Photos and Words: @dave_harry007
Passion. Love. Obsession.
All words used to describe football fans, often lazily so and not always befitting; fans don't always meet that description, but the assumption is they do.
When settling on the six games I watched in Japan, across levels 1, 5, 6, and 9, I wondered just how it would stack up against others and if I'd see the passion, love, and obsession that really make a country a special one to watch the game in.
I did, I did so comfortably. Attending the Tamagawa Classico (Kawasaki Frontale v FC Tokyo) in front of a sell-out crowd is up there with the finest atmospheres I've ever borne witness to in any of the 62 nations I've watched football in.
Watching Avispa Fukuoka at FC Tokyo, I was blown away by the noise and the size of their support for an evening game - a 1,600-mile (2,400km) round-trip, a 24-hour drive each way or seven hours each way on the Shinkansen. Even the well-travelled fans of clubs like Carlisle, Newcastle and Plymouth would be in awe of that level of dedication.
Further down the pyramid, crowds get smaller, but games at Ninkatsu and Kyoto Tachibana had healthy home support with ultras who sang their hearts out for their heroes.
Culturally, though, there are some differences and all to me, for the good. You can drink at the games, but you must take your rubbish to the collection points. You don't litter the ground or leave for stewards to clean up; a society based on respect, and that's a pretty powerful symbol of it, as were the sights of players bowing to their fans after the games.
There are flags with club mascots painted onto them, and the clichéd aggressive banners that appear across UEFA at least are seldom in sight.
And while food and drink included beer, burgers, and hot dogs, the noodles and fried chicken twists offered a more localised culinary experience.
It was truly an epic place to experience the game, and I was sorry when my final match came to an end. I retreated to a nearby bar and reflected on a wonderful trip as the locals politely and calmly queued for their metro home.
