The Rugby World Cup kicks off in Japan today with the hosts taking on Russia in Tokyo at 1945 local time. I will be posting daily on the action and throwing in a bit of culture and language for good measure to try and give you a clearer picture of modern Japan.

12 fan zones have been set up in the 12 host cities (Sapporo, Iwate, Saitama, Tokyo, Yokohama, Shizuoka, Toyota, Osaka, Kobe, Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Oita) for fans to follow the action on big screens.

The Ecopa stadium, which will host four matches (Japan vs Ireland, South Africa vs Italy, Scotland vs Russia and Australia vs Georgia), is actually an hour’s train journey from the city of Shizuoka itself, but the connected fan zone is located in Shizuoka city proper.

That’s where I’ll be following the action this evening once I get off work. I’m tipping the Brave Blossoms to win fairly comfortably, hopefully on their way to a quarter-final berth. Who will you be supporting?

Today’s Match:
Japan vs Russia (1945 JST) Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo

Expression of the day:
日本へようこそ (nihon e youkoso)
Which means…
Welcome to Japan!

Next Day