Hello. This is Okubo from headquarters.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia kicked off on June 14th and there are now only two matches left, the third place match and the final. During the group stage, there are three matches every day, and it's exciting every time, but once you get to the final tournament, there are only one or two matches a day, and there are days when there are no matches, so it's really sad to feel the end approaching. However, the final is the main event! From now on, the excitement grows with each passing day, wondering what kind of match will be played and who will win!
It has been 20 years since I went to watch Japan's first appearance in the World Cup in France in 1998. I was completely captivated by the sport and have been to every match in person since the 2002 Japan-Korea tournament, the 2006 Germany tournament, the 2010 South Africa tournament, and the 2014 Brazil tournament!
This was Japan's first memorable match in the 1998 World Cup. The photo of the Argentina match during the France World Cup was the cover of SAPIO. A certain manager at our company gave us the go ahead and said, "This photo says it all. This one photo shows Okubo's history of watching World Cups and his enthusiasm. Make sure you publish it!" Sorry for the self-promotion!
Every time I go, people around me ask me, "Are you going again this time?" but to me it's a silly question!
Of course! I also went to the tournament in Russia.
He stayed in five cities: Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, Saransk, Nizhny Novgorod, and Yekaterinburg.
- Brazil vs Switzerland
- Japan vs Colombia
- Argentina vs Croatia
- Japan vs Senegal
I watched four games.
I would like to share with you not only the Japan match, but also the charm of the World Cup that has captivated me, and what I saw and felt during my first visit to Russia!
Watching Japan's first match against Colombia
As you can see, most of the supporters are in Columbia colors.
Japan's first opponent, Colombia, is one of the most powerful countries in South America, ranked 16th in the FIFA rankings. Even though they are on the other side of the globe, about 70% of the stadium is painted yellow, the Colombian color. The cheers are loud, and the atmosphere is overwhelmingly Colombian at home.
The reason why there are few Japanese players is because the coach was changed just before the opening game and they had a hard time winning, so I guess no one is going to go out of their way to Russia to support them. To be honest, I didn't have any expectations until the game started, and I just wanted to fight with all my might, knowing that I would learn from Colombia.
Soccer is not a sport where you can express your feelings, but somehow there is something that can be sensed from the national team's play at any given moment.
For example, in 1998, Gon Nakayama didn't shoot beautifully, but rather, he got tangled up with the ball and before you know it, he and Gon were in the goal together. It was a down-to-earth but human-like team, and you could feel the passion of wanting to score, no matter what kind of goal it was!
Some years, the feelings of the representative seemed to be all over the place and not united, and their feelings were not conveyed at all.
However, this time's national team gave me the feeling that even when we weren't watching, they were all having a good time together practicing, in meetings, in their daily lives, and all the little things.
I wondered if that feeling was being conveyed to us supporters through the play in the game, and my heart warmed as I watched.
A penalty kick right after the start of the match
In previous national team matches, once the score had gone from 1-0 to 1-1 and they were caught up, it felt like they were going to lose, and in most cases they ended up losing. However, this time, even though they were caught up to 1-1, what came across from the field was the passion of the team, united and looking forward, and watching the game, it never felt like they were going to lose.
A Colombian player was sent off with a red card right after the start of the game. I think it was a big factor that Japan had the advantage with more players, but it was our constant forward attacks that earned the opponent a red card, so that was also skill. When we scored the second goal and won, I was really happy from the bottom of my heart, and I was very proud of the Japanese national team for being able to play such a game.
Emotions I had never felt before welled up inside me, I was deeply moved, and I was moved to tears.
This is just my personal feeling, and I'm not an expert on soccer tactics, but I'm sure everyone watching on TV felt the same way.
The Colombians looked cool after the match
It must have been very disappointing for Colombia to lose to Japan, who is ranked 61st in the FIFA rankings. But Colombian supporters were all in, saying "That was a great game!", "Japan is a good team!", and "Let's go to the final tournament together!", and although their shoulders were down, they still offered heartfelt praise.
The Colombian who shared the same room with me on the sleeper train also spoke highly of Japan, and I fell in love with the generosity of Colombians. After spending more than 10 hours together, I learned a lot about Colombians, and found that they are quite similar to Japanese people. Although the sleeper car was small, I was able to spend my time there without feeling too uncomfortable. I came to really like Colombians.
The sleeper train was the main means of transportation within Russia. There were two double-tiered berths, each with four people in each room. It was small but comfortable.
With Colombian supporters
There are many other things to enjoy at the World Cup besides watching the games.
