Nicknamed "Okawari-kun (おかわり君)" (roughly translating to second helpings) for his large, overweight frame, Nakamura is one of Japan's premier power hitters.

He raised his average to .285 in the 2009 season and set a career high with 48 home runs to lead the league for the second straight year.

In 2018 with the team, Nakamura played in 97 games and recorded a .265/.329/.526 batting line with 28 home runs and 74 RBI.

[1] After hitting .277/.335/.424 with 9 home runs and 38 RBI in the first half of the 2021 season, Nakamura was named an All-Star for the eighth time in his career.

On July 6, 2022, Nakamura set the all-time record for strikeouts by a batter with 1,956, passing Kazuhiro Kiyohara.