Having been to Japan’s newest topflight stadium last May, I decided to look elsewhere for some football action whilst in Hiroshima for four nights over the Japanese holiday season known as Golden Week (late April till early May). There are usually two rounds of fixtures in the J-League divisions which naturally increases your chances of being able to watch the team you want to see at home.

There were regional matches taking place at grounds I’d never been to in Hiroshima which was appealing but then I began to look a bit further afield and decided to treat myself to an away day adventure at a lower league stadium I’d long wanted to visit in another prefecture. Family matters took up most of the time in Hiroshima but I’d told my wife that I wanted a day to myself on May 3rd for football and travel. I didn’t tell her where I was going and she never asked afterwards either!

Approximately an hour south on the Shinkansen (bullet train) is Kokura in the northern part of Kyushu, the most southern of Japan’s four main islands. Just ten minutes on foot from that station is Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu, the home of J3 side Giravanz Kitakyushu. There are stadiums closer to stations in Japan but I’m not sure if any are located that near to a bullet train station.

My 1st view of Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu

Having left my parents-in-law’s apartment in Hiroshima at 5:00 am I was on the 06:05 am bullet train to Kokura which arrived 70 minutes later thereby giving me about six hours to visit a few sights in the area before finishing my day with the football match.

For someone who usually views sport in the cheapest possible way, this was quite the opposite as the Shinkansen cost about 8,000 yen ($51/37 GBP) each way but money splashed out on that was compensated a little by the ticket only costing 500 yen ($3/2.30 GBP) as I had a 1,500-yen discount coupon to use on what was already a cheap ticket.

Giravanz Kitakyushu were up against Oita Trinita in a regional derby which is not too surprising really as there are many of them in the J2/J3 100 Year Vision League, a temporary competition filling the void as Japan moves from the calendar year style season to the European one after the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Basically, the second and third tiers were split into four regional divisions, East A, West A, East B and West B. This particular match was in the latter.

After a busy morning of sightseeing, I only just made it to the stadium in time for kick off. My ticket was a non-reserved one in either the back stand or the home stand behind the goal. The former was my entry point but it had no cover and I didn’t really fancy sitting in the rain.

Subsequently, I moved round behind the goal which sounded really atmospheric. Indeed, the opposition fans at the other end of the stadium were also in fine voice.

Amidst rainy conditions the game kicked off at 2:00 pm and I still hadn’t been able to find a seat which is often a problem in Japan where many people put bags or jackets down on seats next to them to prevent others from sitting there.

Having struggled to find a vacant seat (or dare to ask if one with a bag on it was free!) I eventually found a slightly unconventional place to sit on a stone ledge beneath some steps.

The left half was my side!

It actually proved to be a good place to watch from as I could both sit and stand freely without affecting the view of anyone behind.

The stadium is a relatively new one having opened in 2017 but its most appealing feature for me is the location as it’s right beside the sea that separates Kyushu and Honshu, the largest island of Japan.

One of the things I really wanted to see was what happened if the ball was kicked over the back stand into the surrounding waters. Annoyingly, it didn’t happen though which was quite surprising as that stand is a really low one. I’ve since found out that due to this fairly unique geography, fishing boats are often on standby to retrieve any wayward balls.

As for the match, it was a pretty good game with both sides passing out from the back as is the norm these days for many teams across the whole footballing pyramid.

Kitakyushu took the lead on 19 minutes with a great move and a nice finish. Oita Trinita levelled it up on 37 minutes but just a few moments later the home side retook the lead and it was 2-1 going into the break. The second half was less eventful but there were still a few chances here and there.

Had this match been a regular-season one then I may well have left a bit earlier to get the Shinkansen back to Hiroshima. However, in this temporary format all drawn matches are decided by penalty shoot-outs with two points awarded for the winners whilst the losing team still get a point.

With the outcome of this match on a knife edge there was a good chance that Oita may have equalised in the five additional minutes played at the end of normal time. Their goalkeeper came up for some late Oita corners which caused a bit of havoc in the box but Giravanz held on for victory and I raced off to the station on the final whistle.

Final Score: Giravanz Kitakyushu 2-1 Oita Trinita

It’s always nice to visit a stadium for the first time but it is becoming rarer and naturally more expensive. Days like this one to see Giravanz certainly can’t happen too often but as there are at least a couple of other stadiums I want to visit in Kyushu then I may be back in a year or two for another side trip when I’m next in Hiroshima for family reasons.

Click here to read ‘An Away Day Trip of Note to One of My Bucket List Japanese Stadiums’

Click here to read ‘On the Road Again for an Away Match at Japan’s Most Southerly Topflight Stadium’

Click here to read ‘My Furthest Away Day Trip at a Rather Inconveniently Located Former World Cup Stadium’

Click here to read ‘A Seven-Goal Thriller Is the Reward for One of My Longest Ever Matchdays!! (+ My 1st Ever Tokyo Derby Experience!)’