Watching 21 different sports in 2023 was always going to be difficult to match or beat this year, and neither did I really want to. My main focus in 2024 was just on my three favourite sports; football, rugby and tennis. However, there was still room to attend a few other sports from time to time, and it has to be said that this total was more than I realised I had done! Ranking them in order of preference is an impossible task so I have instead opted to just list them in alphabetical order.

1. Archery –  I actually had tickets for the archery in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics but of course the global coronavirus pandemic put paid to that. Whilst this event was far removed the glitz and glamour of the Olympics, it still gave me an idea of what it was like to see it. To be honest, it wasn’t so exciting as without the help of the TV cameras zooming in, it really is difficult to see the arrows and the target so well.

2. Auto-Race – Is it really a sport? It certainly is for the sake of this post! This is the lesser of the four gambling sports in Japan alongside horse racing, keirin and boat-race.  Watching the bikes flash by at about 150 kilometers per hour around the 500-meter asphalt track for six laps each time was more interesting than I thought it would be. More details here.

3. Baseball – Despite not really liking the sport I still ended up going to a couple of games in 2024 including my long-awaited return to the Mazda Stadium in Hiroshima, as well as my maiden trip to the Seibu Dome in Saitama a month before that. More details here.

4. Figure Skating – One of seven new sports for me in 2024. As is the way with competition decided by judges, it was difficult for me to notice too many differences in the performances. They all looked pretty spectacular to me! It was great to see a British duo in action too. More details here.

5. Football – The staple of my sporting life, and 2024 saw me attend over 30 matches across seven flights of Japanese mens football and the top two women’s leagues. It is the most I’ve ever seen in a calendar year and more importantly for me I was able to visit 11 grounds I’d never been to.

6. Gymnastics – A major Olympic sport but one that was difficult to fully appreciate without the TV commentators telling you what kind of moves the gymnasts were doing, and how good they were! For me, it all just looked hugely impressive! More details here.

7. Lacrosse – Having never seen more than a few seconds of this sport, it really was a complete new experience for me. It’s quite a fun spectator sport but there were many times when I had absolutely no idea what was going on!

8. Rugby – A record breaking year for rugby viewing as I attended 10 matches in just four  stadiums including two finals and a couple of international matches.

9. Table Tennis – This was one of 15 new sports for me to see in 2023, and the only one of those that I went to see again in 2024. This occasion in late August wasn’t quite as interesting as the 2023 one but still enjoyable enough, and I may watch another match in 2025.

10. Tennis – Six days of tennis action at five different tournaments was more than I’ve ever attended as I took my deepest ever dive into this sport. My highlights included seeing Naomi Osaka represent Japan in the Billie Jean King Cup, and watching Brits Jack Draper and Katie Boulter in their respective Japan Open tournaments.

11. Yabusame – This is a traditional Japanese sport combining horse-riding and archery with a long history dating back to 10th century Japan before becoming more established and famous in the Kamakura Period (1192-1334). Whether this form of horseback archery is actually a sport is debatable as it seems more like a cultural demonstration ritual but lets not worry about small matters like that! More details here.

12. Wrestling – Whilst the entertainment may be a far cry from WWE, it is a more straightforward test of skill, strength and strategy and, as something of a sporting purist, the uncertainty of it all makes it a more interesting spectacle. More details here.

Click here to read ‘How Many Olympic Sports Did I See Live In The 18 Month Build Up To Paris 2024?’

Click here to read ‘TF Top 10……Football Match Day Experiences So Far In 2024 (Part 2)’

Click here to read ‘TF Top 10……Football Match Day Experiences So Far In 2024 (Part 1)’

Click here to read ‘I Watched 15 Sports In Japan For The First Time In 2023’