The ongoing Japan Series between the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and the Yomiuri Giants marks the second time these two clubs have met to decide the championship of Japanese baseball. They also faced each other in 1981, and there have been a lot of changes since that first meeting 28 years ago.
For one thing, the Fighters were not in Hokkaido. The franchise was in Tokyo, and the Nippon Ham home ballpark was Korakuen Stadium, the same venue where the Giants played their home games. So, it was a "runway series."
That is, when the teams took turns as the host and visitor, they simply moved their equipment from the first base side to third — or vice versa — walking about 30 seconds through the runway corridor that connected the two sides of the stadium.