The ever changing poses of Tokyo Fox!!

This third and final compilation of the year is a bumper edition featuring 12 matches (rather than the usual 10!) at a total of 10 different grounds in four prefectures including a few I’d never watched football at before.

A couple of these have had their own blog posts but the majority of them weren’t really considered to be worthy of a solitary post so I have collated them into this rankings list. As ever, it’s certainly not one to be taken too seriously as it’s based on a mixture of occasion, weather, people I met, the stadium and maybe even the football itself! For the record, I have enjoyed all of them in different ways.

12. FC Korea 3-0 Sperio Johoku @ Akabane Sports-no-mori Park, Kita-ku (Tokyo), 27th October (18:50 KO)

A thunderbolt third goal but what will live longer in the memory for me was the surprising number of fans present late on a rainy Sunday night. There was also an absolutely sensational save from the FC Korea goalkeeper when the score was 2-0.

Weather: Rainy, Price: FREE, Attendance: 131

11. Edo All United 1-2 Shibuya City FC @ Nissan Field Kozukue, Yokohama (Kanagawa Prefecture), 17th November (11:00 KO)

The first of a few cup finals to appear in this list and this one was played in the shadows of the mammoth Nissan Stadium. The ambitious Shibuya FC took a 2-0 lead but had to rely on a couple of great saves from their  keeper to keep the opposition at bay. Edo eventually broke through via a long throw to set up a tense finale but Shibuya held their nerve to gain promotion.

Weather: Sunny, Price: FREE, Attendance: Unknown

10. Urawa Reds Ladies 1-1 AS Elfen Saitama @ Urawa Komaba Stadium, Urawa-ku (Saitama Prefecture), 20th November (18:00 KO)

A thunderbolt equaliser in injury time rescued a point for the away team on a wet night in Saitama which I’ll remember more for the long cycle ride (75 minutes!) back home in the pouring rain!

Weather: Wet, Price: 2500 yen, Attendance: 1,340

9. Sfida Setagaya FC 2-2 Nippatsu Yokohama FC Seagulls @ Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka, Kita-ku (Tokyo), 8th September (16:00 KO)

An enjoyable first half as the home team took control and my friend Marcus were expecting a repeat of the previous season’s match between these sides which saw Sfida thrash Nippatsu. Not this time as the opposition fought back to get a well deserved point.

Weather: Cloudy, Price: 1500 yen, Attendance: 783

8. Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina 1-0 INAC Kobe @ Japan National Stadium, Shinjuku-ku (Tokyo), 29th December (13:00 KO)

The Kracie Cup final was my final match of 2024 but as is often the case with such showpiece occasions, it really didn’t live up to its billing. Thousands of tickets were given away to this one for free and the Hiroshima fans far outweighed the Kobe ones but the match was actually quite disappointing. Still, I had a good time though watching it all unfold with a friend.

Weather: Sunny, Price: FREE, Attendance: 21,524

7. Gamba Osaka 0-1 Vissel Kobe @ Japan National Stadium, Shinjuku-ku (Tokyo), 23rd November (14:00 KO)

Yet another final which disappointed on the field but the spectacle and occasion was grand with a wonderful atmosphere inside throughout the match. A sunny day as well as meeting up with some people both pre and post match all helped to make it a lovely day out as a neutral fan.

Weather: Sunny, Price: 4000 yen, Attendance: 56,824

6. Shimizu S-Pulse 1-1 Yokohama FC @ Japan National Stadium, Shinjuku-ku (Tokyo), 28th September (18:00 KO)

This top-of-the-table J2 clash didn’t see as much goalmouth action as anticipated but the largest ever attendance for a second tier match in Japan meant the atmosphere made up for that.

Weather: Cloudy, Price: 2000 yen, Attendance: 55,598

5. J-League Select U15’s 7-3 Newcastle United U15’s @ Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Minato-ku (Tokyo), 2nd August (19:00 KO)

Admittedly, my main reason for attending this match was just because it was a rare chance to see football at this rugby ground. Thankfully I was rewarded (for my free ticket!) with a match which was one of the highest scoring ones I’ve ever witnessed.

Weather: Cloudy, Price: FREE, Attendance: 1,050

4. Urawa Reds 1-4 Newcastle United @ Saitama Stadium 2002, Midori-ku (Saitama Prefecture), 31st July (19:30 KO)

The toon army’s first match in Japan for 33 years saw them ease to a comfortable win although their keeper pulled off a couple of amazing saves to give them breathing space not that the results ever matter too much in such international friendly match ups. Newcastle may not have the support that the big English clubs have but they showed there is something of a fan base in Japan. More details here.

Weather: Cloudy, Price: 5000 yen, Attendance: 13,763

3. Renofa Yamaguchi 4-3 Tochigi SC @ Ishin Me-Life Stadium, Yamaguchi (Yamaguchi Prefecture), 10th August (19:00 KO)

With the home club chasing a play off place I guess I was expecting a more comfortable win against a team in the lower depths of J2 but it turned out to be much closer as Tochigi fought so well on a humid night. Had they not struggled with low crosses into their box resulting in two own goals then they may have got more from this game. This seven goal thriller was reward for one of my longest ever matchday experiences! More details here.

Weather: Humid, Price: 2000 yen, Attendance: 6,337

2. Omiya Ardija 3-2 Fukushima United @ Nack5 Stadium Omiya (Saitama Prefecture), 13th October (14:00 KO)

Despite being one of the closest to the Tokyo Fox Global Operations Centre in Itabashi-ku, I had only seen one match at this wonderful rectangular-style stadium in Omiya before this one. This was a great game with chances aplenty and a bit of an end-of-season party as the home team sealed promotion back to J2 on a lovely sunny afternoon.

Weather: Sunny, Price: 2300 yen, Attendance: 11,274

1. FC Tokyo 0-0 Tokyo Verdy @ Ajinomoto Stadium, Chofu (Tokyo), 17th August (19:00 KO)

A scoreless draw at number one?? You better believe it! On the sweatiest of August summer nights, I spent the match with the Verdy faithful and what an atmosphere it was. Technically, Verdy were the away team and they really should have come away with all three points.

Weather: Hot & humid, Price: 3900 yen, Attendance: 39,921

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

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 2023 (Part 1)’

Click here to read ‘TF Top 10……Football Match Day Experiences In 2023 (Part 2)’