At the start of April 2015 Leicester City were rooted to the bottom of the Premier League seven points from safety and now one year on they are top of the table and seven points ahead of nearest rivals Spurs. What an incredible 12 months it’s been for Foxes fans. Of course, there’s no way in hell I’m gonna say it’s all over but, as it stands, things are looking pretty good!
When I was interviewed by Ian Stringer on BBC Radio Leicester in February 2014 I jokingly told him that I was the “Chairman of the Leicester City Supporters Club – 1 member and growing.” It was a flippant throwaway comment but two years on and things have certainly changed. Of course there were always a few supporters in and around Tokyo that I didn’t know about but numbers have certainly grown since then though I wonder how many of them are at these events purely and only because of Okazaki.
The 3rd LCFC supporters night took place for yesterdays game against Southampton which was a 9:30 pm kick off (1:30 pm BST) over here and there were about 20 of us in one of the branches of The Hub in Shinjuku. The staff of this “British” chain of pubs have all been wearing blue football shirts recently but they are sadly the ones of last years Premier League champions Chelsea!
This is the match that matters in Japan for it features the teams which the two Japanese players in the Premier League play for. Sadly, defender Maya Yoshida was only on the bench for Southampton but Shinji Okazaki took his regular starting position in a Leicester team that has picked itself for a long time now.
The commentary was actually on in Japanese when the match started but thankfully one of the European guys spoke up to get it changed to English which I was very glad of. After all, it is supposed to be a British bar so should feel a bit more like it right?! It was a fairly sluggish start from the home team but once Captain Morgan headed home on 38 minutes I was surprisingly comfortable with the situation given our recent form for holding onto single goal leads.
The atmosphere in the pub was good and there was even the occasional sing-song moment as well as plenty of clapping as we willed on Leicester from 9000+ kilometres away.
Personally, I haven’t watched such an important Leicester game in a relaxed manner since the Coca Cola Cup semi-final 2nd leg (against Wimbledon) in 1997. Alcohol was inevitably the reason for that and prior to this match I had spent the afternoon drinking beer in Inokashira Park (Kichijoji) for our annual cherry blossom party. What a day it was and now with just six games to go the miracle could actually happen. Not even a fox should count their chickens though!
Click here to read ‘Leicester City Supporters Night In Tokyo Bar’
Click here to read ‘Tokyo Fox On BBC Radio Leicester Boot Room Special’
Tokyo Fox (東京狐) 
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Hi Tokyo Fox,
I’m from Leicester and would like to join you for the Sunderland game tomorrow night. Are there any tickets left? If so, what’s the procedure? Where is the bar? How much does it cost?
Hi there thenrecordedman
Sorry but there isn’t actually any get-together planned for tomorrow’s game. The match will be shown in the British and Irish bars in Tokyo (9:30 KO but I guess u know that!). Not sure when the next event will be. Maybe not till the Man Utd away game is the plan I think though I am out of town when that one is on. Do you live in Japan or are you just visiting?
It hadn’t occurred to me that the Leicester game would be on at pretty much any English bar. I live between Machida and Shin-Yurigaoka so I should be able to find somewhere in either of those two places. Actually, I’m still not used to the idea that anyone other than me would want to watch them!
Yes, I have lived here on and off for 13 years but still speak no Japanese, for which I have no excuse. I spend spring and autumn here and go back to Leicester for summer and winter. I think you know William Tillotson? We work for the same language school. It was through him I heard about you. Then I read your blog and liked it…Andy Carroll has just scored his third against Arsenal. Now we just need Spurs to lose, too, then I can breathe easy.
Pretty much every single game has been on this season. Many of them are also shown slightly delayed on NHK BSi if you can’t get to a bar.
Didn’t know william’s surname but yeah I met him last sunday.
What is the BSi part of NHK and can I get it on my TV? If so, which channel? How delayed is it? Several hours or several minutes?
ah well too late to answer this question! If you have cable tv then you should get it by just pressing the BS button on your remote
Hi Tokyo Fox,
Are you all meeting up for the Man Utd game? If so, are there any tickets left? If so I’d like to come. How much are the tickets by the way?
I have just looked up the Hub in Nishi-Shinjuku where you meet and it seems that Sangubashi is the nearest station. Is that right? (I’m planning my escape for the last train home to Machida).
Hi there. As i think I may have mentioned in a previous comment I am out of town when this game is on which is very annoying as I’m worrying how I’ll get to see it. As for others meeting up, I haven’t seen anything mentioned at all so I guess not. These things are usually planned a fair while in advance.
For the record, JR Shinjuku is the closest station to that hub but not much use if none of us are there!
Thanks for the reply. I’ll make other arrangements. Good luck with trying to see the game.
It’s on!! You’re in luck! 9pm at that hub. Let @Leicester_CityJ know if u can!
Thank a lot for letting me know!
ok now I’m home i can let you know more details. mail: leicester.city.japan@gmail.com telling him you wanna join the party. Sorry that I can’t meet you this time but there’s next season!! Enjoy!
Thanks for going to the trouble of giving me the contact details. In the last couple of hours I have been asked to escort someone to their flat in Machida on Sunday evening and I think the earliest I could get to the Hub would be 22.00. So, I’d probably be there for the kick off but it might be kind of a rush. I’m still thinking. But thanks again.
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