Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki are all Dodgers. And a Japanese fan base has coalesced around its interest in the team.

Ohtani’s star power is unmatched, and the Dodgers are seeing the fruits of Sho-economics. When they signed him, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman preached the idea of “painting Japan Dodger blue.” Now, the team is seeing that in person.

More than 10,000 fans show up at the Tokyo Dome to watch the Dodgers practice and cheer for Shohei Ohtani’s brief appearance on the field. Their first exhibition game is Saturday at 3 a.m. PT.

In an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants, Shohei Ohtani blasted a 391-foot home run that gave Japanese fans a reason to shower the Los Angeles Dodgers star with applause.

Shohei Ohtani met the moment in his return to the Tokyo Dome, because of course he did. In Saturday’s exhibition against the Yomiuri Giants, Ohtani – ever the showman – was quick to slug a home run while wearing a major league uniform in his home country for the first time for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Catch the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Hanshin Tigers in the Tokyo Series this Saturday on MLB.TV. The Dodgers have made the trip to Japan and will play in their second exhibition game before playing a two-game regular season set against the Chicago Cubs starting Tuesday.

Last year, the Padres and Dodgers got the MLB regular season started early with two games in South Korea. This year, it’s the Cubs and Dodgers kicking things off the week before league-wide Opening Day.

The spotlight will be on slugger Shohei Ohtani this week when the superstar returns to Japan and leads the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the Chicago Cubs in the first two games of the Major League Baseball season at the Tokyo Dome.