohtani Economy: a two-mile bus journey for $85.