Japanese High School Baseball Invitational Tournament 2.3

The National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament of Japan, commonly known as "Spring Kōshien" or "Senbatsu", is an annual high school baseball tournament.The tournament, organized by the Japan High School Baseball Federation and Mainichi Shimbun, takes place each year in March at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in the Koshien district of Nishinomiya City, Hyōgo, Japan.Teams qualify for the tournament by participating in the regional fall tournaments held throughout the country. While finishing in the top teams generally guarantees an invitation, it is up to the Japan High School Baseball Federation to determine invitees. For instance, in the 2008 Fall Tournament in the Tōhoku region, Ichinoseki Gakuin was the runner-up. However, they were passed over for 3rd place Hanamaki Higashi for the 2009 invitation tournament.Of the 32 bids, 26 are automatically awarded as follows to the following regions: Hokkaido - 1 Tōhoku - 2 Kantō - 4 Tokyo - 1 Tōkai - 2 Hoku-shin'etsu - 2 Kinki - 6 Chūgoku - 2 Shikoku - 2 Kyushu including Okinawa - 4 In addition, one additional bid is awarded to a team in the Kanto/Tokyo region, and another to a team in the Chugoku/Shikoku region.