Category Archives: Sport

A Week of Golden Funtime With The Family In The Izu Sunshine

  The problem with holidays in Japan is that almost everyone (outside of the service industry) takes them at the same time whether it be Golden Week (late April/early May), O-bon (August) or New Year. Places get extremely busy and … Continue reading

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I Had A Golden Time At This Athletics Event In Yokohama

  Athletics in my home country of the UK was very much in its golden period when I was growing up in the 1980s, and it was popular on TV at a time when many different sports got fairly equal … Continue reading

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Jumping On The Baseball Bandwagon In Japan (& Then Jumping Right Off It Again!)

If you live outside of Japan or the USA then you may not be aware that the former beat the latter back in March to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) thanks in particular to star player Shohei Otani who … Continue reading

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I went To The Champions League Final! No, Not The UEFA One But The Asian One!

The epic 2022 Asian Champions League (ACL) concluded in Saitama on Saturday evening, 424 days after it first started early last year with bubble matches in neutral stadia and no fans present. It was a different story last weekend though … Continue reading

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Watching The Non-League Football Team Inspired By A Japanese Cartoon Hero!

The iconic Captain Tsubasa has appeared in various comic book magazines, cartoons and video games since its creation in 1981. It became one of the most memorable manga and anime worldwide, and really helped popularise football in Japan. Some of … Continue reading

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My First Table Tennis Match Was The Women’s Title Decider & It Was Epic!

Each and every time the Olympics take place I often find myself watching a fair amount of table tennis. It’s not because I’m particularly interested in it but it’s just that the Japanese TV broadcasters seem to show it a … Continue reading

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My First Time To Watch Futsal In Japan But Will It Be My Last?

Until I started teaching in Japan I have to admit that I had never heard of this form of football, and I even thought the students were making mistakes and that futsal may have been a Japanese-English word. It’s relatively … Continue reading

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The Good, The Bad & The Rugby! My Return To Kashiwa’s Secondary Stadium After 19 Years!

Like many people in Japan I was keen to see some domestic rugby on the back of the country hosting a successful World Cup in 2019. However, Covid_19 came along and a lot of the momentum for rugby’s growth was … Continue reading

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Alphabet Dating In Japan With My Wife Who Was Still Completely Unaware Of The Task At Hand! (S02E02 F-J)

  Season one (as well as the prequel season zero) of alphabet dating certainly pushed the boundaries of what a “date” is, and that continues in season two with some very tenuous examples for each letter of the alphabet. For … Continue reading

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The Other Hugely Popular Thing To Do At Miyajimaguchi Station!

  Think of Miyajima and thoughts immediately turn towards Itsukushima Shrine and it’s bright red torii gate in the sea. The deer roaming the island and oysters may get a mention. The quirky temple on the east of the island … Continue reading

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