Hello from Taipei, where I recently arrived back after a month in Japan for the Rugby World Cup while running my website Rugby Guide Japan (archived here), and before that a month seeing family back home (though I likely won’t blog that up as it mostly consisted of hospital visits and sadly a funeral).
…
This is the main navigation page for my old website Rugby Guide Japan, which was a guide to help rugby fans visiting Japan for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Following the end of the tournament I took the website down, but archived the useful content here either in its original form,
…
Tokyo obviously has more than plenty to see & do in its own right, and you can easily fill your free time between events (see here). But if you have a few days spare between, before, or after your events, why not visit some of Japan’s other sights and cities?
…
You’ll mostly travel by train within Tokyo (and probably any other cities you visit), with the majority of Olympic venues easily walkable from their nearest train station (though there are a few outliers which will presumably have shuttle buses provided from the nearest stations).
…
This post originally appeared on my Rugby Guide Japan website (which is archived here if you want to check it out), providing information for rugby fans attending 2019 Rugby World Cup matches in Japan. But obviously autumn is still autumn regardless of whether there’s a World Cup taking place,
…
Despite the high tech reputation (or perhaps due to it), first time visitors to Japan may be surprised to find things actually more analogue than they’re used to at home. Cash is king, and subway tickets are paper stubs; until very recently it was also quite frustrating to get online as a short-term visitor,
…
Where to Stay
In my experience Agoda is best for booking hotels in Japan, with free cancellations and they’ll price match if you see a better rate elsewhere. For recommendations on specific areas to stay in see here
Search Agoda for the best deals on
…
Nakiryu’s tan tan noodles
Tsuta’s black truffle soba
An oft-quoted fact in media travel & food articles about Tokyo is that the Japanese capital has more Michelin stars than any other city on earth. This is often presented as something of a surprising statistic, but of course given the massive size of the city and the fantastic food available in Japan (both Japanese cuisine and French,
…
Where to Stay for the Tokyo Olympics
For the majority of events it’s best to stay somewhere in central Tokyo. Agoda’s usually best for hotels in Japan – click on each area name to search it on Agoda:
All things considered, Shinjuku is probably the best call,
…
If you’re in Japan for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and looking for one other city to visit between events or just for a bit of sightseeing while you’re in the country, Kyoto is the obvious choice. As Japan’s capital from the late 8th Century to the late 19th Century it’s a living treasure of ancient temples and a living repository of traditional Japanese culture,
…
Hiroshima is known the world over for the atomic bombing it suffered in 1945, but it has since bounced right back and the city standing there today is perhaps the nicest and friendliest in all Japan. The A-bomb museum and Peace Park are sobering reminders of what happened there and remain the main things to see in town,
…
Yokohama’s often overlooked as just another part of the Greater Tokyo sprawl, but it’s a great city in its own right and with its own character. Yokohama International Stadium (see here) is being used for Olympic football matches (including the men’s final) and Yokohama Stadium (a different stadium!) will host the Olympic baseball &
…
Sapporo’s the main city on Japan’s far northern island of Hokkaido, and comfortably the largest Japanese city north of Tokyo despite being in by far the least densely populated part of the country (leaving the rest of the island very sparse). It’s a long way from the capital,
…
“Cheap and yummy – that’s Osaka!”
– my good friend Hiro, a true Osakan
Osaka is the focal point of a sprawling conurbation (with Kobe and Kyoto) which forms the heart of the Kansai region and is Japan’s largest urban area after Tokyo.
…
This page originally appeared on my Rugby Guide Japan website, providing information for rugby fans attending 2019 Rugby World Cup matches at Kobe Wing Stadium. It may still be useful for future visitors to Kobe, so I’ve moved it here after taking the rugby site down.
The sprawling conurbation of Osaka,
…
This page originally appeared on my Rugby Guide Japan website, providing information for rugby fans attending 2019 Rugby World Cup matches at Toyota Stadium. It may still be useful for future visitors to Nagoya, so I’ve moved it here after taking the rugby site down.
…
This page originally appeared on my Rugby Guide Japan website, providing information for rugby fans attending 2019 Rugby World Cup matches at Level 5 Stadium. It may still be useful for future visitors to Fukuoka, so I’ve moved it here after taking the rugby site down.
…
This beast certainly isn’t the prettiest stadium in Japan, but it is the biggest. The home stadium of Yokohama F Marinos FC, Yokohama International Stadium has a capacity of 72,300 and played a major role in both the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
…
Still popularly known by its former name of Kobe Wing Stadium, Kobe Misaki Stadium is home to Vissel Kobe (football J1) and Kobelco Steelers (rugby union Top League), so while not a dedicated rugby stadium it does see regular rugby and was therefore a logical choice for the Rugby World Cup.
…
Shizuoka Prefecture’s 50,000 seat Ecopa Stadium opened just before the 2002 FIFA World Cup (hosting 3 games), and as the prefecture’s biggest stadium is used as a part-time home ground by both main Shizuoka teams (the nearby Jubilo Iwata, and Shizuoka City based S-Pulse). It’s also sometimes used by the Brave Blossoms for home international test matches,
…
