Big believers in team spirit, the Japanese embrace many sports
with almost religious fervour. It's not uncommon for parts of the
country to come to a complete standstill during crucial moments of
major baseball matches and sumo basho (tournaments), as fans gather
round television screens in homes, offices, shops, bars, and even
on the street. Baseball is actually more popular than the
home-grown sumo, and hot on the heels of both sports is soccer,
which since the launch of the professional J-League in 1993 has
enjoyed phenomenal popularity.
Martial arts , such as aikido, judo and karate, all
traditionally associated with Japan, have a much lower profile than
you might expect. Tokyo with its many dojo (practice halls)
is the best place in the country in which to view or learn these
ancient sports. The TIC at Yurakucho
in Tokyo has a full list of dojo that allow visitors to
watch practice sessions for free.
If you're interested in attending any sporting event, check the
local media, such as the Japan Times and Tokyo
Classified , for details. To get tickets it's best, in the
first instance, to approach one of the major advance ticket
agencies: Ticket Pia, for example, can be found in most main
cities. In Tokyo, Ticket Pia also has an English-language telephone
booking line (tel 03/5237-9999). Major games and events sell out
quickly, so a second approach is to go directly to the venue on the
day and see if you can get a ticket from the box office or a tout
outside; expect to pay well over the odds, though, if it's a
popular game.
In terms of participation sports, golf is the most
popular, with some fourteen million golfers in Japan, and more
courses and driving ranges than you can swing a club at. The
current recession has taken the shine off the sport being used for
business meetings and as a status symbol, but fees for playing a
round remain out of the reach of all but the most dedicated
visiting golf fan.
More accessible outdoor activities in this mountainous,
volcanic country are skiing during the winter and
hiking and mountain climbing during the summer. If
you're interested in such pursuits, it's worth getting in touch
with the Tokyo-based International Adventurers Club (IAC) or
its sister club for the Kansai region, the International Outdoor
Club (IOC), both of which provide informal opportunities to
explore the Japanese countryside and mountains in the company of
likeminded people. The Web sites www.skijapanguide.com and
www.outdoorjapan.com are also mines of useful
information.