chichibunomiya　Rugby Field

One of the most famous rugby stadium in Japan.
On Aug 29, 2015, I went to watch the Japanese National team demolish Uruguay National Team 40 – 0. This my first time in my life watching any rugby game, let alone a live rugby match at a stadium! I had an opportunity to go with a rugby player, who ended up teaching me all the rules during the game, which made the experience 10 time more interesting. Without his assistance, I would have been completely lost.
As a person who spent a good portion of my youth in Chicago, I am a long time Chicago Bears American Football team fan. No one in Chicago watched rugby. Not a single person in my neighborhood knew the rules of rugby. Well, now that I live in Japan, a country where NFL (National Football League) is less popular than rugby, I was very curious about this sport. It looks and feels similar to football, but they don’t have a Quarterback. No one can throw a forward pass. The entire game is played with lateral passes. Do you know about the famous Stanford marching band game? This is the game where the time has completely run out, so the team keeps doing a bunch of lateral passes to keep the ball alive and eventually score a touchdown by running over the band, who was the on the field because they thought that the game was over. Well, rugby is like the last play of the Stanford game, played this way the entire 90 minutes.
ABOUT THE STADIUM: Built in 1948, this is a classic stadium with no frills. Capacity of 27,188 seats, so it is fairly small when compared to NFL stadiums. Not too many people know this, but there is actually a set of tennis courts in the area — that is completely separate from private Jingu Tennis Club.
FOOD & DRINKS: I highly recommend that you bring your own food and drinks. You are allowed to bring your own booze. Isn’t that amazing! No way you can smuggle your own case of beers to Soldier Field in Chicago. The reason I recommend that you bring your own is not only because it is more economical, but because food sucks at places like this. In addition, the lines for these concession stands were huge. You are allowed to go in and out of the stadium during the game. I went outside of the stadium during the half-​time, bought a can of beer for 350 Yen, then returned to my seat without missing a single play.
BATHROOM: During the half-​time, the line to men’s room was enormous.
WHERE TO BUY FOOD: I recommend stopping by Seijo Ishii, which is 5 minutes away from the stadium. They have quality food and craftbeers.