Once I’d visited Sapporo Dome for the first time back in 2015, my sights were then set on the next most appealing Japanese stadium that was used in the FIFA World Cup of 2002. Nine years later and that dream was finally realised but was the match I saw live fitting of the occasion and my presence?!

It was 22 years ago that Japan and Korea co-hosted the biggest football tournament on earth. As much as I got into that World Cup, I have to admit that I wasn’t really aware of this particular stadium in Oita until a few years after I’d moved here. It played host to two group matches (both 1-1 draws between Tunisia and Belgium, and Mexico and Italy) and one Round of 16 match where Senegal beat Sweden 2-1 in extra time.

Five years ago, this stadium was again in the spotlight on the world stage as it was used for five Rugby World Cup matches in the month of October with a couple of them being the quarter finals featuring between England and Australia, and Wales and France. That was when I really started to think seriously about visiting this futuristic-looking stadium but then Covid_19 soon came along and the idea got put on hold for a few years.

Back at the end of June I flew to Kyushu for three days of travel around a trio of prefectures which began in Oita. Once I’d visited the samurai district of Kitsuki and a couple of other places, it was time to make my way to the Oita Big Eye Stadium known these days as Resonac Oita Dome. Getting there takes a bit of effort as it involves taking a special matchday bus from Oita station which is quite a common thing at many out-of-town stadiums. However, this one cost 440 yen and took about 35-40 minutes which is the longest I’ve ever experienced. There wasn’t even any traffic congestion to justify such a duration either!

My 1st sighting of the stadium after disembarking from the bus

As the bus was closing in on the stadium I noticed a tower in the park nearby so decided to investigate in the name of getting a rare aerial-like shot of the stadium’s wonderful architecture. After walking for about ten minutes in the opposite direction to the rest of the crowd I finally located the structure. It was a good decision and I was delighted that it was possible to climb it freely without another soul in sight.

With kick off getting ever-closer I made my way back over to the stadium for a quick look around some of the exterior.

This futuristic looking stadium was designed by renowned Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa who was responsible for the Toyota Stadium (home of Nagoya Grampus) as well as dozens more wonderful-looking buildings. Oita Big Eye Stadium opened in May 2001 at a cost of 25 billion yen ($168 million).

It does have a retractable dome roof using a wire traction system but it was actually broken when this match took place back at the end of June. Had it been operating properly then it may well have been closed as the conditions were drizzly! I was quite glad by that news as it allowed me to see the interior in the way I wanted.

If you think I’ve been talking a lot about the stadium itself and past events there, then that is because this J2 match really was quite dire. Very little of note happened during the 90 minutes.

Only in the last ten minutes or so did the two teams wake up and try to actually score.

The following night’s match at Sagan Tosu was located just a few minutes walk from the nearest station. Had that been the case for this match in Oita then I may well have left much earlier as the action on the pitch was awful. Thankfully the atmosphere and the stadium itself helped to make up for that.

Of the ten stadiums used in the 2002 World Cup, I have now been to eight but with the other two being used very irregularly (Nagai Stadium in Osaka and Miyagi Stadium) it may be difficult to complete the set. I will try though.

Final Score: Oita Trinita 0-0 Ventforet Kofu

Click here to read ‘Watching Football In Niigata At The Stadium Used In The 2002 FIFA World Cup’

Click here to read ‘An Afternoon In The Samurai District With Sloping Streets Aplenty, Japan’s Smallest Castle & It’s Largest Iron Buddha Statue Too!’

Click here to read ‘TF Flashback: World Cup Museum & Stadium Tour In Seoul (2006)’

Click here to read ‘Our Own Private Tour Of The Stadium In Yokohama Which Hosted The 2002 World Cup Final’