After finishing #LionDay, I soon began to think about the next tenuously themed day building up to a sports event. It was admittedly a bit of a struggle but after looking through the names and nicknames of many, many Japanese football, rugby, baseball, volleyball, basketball, table tennis and American football teams I finally hit on the idea of #ZDay.

It was good to approach the theme day from yet another angle too rather than going down the previous colour/country/animal (that will happen one day though, I’m sure!) route. You could call this a spin-off of the alphabet dating series from a few years back, and indeed the Z-dates from all four seasons basically feature here but without my wife! For the record, I’m pronouncing the letter in the American zee form rather than the (proper!) British way of zed so apologies to my fellow countrymen for that but both are fine of course!

Ahead of the ensuing near-50 kilometre cycle ride around Tokyo, I decided to begin the day with an energy drink but not heavyweights Red Bull or Monster. In Japan, ZONe (that’s how it’s spelled!) is a popular drink owned by Suntory. There have been many different varieties since it burst onto the market in 2020 but I mostly stick to the original energy drink flavour whenever I have it. The zero calorie and zero sugar one seemed an apt choice to get my day going.

#ZDay was played out across social media platforms throughout the day (Friday 9th October) which is perhaps the most tiring part of it all. One of the earlier posts (or “content” if you prefer!) broke the shocking news that a zebra appearance was unlikely but no doubt that bombshell was cushioned by the sight of this sickly-looking zebra choco cream spread! I put it on a bagel which in itself looks like a zero if you want a lame connection! Delicious.

A traditional green sweet paste made from crushed edamame beans originating in Sendai is honestly much better than it sounds! A zunda shake excella for 680 yen ($4.30) from Kasho Sanzen in Tokyo station was my first stop of the day and was incredibly difficult to locate. It was very sweet and tasty.

Steven Seagal and Hugh Jackman have both been to Zojo-ji Temple in Minato-ku as ‘Into the Sun‘ (2005) and ‘The Wolverine‘ (2013) were filmed there. Sadly, the main gate can’t be seen in all its glory as it’s under restoration.

The Arimaston Building (a.k.a. Zombie Fish Building) isn’t so far from Zojo-ji and is a unique and surreal structure crafted single-handedly over decades.

The football shirt I was wearing on this day had a Z connection and it’s probably not too difficult to guess that it’s zebra related. I actually won this Udinese jersey in a ‘90 Minutes‘ magazine competition in 1993 and the Serie A club are nicknamed Le Zebratte which means the Little Zebras in Italian.

Also in Minato-ku is Zenpukuji Buddhist temple, famed for a huge ginkgo tree which is over 700 years old and the largest of its kind in Tokyo. The place also has a monument dedicated to Townsend Harris who basically opened up Japan to foreign trade and culture in the Edo Period.

The Hanzomon Line uses a Z as it’s symbol which may (or may not!) be because there’s already a H for the Hibiya Line.

There are just 21 stations in all of Japan starting with the letter Z. Tokyo has two and the first one visited on this day was Zoshigaya on the Fukutoshin Line. Fear not as the other one will appear later!

Zoshigaya Cemetery is a short distance from the station as is Kishimojin Temple. Visiting these was a real trip down memory lane for me as I once lived in the area but hadn’t been back for a few years.

Back on the main road I soon encountered a Choco Zap which was no surprise as they’re everywhere these days. It’s not a sweet shop specialising in chocolate products but the name of a gymnasium chain!

There may have been no zebras but #ZDay wouldn’t be complete without a zoo trip. No Ueno or Tama for me! Instead, I went to Itabashi Children’s Zoo which is free and has some sheep, goats, guinea pigs, tortoises, rabbits and so on for kids to pet. There are pony rides too.

Before returning home for a shower and brief rest I dropped by Zetteria burger for the first time. I can barely remember ever going to Lotteria which it was previously called! It’s no real surprise though I guess as I rarely eat at such fast-food chains. The teriyaki burger, fries and Coke zero set was very nice though and I may try it again soon!

Only on the morning of this specially themed day did I realise that the evening’s sporting destination was located just one stop away from the other Z station in Tokyo so of course I took a little detour there first. Zōshiki is in the depths of Ota ward close to Kawasaki and the Kanagawa border.

It’s important to not forget that the idea of these themed days is a fun way of making a sports match more of an “event”. With previous specialised days featuring rugby, football and baseball I was also happy that this one included a different sport so that ruled out the football clubs of Machida Zelvia or even Zweigen Kanazawa!

Instead, it was basketball and a local B. League One (second tier) derby at Ota City General Gymnasium, the arena which was built in 2009 and opened in 2012 at a cost of ¥6.85 billion! In January 2023, I watched volleyball at this arena but this time it was basketball with Earth Friends Tokyo Z taking on Tokyo Hachioji Bee Trains, an exact repeat of the game I watched in Omori three years ago.

A couple of snacks were consumed during the game by way of a bottle of Pepsi Big Zero, and tabekko doubutsu (zoo) biscuits appeared as they have done in the previous three themed days so far. As for the action on court, that was as frenetic as ever as is always the case with basketball. The game swung back and forth but eventually it was the home team that reigned supreme.

Final Score: Earth Friends Tokyo Z 84-80 Tokyo Hachioji Bee Trains

Back at home later that evening it was time for the final Z-activity and that was of course some much-needed sleep. Zzz! Contrary to popular opinion, I was not dreaming about doing another 25 similar alphabet-based ideas!

Click here to read ‘#LionDay: It’s Time to Paws & Reflect on This Roaring Success of a Day’

Click here to read ‘#DeutschDay Delivers Delectable Drinks, Delicacies, Downpours, Dortmund & Distinguished Delights!’

Click here to read ‘#OrangeDay: A Double Header of Dramatic End-of-Season Matches’

Click here to read ‘Alphabet Dating in Japan with My Wife Who Really Was Still Completely Unaware of the Task at Hand! (S03E06: Review)’

Click here to read ‘Watching “The Other” Sports Team in This City Was a Real Buzz!’