If the prospect of a 15-hour flight to the other side of the world presents you with equally high levels of excitement alongside the real threat of jet lag, then join the club. But faced with this reality and a tray full of aeroplane food, the FourFourTwo team headed to Japan.
As we touched down in Tokyo, any lingering doubts of tiredness were kept at bay by the immediate stimulation of our senses. Every turn brought with it a new sight, sound and smell to behold, making the urge to explore everything all at once a tough one to overcome.
But common sense prevailed, and we headed for an early night. The following day was to be a busy one, we were on the hunt for answers to footballing questions that had been bugging us for what seemed like an eternity.
To aid us in our quest, we spoke to Japan-based sports journalist Dan Orlowitz, a man with the passion, knowledge and love of the J.LEAGUE that, as we found out later on, was shared by many fans in and around the stadium on matchday.
With Dan’s tales of the J.LEAGUE, from quirky team names to its rich history, still ringing in our ears, we made our way to Saitama for matchday, with the atmosphere already building outside a stadium that has previously hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup semi-final.
Here, we caught our first glimpses of who we had come to see, the poster children of Japanese fan culture, the Urawa Reds supporters.
In Europe, these passionate fans would often be labelled as ‘Ultras,’ a word that brings with it certain connotations of aggression, crowd trouble and more often than not an ensuing police presence. In Japan, though, the ‘Ultras’ couldn’t be further from that.
These fans - fresh from watching their club on the global stage at the FIFA Club World Cup in the US - mixed peacefully pre-game with the Avispa Fukuoka supporters who had made the 115-mile journey to support their travelling side.
During the match however, things turned up to a level that surpassed our expectations. Waving flags, constant jumping, clapping and chanting in unison - this was cohesive footballing support that proved that the Club World Cup displays weren’t just a one-off, they’re the norm.
As the time ebbed away and the referee blew the final whistle, a deafening silence immediately fell on the stadium. The match was over.
The supporters had played their part, and all that was left was to accept the player's final bow, before collectively sharing their thoughts on the match. Ten seconds worth of lukewarm applause and underlying mumbles of dissatisfaction sounded out, the preceding 0-0 draw was not exactly to their liking.
As our focus pulled away from Saitama, we set our sights on the build-up to another huge game, this time in the nearby city of Yokohama, where Premier League champions Liverpool were in town for the J.LEAGUE World Challenge.
The event has seen some huge games in recent years with Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur both facing off against J.LEAGUE opposition - but overall, there are even wider-reaching objectives in mind: raising the standard of Japanese football, growing the game’s popularity, nurturing the next generation, and exploring new ways of enhancing the league’s overall value.
Judging from our J.LEAGUE matchday experience, it only stood to reason that Japanese football fans felt strongly about whichever team they supported, whether at home or abroad, and with Liverpool’s visit on the horizon, there was no letting up in this support.
Yumiko Tamaru of the Official Liverpool Supporters’ Club (OLSC) spoke to us of the dedication of fans in Japan, from getting up in the middle of the night to watch matches, to traveling hundreds of thousands of miles to Merseyside when the sniff of a spare ticket becomes available, and an almost two decade wait for their beloved Reds to return to Japan.
These sorts of fans can often be found in Tokyo’s Epilogue Bar, although you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Bootle or Toxteth, where memorabilia covers the interior from floor to ceiling. Signed shirts, scarves, replica trophies, and even customised beer mats.
Don’t let anyone tell you that you have to be born within a goal kick of a club's ground to really understand what it means to be a fan; it’s simply not true.
As 67,000 fans descended on the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, which hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup final, it was made very obvious to us that this was no ordinary pre-season visit from a Premier League side.
The J.LEAGUE World Challenge means everything to the local fans, whether they remember the last time Liverpool visited or have spent their young lives waiting, this was the opportunity to witness them live and in the flesh.
Despite plentiful support for the home team, Yokohama F•Marinos, the celebrations were slightly muted when they took the lead through Asahi Uenaka.
And although Liverpool hit back with three goals of their own in the second half, those lucky enough to be there were given an unforgettable moment to hold on to in the shape of a substitution on the hour mark that heralded the return of the hometown hero turned global superstar - Wataru Endo.
Handed the captain’s armband by Virgil van Dijk, Endo entered the field to an outpouring of love and appreciation that seemed to never end. From growing up as an F･Marinos fan, to returning as captain of the Premier League champions, it will no doubt be a moment that lives with him long after he has hung up his boots.
The J.LEAGUE World Challenge is more than just the headline act though, more than a single matchday. Alongside the senior fixture, two youth matches were staged between an U-15 J.LEAGUE Selection and Liverpool U-15’s, each attracting a crowd of over 3,000 that brought with it a warm and passionate atmosphere.
Being present at the first of these matches saw us witness first-hand the intensity with which these young players compete, untroubled by national or linguistic divides. It was a window that gave us a deeper understanding of how J.LEAGUE’s commitment to youth development, international friendship, and cultural exchange is being lived out in practice.
As our return flight brought fewer stresses of ensuing jetlag, there was plenty of time for sleep, for vivid dreams of a return to Japan, the land of the rising sun, where experiencing a footballing nation whose dedicated fans rival those of anywhere else in the world, and whose fascinating shores are worth every second of travel to get there - trust us.
