Having been to Japan’s latest topflight stadium final Might, I made a decision to look elsewhere for some soccer motion while in Hiroshima for 4 nights over the Japanese vacation season often known as Golden Week (late April until early Might). There are often two rounds of fixtures within the J-League divisions which naturally will increase your possibilities of with the ability to watch the workforce you need to see at dwelling.
There have been regional matches going down at grounds I’d by no means been to in Hiroshima which was interesting however then I started to look a bit additional afield and determined to deal with myself to an away day journey at a decrease league stadium I’d lengthy needed to go to in one other prefecture. Household issues took up more often than not in Hiroshima however I’d instructed my spouse that I needed a day to myself on Might third for soccer and journey. I didn’t inform her the place I used to be going and he or she by no means requested afterwards both!
Roughly an hour south on the Shinkansen (bullet practice) is Kokura within the northern a part of Kyushu, essentially the most southern of Japan’s 4 important islands. Simply ten minutes on foot from that station is Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu, the house of J3 aspect Giravanz Kitakyushu. There are stadiums nearer to stations in Japan however I’m unsure if any are positioned that close to to a bullet practice station.
My 1st view of Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu
Having left my parents-in-law’s house in Hiroshima at 5:00 am I used to be on the 06:05 am bullet practice to Kokura which arrived 70 minutes later thereby giving me about six hours to go to a number of sights within the space earlier than ending my day with the soccer match.
For somebody who often views sport within the least expensive doable manner, this was fairly the alternative because the Shinkansen value about 8,000 yen ($51/37 GBP) every manner however cash splashed out on that was compensated slightly by the ticket solely costing 500 yen ($3/2.30 GBP) as I had a 1,500-yen low cost coupon to make use of on what was already an inexpensive ticket.
Giravanz Kitakyushu have been up in opposition to Oita Trinita in a regional derby which isn’t too shocking actually as there are lots of of them within the J2/J3 100 Yr Imaginative and prescient League, a short lived competitors filling the void as Japan strikes from the calendar yr fashion season to the European one after the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Mainly, the second and third tiers have been cut up into 4 regional divisions, East A, West A, East B and West B. This explicit match was within the latter.
After a busy morning of sightseeing, I solely simply made it to the stadium in time for kick off. My ticket was a non-reserved one in both the again stand or the house stand behind the aim. The previous was my entry level but it surely had no cowl and I didn’t actually fancy sitting within the rain.
Subsequently, I moved spherical behind the aim which sounded actually atmospheric. Certainly, the opposition followers on the different finish of the stadium have been additionally in tremendous voice.
Amidst wet situations the sport kicked off at 2:00 pm and I nonetheless hadn’t been capable of finding a seat which is commonly an issue in Japan the place many individuals put luggage or jackets down on seats subsequent to them to stop others from sitting there.
Having struggled to discover a vacant seat (or dare to ask if one with a bag on it was free!) I ultimately discovered a barely unconventional place to sit down on a stone ledge beneath some steps.
The left half was my aspect!
It really proved to be place to observe from as I may each sit and stand freely with out affecting the view of anybody behind.
The stadium is a comparatively new one having opened in 2017 however its most interesting function for me is the placement because it’s proper beside the ocean that separates Kyushu and Honshu, the most important island of Japan.
One of many issues I actually needed to see was what occurred if the ball was kicked over the again stand into the encircling waters. Annoyingly, it didn’t occur although which was fairly shocking as that stand is a extremely low one. I’ve since came upon that resulting from this pretty distinctive geography, fishing boats are sometimes on standby to retrieve any wayward balls.
As for the match, it was a fairly good sport with either side passing out from the again as is the norm today for a lot of groups throughout the entire footballing pyramid.
Kitakyushu took the lead on 19 minutes with an important transfer and a pleasant end. Oita Trinita levelled it up on 37 minutes however just some moments later the house aspect retook the lead and it was 2-1 going into the break. The second half was much less eventful however there have been nonetheless a number of possibilities right here and there.
Had this match been a regular-season one then I could effectively have left a bit earlier to get the Shinkansen again to Hiroshima. Nevertheless, on this non permanent format all drawn matches are determined by penalty shoot-outs with two factors awarded for the winners while the dropping workforce nonetheless get some extent.
With the end result of this match on a knife edge there was likelihood that Oita could have equalised within the 5 extra minutes performed on the finish of regular time. Their goalkeeper got here up for some late Oita corners which induced a little bit of havoc within the field however Giravanz held on for victory and I raced off to the station on the ultimate whistle.
Ultimate Rating: Giravanz Kitakyushu 2-1 Oita Trinita
It’s all the time good to go to a stadium for the primary time however it’s changing into rarer and naturally costlier. Days like this one to see Giravanz definitely can’t occur too usually however as there are not less than a few different stadiums I need to go to in Kyushu then I could also be again in a yr or two for one more aspect journey once I’m subsequent in Hiroshima for household causes.
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