On a cold winter’s night in the middle of December in 2011, we headed to Toyota Stadium to watch the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup semi-final match between J-League team Kashiwa Reysol and the Brasileirao team Santos.
Toyota Stadium, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture
Toyota Stadium, Toyota city, Aichi prefecture, Japan
The Japanese team ended up losing 3 – 0. Many people were keen to see star player Neymar, who displayed much of his fancy footwork.
A Japanese teacher at my work gave me free tickets to see the game. As a resident who lives quite close to the stadium, she got free tickets and couldn’t make the game, so I was very happy to go!
Toyota Stadium is across the Yahagi River from the center of Toyota City. Most people attending the game walked to and from the city stations of Toyotashi Station and Shintoyota Station. My station is just 8 minutes away, so it was quick to get to the game.
The stadium is the home ground for Nagoya Grampus, Nagoya City being only about 35km away from Toyota City. When I had a short beard, one of my soccer mad friends in Toyota City would say I looked like Josh Kennedy, who is an Australia striker who plays for Nagoya Grampus (and who scored the goal to get Australia into the 2014 FIFA World Cup).
When I was living in Toyota City, friends and I would gather every week to play soccer, often playing on the small futsal sized fields across the river from this stadium.
Above the Toyota Stadium sign in the photo above is a classy restaurant, with a great view of the river and Toyota City itself.
More on Toyota City:
- Photos from Toyota City in Aichi Prefecture, Japan
- Playlist of my videos from Toyota City (see just how many vending machines are encountered in short drive around town!)
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