The fun of the World Cup is not only the games, but also the interaction between fans. At the World Cup, there is a place called "Fan Fest" on the way to the stadium. It is a venue where people drink, eat, dance, and hold events. Supporters from many countries gather there. Everyone is wearing their own unique support goods. For example, Mexican supporters wear mariachi hats, Brazilian supporters dressed in samba costumes. Japanese supporters wear hakama, Shinsengumi costumes, yukata, and festival happi coats. They wear face paint on their faces and carry the country's flag on their backs. If they like some goods, they exchange them with each other. I also exchanged my headband with the Japanese flag sticking out like antennae for one with the Russian flag, and my Japanese folding fan for sunglasses with the Colombian flag. Then, we take pictures together, saying to each other, "Let's do our best!"
With Mexican supporters
With Croatian supporters
With Brazilian supporters
With Swiss supporters
With Argentine supporters
With Senegalese supporters
With Japanese supporters
At the stadium, beer and soft drinks are sold in precious cups with the match cards of the day and the World Cup on them, which can only be purchased at the stadium. At the Russia tournament, the bottom of the cups was designed to sparkle when shaken, which was very popular. Everyone took them home as a memento instead of throwing them away. It is an irresistible souvenir for soccer fans.
A rare cup that can only be obtained at the stadium. It is also written in Russian.
After the game, everyone, whether it was the winning or losing country, strangers or acquaintances, drinks beer while praising each other for their efforts. They talk about who played well that day and what they like. After a good game, the amount of beer they drink increases.
Excited and out of focus
My first visit to Russia was to find it a very warm, delicious, beautiful and hospitable country.
I didn't know this, but many Russians are pro-Japan, and most of the people who come to watch Japan's games are cheering for Japan. Some of them have headbands with "Japan" or "Victory" written on them, and there was even a playful old man with a round red sticker (like the Japanese flag) stuck on his plaster cast.
While I was shopping, a young man quietly called out "Hello!" to me from behind, and when I was unsure which ham to buy from the many options at the supermarket, an older woman told me, "This ham has this mark on it, so it's delicious! It's cheap, so this one is good! (It was in Russian, but I think that's what she was saying.)" She then gave me lots of chocolate that she had bought by weight, telling me to take it with me.
I think it was because of the World Cup, but there were a lot of very warm-hearted and kind people there.
Pro-Japanese Russians
There's a Japanese flag sticker on the cast on his hand!
Beer, which is essential for cheering on the team, is cheap and delicious, with a large mug costing around 350 yen.
The soup "Borsch" is, of course, consistently delicious. There is also a slightly sour soup called "Saryanka" that contains lemon and olives, which I really like and always order when it is on the menu.
Other dishes include "blini," a chewy crepe-like thing stuffed with fried meat or mushrooms, and "pelmeni," a dumpling-like thing eaten with sour cream. There are also a wide variety of the classic "piroshki," which are very useful when you get a little hungry.
I went there without having high expectations for the food (sorry to all the Russians!), but there was a lot of cheap and delicious food, and I was very satisfied with my diet, thinking I wanted to eat this! I wanted to eat that!
I really want to eat salyanka again, so I'm definitely looking for a Russian restaurant to go to!
Russian food was cheap and delicious. (Left) A large mug of beer (middle) Crepes stuffed with mushrooms and meat, blinis (right) Borsch, which is always delicious no matter where you eat it
I often hear that Russians are beautiful, but is that really true? I wanted to check it out! So I watched them in various places. Women walking around the city, female volunteers, female stadium stewards. It's true that the probability of them being beautiful is high!
Especially after the match, police officers were lined up on both sides of the road for hundreds of meters, about 30cm apart, to prevent fights between supporters. The female police officers were so pretty and cute, and they asked Colombian supporters, Japanese supporters, both male and female, to take photos with them! They were shy and hesitant, but their faces were also very cute. I wish I had taken some secret photos.
Russian women are really beautiful…with a Russian beauty volunteer
Free transportation. Convenient FAN ID
For the first time, FIFA announced that all attendees would not be able to watch the match unless they created a FAN ID.
If you register your photo and passport number online in advance, FIFA will send you an ID card that you can wear around your neck.
It has a very handmade feel to it, and it's amazing to think that they made just enough for supporters all over the world and sent them out!
With this, you will not need a visa to enter Russia, even though you would normally need one.
Thanks to this FAN ID, travel was also very affordable.
In previous host countries, they would only make transportation cheaper during the tournament, but this time in Russia, I took sleeper trains and long-distance trains four times, and as long as I was on the trains designated for spectators, it was free as long as I showed my FAN ID.
