2009 was a disappointing year sports-wise for two of the nation’s biggest teams, one in baseball, the other in soccer. In terms of the kick ‘n’ chase game, Urawa Reds of the J-League have long been seen as the most popular in the land. Games at their home stadium in Saitama are always a huge…

On August 28, 2009, at YAMAHA Okubo Ground in Shizuoka, there was the final match versus Fukuoka Sanix Blues before the top league starts. Kick-off was at 6PM. Game captain Sato said after the match that Yamaha Motor Jubilo used all aspects of the ground and was able to display their originality on the field….

Six weeks have already passed in the quest to make it to Super Bowl XLIV in Miami and some teams are showing great promise while others are already on the outside looking in. In the NFC East, the Giants are looking strong and are considered by many to be the favorites to win the NFC…

Sumo has had a rough couple of years. As many readers of J-Select will be aware, mid-2007, saw the sport come under the media and even governmental spotlight cast by investigations into the (now proven) hazing death of a young rikishi in Tokitsukaze Beya. Later that same year, yokozuna grand champion Asashoryu of Mongolia had…

The Olympic Games, or specifically the Ancient Olympics or Olympiad as it’s sometimes known, dates back to 776 BC and although it’s exact origins are still a question of some debate it is widely believed that the primeval games which involved a fusion of artistic competition, festival and pageantry, actually derived from Greek Mythology with…

Although the Japanese are well-represented in professional major league baseball in North America, with dozens of players playing this year, they are woefully under-represented in other sports such as hockey, football and basketball. Hockey can be forgiven as there is just not that much interest in the sport here and physical size is a factor…

It’s not here yet, but soon it will come; the hot and humid horror that is summer in Tokyo. Waking up in early July, one may feel that they have been transported to a new and formerly unbeknownst to Dante Alighieri tenth ring of hell. Tokyo is hot. Three simple words that do not do…

There is nothing that compares to the exhilaration, the reality and intense energy that is exuded at a professional MMA (mixed martial arts) fight. Simply the closest thing to two modern day warriors battling it out in a titanic clash of almost unfathomable power, watching a fight is testimony to the physical capabilities and tenacity…

Japanese summers, south of the Tohoku and below five hundred metres, are notoriously hot and tropically muggy. In the heat islands of the major cities, things get particularly steamy: August temperatures in Tokyo are generally over thirty degrees Celsius; nights rarely dip below the mid twenties. Osaka and Kyoto are typically a few degrees warmer,…

The International Rugby Board Junior World Championship (IRB JWC) is the world’s most prestigious competition for international teams at the U-20 level of the game and on Friday, June 5 this tournament, comprised of sixteen of the world’s finest teams, will kick off at stadiums in Tokyo, Aichi, Osaka, Fukuoka and Saga prefectures. Not only…