Five sports to watch when you are in Japan
Jan 08, 2025
Introduction: Five sports to watch when you are in Japan
Japan is not only known for its beautiful scenery and mouth-watering local cuisines but the country is also known for its amazing sports scene. From baseball to sumo, there are a lot of sports that are worth watching in Japan. This feature will introduce five sports to watch when you’re in Japan!
Index
1. Baseball
Baseball is perhaps the most-watched sport in Japan, and even though the country does not have an official national baseball competition, baseball remains one of the most loved sports games in Japan, and the love its people have for baseball is on another level.
The most-watched baseball game in Japan is the National High School Baseball, which is held annually in Koshien. The professional league is the second most-watched baseball game in Japan. Watching baseball games while visiting Japan has become a trend amongst foreigners who love sports.
2. Rugby
Rugby can be considered as one of the most popular sports to watch in Japan, and Japan was one of the hosts for the Rugby World Cup. Japan is also known for having the fourth-largest population of rugby union players in the world, and the sport has been played in Japan for over a century.
There are approximately 125,000 rugby players in Japan, and the National Rugby Team is ranked 7th in the world.
3. Soccer
Japan is also known for its strong national soccer team, and the country has been participating in the World Cup since 1998. Japan has both, the male national team, which is known as the Samurai Blue, and the female national team, which is known as the Nadeshiko, named after a Japanese flower.
Surprisingly, unlike other countries, the Japanese female soccer team is more impressive and has more achievements than the male team.
4. Basketball
The other most-watched sport in Japan is basketball, and even though the basketball scene in Japan is not as huge as the basketball scene in America, the national basketball team of Japan is known as one of the best national basketball teams in Asia.
The national team has won the FIBA Asia Championship twice, and some Japanese basketball players have played in some NBA games too.
5. Sumo
Last but not least, your trip to Japan won’t be complete if you don’t watch a sumo match!
Considered as one of the national sports games in Japan, many Japanese love to watch the national sumo tournaments, which are held annually, consisting of six tournaments. The results of the tournaments define the rank of the sumo wrestlers, and the champion of the sumo tournament is called yokozuna, which is ranked highest amongst all sumo wrestlers.
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