In addition, on the day of the match, if you were in a host city, you could ride the subway or bus for free by showing your FAN ID.
When I entered the stadium, I held up this FAN ID to the security at the gate and my face was displayed on the screen, and it was confirmed to be my actual face. If it matched, I was able to enter. They do this kind of check at every tournament! But in previous tournaments, they had never done anything like this, and I was always able to enter with just my eyes, so I was impressed with the advances in technology and the strengthening of security this time around, and I knew that even FIFA could do it if they really wanted to.
In any case, Russia, which had no idea what to do, was saved by the conveniences of modern society.
The most difficult thing about my time in Russia was the language.
While it might have been different in Moscow, I mostly stayed in regional cities, where English was hardly spoken at all.
I learned some basic Russian, but it's still pretty difficult...
What saved us (and I'm sure not just us, but all our supporters as well) was `` Google Translate .''
Even though Russians can't speak English, they all say "Google translate!" like a mantra and hand over their smartphones. If you translate directly from Russian to Japanese, the sentences become completely incomprehensible, but if you translate from Russian to English or English to Russian, you can make sense of what you're saying, which was really useful when I got in a taxi or rented an apartment.
There are three international airports in Moscow. I arrived from Japan and had to move to another airport immediately, but I went to the wrong airport. The correct airport was 70km away. If I had taken the train, I would not have made it in time for the start of the match. I would not have been able to watch the Brazil vs Switzerland match!
I managed to negotiate the price with the driver who only spoke Russian and jumped into a taxi, but I had to arrive at the airport in about 30 minutes. The driver looked down at me and tried to ask me for a price, but I didn't understand Russian at all... That's when "Google translate" came into play! I got angry when I understood what he was saying, but when I said, "If you can make it in 30 minutes, I'll pay you that price!" he said, "Okay! Then don't be scared!" and we set off with gusto. It was the evening when traffic was heavy. We drove like in the movie "The Fast and the Furious," going left and right, swerving to the side of the road... squeaking, speeding, speeding. I was so scared that I couldn't keep my eyes open and pretended to sleep. The driver was rough, but thanks to this encounter, we made it on time and were able to watch the game as planned. It was Google translate that helped me with all of that, from the anxiety of not making it on time to negotiating the price with the driver. I really owe it all to Google translate!
With Google Translate, you can have a lively conversation with a taxi driver
Also, when I didn't know where the stadium or my apartment was, Google Maps gave me directions, and Google Calendar let me know if my flight was delayed.
With just a smartphone and Google, you really don't need a guidebook and can travel anywhere! That's what I thought.
Another app I found useful was " Get Taxi ."
I was told this by an acquaintance living in Russia in advance, but when you want to take a taxi, you can enter your current location (the GPS function recognizes your current location) and the place you want to go to, select the time you want to be picked up (such as "now" or "about 30 minutes later") from the menu, and make a reservation. The time until pick-up, the make and color of the car, the license plate number, the driver's name, the fare to your destination, and other information will be displayed on your smartphone. It is also linked to a map app, and the current location of the reserved taxi is displayed on the map in real time, so you can immediately tell if it is nearby. Then, you get in the taxi that comes to pick you up, and pay the driver the amount shown in advance, or if you register in advance, you can pay by credit card. There is no need to bother with negotiating the price, and in regional cities without subways, this saved me time wasting looking for a taxi, so I was able to move around very efficiently.
Get Taxi
I had a SIM-free smartphone, so when I arrived in Russia, I bought a Russian SIM card with unlimited data for 10 days for 5,000 yen. It seems to be cheaper if it's not the World Cup. By the way, in Russia, I couldn't use LINE unless I connected to a VPN.
After the Russia World Cup journey
There's something I feel every time I go to watch the World Cup.
Depending on the match you choose to watch, there are serious battles between countries (some of which have historical backgrounds and can even be frightening) that you cannot go to casually.
However, after the match, both countries forget about such things, talk to each other, drink alcohol, and praise each other for their good performance. People from other countries also join in, and everyone becomes united by their common topic of "soccer."
During the World Cup, whether you're walking around town or drinking in a bar, supporters will call out to each other, and considerations like country and language will all be put aside. It really feels like the World Cup is a "NO BORDER" experience.
The 11 days went by in a flash, but I thoroughly enjoyed both Russia and the World Cup.
I believe this is also thanks to the people at my workplace who allow me the freedom to go to the World Cup once every four years. I am truly grateful.
If you are even slightly interested in the World Cup, let's go to Qatar together in 2022!!
モノサスアーカイブ