Singaporean 'city boy' quits job to play pro baseball in Japanese onsen town

SINGAPORE: In a small Japanese town known for its hot springs, life is simple for Eleazar Ng.

The Singaporean wakes up at 6am, cleans the house, prepares his meals and troops onto a team bus.

After a typical day on the practice field, the 23-year-old returns to his two-storey home shared with Indonesian and Sri Lankan teammates.

The evening is spent washing uniforms and having dinner before drifting off to sleep on futons.

This is the daily routine of a professional baseball player for the Saga Indonesia Dreams team in sleepy Ureshino on Kyushu island.

It is far from glamourous, but it is what Ng has signed up for.

The captain and pitcher of Singapore's national baseball team, Ng started off playing softball in primary school before making the switch in his late teens. 

It was at a tournament in Hong Kong last year when Ng first heard about an opportunity to play for Saga Indonesia Dreams from Uchida Hideyuki, a former head coach of the Singapore team. 

Saga Indonesia Dreams is operated by the Neo Asia Japan organisation, which aims to develop baseball in the region.

The team currently play in the independent Kyushu Asia League, which is among several different types of leagues plying their trade below Japan's highest-tier Nippon Professional Baseball league. 

"As an athlete, obviously you want to play at a higher level," said Ng.

"At the same time, when you think about playing overseas and taking a pause in your career path in Singapore and moving away from chasing the Singaporean dream, is that really feasible? Is that realistic?"

For Ng, a regular in the Republic of Singapore Air Force at the time, there were also financial considerations such as the need to save up for university studies.

But a turning point came months later