J-Football Journals Round-up #3

From the writer: A more "colorful" issue this week sees a few community touches. I added these stories to get the reader to know true fan-essence and the community feeling of Tokyo.

It's something I wanted to share with the world for quite a bit now. Sometimes I like to step away from real "scouting" and "hard news" and just flat out do passionate journalism, speaking to people, sharing what I believe is true human nature and culture.

And I don't only mean Japan, it's the whole world. The internet connects everyone in a way we didn't have 10-20 years ago so you're not truly ever alone anymore. That can be either bad or good depending how you interpret it.

Soon my schedule will be lighter and I'll get to travel more once all my academic stuff is done and dusted. Hopefully to bring more interesting stories such as the ones you'll see today.

Enjoy this amazing issue number three of J-Football Journals!

An International FC TOKYO Experience!

Our good friend and passionate Fc Tokyo fan Shogo Hirayama was ectastic to show us his experience at the J-League outing between his team and Kashiwa Reysol. Join us as we take a dive into the unique day out in the capital of Japan, a fun-packed schedule with brilliant football to match.

Approximately a 19 kilometre walk away from the Ajinomoto in Chofu, the game was hosted uniquely at the Japan National Stadium, in Shinjuku.

Credit: Shogo Hirayama

Above are some of the promotional advertisement material, and a dashing shot of the stadium during a rainy evening. The atmosphere was totally different once the light show began!

Credit: Shogo Hirayama

The light-show is one of FC Tokyo's scintillating tactics to get a crowd going before a match. Often, you can experience such club culture, celebration and cutting-edge displays every once so often- especially during summer night matches.

We'd like to thank Shogo for sharing his amazing experience with us. All the best!

A Peek into the Community - Futsal Tokyo Meetup

@futsaltokyomeetup on Instagram.

"Tokyo's a very big city and it's very hard to make friends sometimes. Japan has a very high context culture and there's lots of thin little rules, there's no easy rulebook." - Matthew, Futsal Tokyo Meetup.

In a country that is quite quickly becoming football-mad again, the culture is something which has left a big mark on the fans and people visiting abroad.

A personal experience of mine from visiting Tokyo was meeting with a brilliant community of people wanting to build a togetherness through the sport. As someone who is an avid footballer - both competitive and social, I appreciated it massively and wanted to show what such an amazing set-up stands for.

Hearing from the person who runs it himself, Matthew stated that it was a place for people to make connections, friends and avoid loneliness. People from the Tokyo city and around the area all partake in the pick up games and tournaments set up.

"We've been a community for ten years, it all started off as a friendship group."

Ten years and still going strong, an example of what a respectful football community should be. While not only limited to futsal, the group also runs 11 a side games regularly almost every single week in some of the most attractive places to play in Tokyo.

Above is a snapshot of my first time playing with Futsal Tokyo Meetup - an amazing rooftop football experience in Tamachi which I have remembered as one of my most memorable pick-up games, probably ever.

JUFA Triumph Over J-LEAGUE!

The JUFA Kanto University select faced off against the J-League U22 select in a scintillating match-up which saw many scouts watching eagerly. There was an abundance of note-takers at the side.

In an end-to-end game, both sides saw almost equal chances to score but it was J-U22 who displayed the more technical approach to the game with a certain name standing out - Junpei Hayakawa.

Hayakawa is part of the Urawa Red Diamonds set-up and offered a link-up between the midfield and defence. His first-touch and technique displayed a close-control ability to draw in defenders and ease past them.

For the university side however, a name stood out in contrast to Hayakawa. Takeshi Ogawa was a constant thorn in the side of the pro-youth players with the correct mixture of technical speed, execution and physicality.

Both players remained effective throughout the game albeit lack of finishing quality from both sides saw the 0-0 deadlock take it to penalties.

J-U22 did not take their chances, and JUFA saw out some powerful strikes past the goalkeeper - taking the bragging rights.

Ehime's European Ephiphany

via @DKristoffersson on X.

Hammarby have signed the young Yusei Shima directly from 19th placed J2 outfit Ehime FC. The 17-year-old youngster caught the attention of European scouts via his performances with the Japan U17 national side, scoring five goals in the championships.

Ehime FC won their latest J2 outing against Montedio Yamagata albeit struggling at 19th place. 20-year-old Toki Yukumoto struck the net to ensure the 3-2 win.

Yusei Shima has barely made a mark with Ehime in the J2 but will be set to move to the Allsvenskan side when he turns 18 in the summer.

A sign of things to come, European scouts are watching players in the lower-leagues of Japan.

Ryonosuke Sato Makes it Three

Now having started two games for Fagiano Okayama, teenage wing-back Ryonosuke Sato lately found the net for the third time in a row against Kashima Antlers in a consolation as his team narrowly lost 2-1.

The 18-year-old has now scored against Cerezo Osaka, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, and now the Antlers in what seems like a breakthrough season.

His average 7.10 match rating (via FotMob) is strongly backed up by his ability to make a mark on a game despite playing in such a demanding position.

Six shots in total, and half of them were registered as goals. Sato's total shot xG racks up to 1.43 altogether.

Will we continue to see displays from the youngster?

Keita Kosugi's Heroics

Keita Kosugi found the net in the hammering of Rapid Vienna to come back 2-4 in the Conference League Quarter Final. The Swedish side Djugarden are now in the semi-finals of the European Competition.

Kosugi put his side in front late for a 2-1 scoreline after a rather tight game was blown wide open when Vienna began to fall apart.