Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo, left, playing for the first time in 13 days due to back problems, misses the tag at second on a steal by the Reds’ Jeff Keppinger yesterday.

AP / Charles Krupa

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Boston Red Sox are ready to say sayonara to spring training and hello to the rest of the world.

Immediately after Wednesday’s last exhibition game here, the team will board a jumbo 777 jet to begin an 18-day journey through three countries, including Japan, Canada and the United States. The Red Sox will open the 2008 season with a pair of regular-season games against the Oakland Athletics in the Ricoh Japan Major League Opening Series.

Along with the regular-season games in Tokyo against the A’s, the Red Sox will face the Hanshin Tigers and the Yomiuri Giants in a pair of exhibition games to showcase Major League Baseball to Japan.

The club held security meetings at the City of Palms Park with players and personnel yesterday. The team will leave on Wednesday and fly to Chicago to fuel the plane before heading to Japan, where it will arrive at approximately midnight on Friday.

Even though the travel will be arduous, the Red Sox are still concentrating on winning.

“It’s important for us to just focus on the winning,” said general manager Theo Epstein. “Ultimately, we’re going there to play two games that count and try to win them. Nothing is going to sneak up on us because the team is pretty prepared for what we’re going to face. We’ll make the best of it. We’ll try to have fun and win two games. I know a lot has been made of this, but if this is the toughest obstacle we’re going to face this year, we’ll be pretty lucky.”

The GM also said that the real challenge will come once the season gets under way back in the States, so the club will just try to make the most of this upcoming experience.

When the idea of the Red Sox opening the season in Japan became a reality last season, the players weren’t too thrilled about it. Now that it’s only a few days away, they’ve warmed up to it.

“I’ve been impressed with the players’ attitude and approach to it, and that’s a big factor,” said Epstein.

Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is a hero in Japan. The personable and outgoing Ortiz was a member of the MLB All-Star team that participated in a series of games against Japanese All-Stars in 2004. In fact, Big Papi crushed a 514-foot home run in one of the games. He spoke recently about his experience in Japan in a colorful way.

“It’s going to be crazy, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” he said. “Flying for 18 hours, I’m going to bring my pajamas and pillow.”

Even the players who voiced some reservations about the trip initially, including Ortiz, have come around.

“That was just me talking trash,” joked Ortiz. “I have to do what they say because I’m an employee; [2004] was fine. It’s a different culture and it’s total opposite of everything we do here, the total opposite.”

Ortiz recalled his first cab ride in Japan and said he had to sit sideways because his 6-foot-4, 230-pound frame wouldn’t fit in the smaller vehicles

“When I saw the dude driving on the other side of the road I was like, ‘What’s going on here?’ Then we hit a curve and I was like, ‘No way. This is not happening.’ But the people are very respectful and very educated. The place is clean, bro. I did have a hard time with the food until I found a Chinese restaurant, and I was there every day. I was killing it. There was one day when I stepped in the front door and the guy was like, ‘Again?’ I did have trouble sleeping, but it turned good.”

Veteran pitcher Tim Wakefield has been told by the Red Sox that he will start the second exhibition game in Japan. He’s never been to Japan, and he said he’s eager to go.

“I’m looking forward to playing in a different country and getting a chance to compete against other people,” he said. “I’m not looking forward to the trip there, but I’m looking forward to being able to represent Major League Baseball internationally. It’s a great opportunity for us to take our sport to a different level.”

It’s possible Jon Lester could be the Opening Day starter in Japan since Josh Beckett has been sidelined with an injured back

“It’ll be great,” said Lester, who closed out the 2007 season as the winning pitcher in the World Series, clinching Game Four in Denver. “It will definitely be a lot of fun in a different atmosphere. It’s unfortunate how you get to be that starter.”

Because of the tough travel schedule, the Red Sox are making it a priority to ensure the health of their players. Beckett, center fielder Coco Crisp (groin) and possibly Julio Lugo (back) and Bobby Kielty (calf) may not make the trip. The team is allowed to take 30 players, with 25 active for a game, and the Sox will be allowed to make transactions without any penalties.

“You can make a case for nobody getting on that flight,” said manager Terry Francona. “That’s what’s difficult about this trip — not just the physical nature of it, but making decisions.”

Lugo was a member of the Tampa Bay Rays that played the New York Yankees in a similar series to begin the 2004 season in Japan. That season, the Yankees said the travel had a negative effect on their early-season games in the United States, and Lugo said the Rays were affected, too. Still, he said, it was a good experience.

“I liked it very much,” said Lugo. “They are very respectful people and very friendly. There are a lot of different things that you don’t see in America. There’s a lot of history and a lot of religion. The fans are great and they love baseball. It’s a good trip for everybody, and I think everybody is going to like it.”

Most of the players are taking their wives and kids with them. Reliever Manny Delcarmen and his wife are taking their six-month-old son.

It will certainly be a special trip for pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima as they return to their homeland with rock-star status. There was some concern that Matsuzaka wouldn’t be able to make the trip because he and his wife were expecting their second child. But Tomoyo gave birth to a boy yesterday, and it appears the pitcher will be able to make the trip back to his homeland with his teammates.

In fact, the Red Sox’ players are interested to see what type of welcome their Japanese teammates receive from their fellow countrymen.

“I would think it would be very special,” said Francona. “They may downplay it; they may not. But I would think it would be pretty special. … It will be interesting because I know the culture is different and I don’t think we can fully appreciate the magnitude of how they are viewed. Maybe we’ll get a dose of that.”

When the trip was finalized, a lot of the Red Sox’ players quizzed Matsuzaka about the food and the language.

“I can tell everyone is looking forward to the trip,” Matsuzaka said. “For the players, it’s going to be very physically demanding, but I just hope we can get a couple of wins, and those will be our good memories.”

jmcdonal@projo.com