The rumors have finally been confirmed: The Chicago Cubs are opening next season in Tokyo.
The Cubs 2025 schedule (which was released Thursday) features two games in Tokyo against the Los Angeles Dodgers, set to be played March 18-19 at the Tokyo Dome, to open the new season. It’ll be the second time in three years the Cubs will have played overseas (2023 London Series), and it’ll also be the second time they will have opened a season in Japan, 25 years after doing so in 2000 against the New York Mets (also the first regular season games held in Japan).
The Tokyo Series will feature some major star power from Japanese-born players. The Cubs will bring along Shota Imanaga, who will be fresh off his All-Star rookie year, and Seiya Suzuki, who will be entering his fourth season in the majors. Meanwhile, the Dodgers will counter with both Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, their high-profile free-agent signings (Ohtani from the Angels, Yamamoto out of Japan) from this past winter.
After that two-game series in Tokyo — in which the North Siders will be considered the “home” team — the Cubs will return stateside to close out spring training in Mesa, Ariz. They’ll then stay in the area to continue the rest of their regular season on March 27 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the beginning of a four-game set, followed by three against the Athletics, who are planning to play their home games in Sacramento.
The Cubs will return to Wrigley Field on April 4 for their home opener against the San Diego Padres.
Other Cubs 2025 schedule highlights
- The Cubs will play every American League team for the third consecutive season.
- The Crosstown Classic is back to being six games long, with the Cubs and White Sox playing three-game sets from May 16-18 at Wrigley Field and July 25-27 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
- The Cubs are scheduled to host five holiday games: Easter (April 20) versus the Diamondbacks; Memorial Day (May 26) versus the Colorado Rockies; Father’s Day (June 15) versus the Pittsburgh Pirates; Independence Day (July 4) versus the St. Louis Cardinals; and Labor Day (Sept. 1) versus the Atlanta Braves.
- The Cubs end their 2025 regular season with a three-game home series against the rival Cardinals.
