Part I 

Oita Trinita

What's to know?: The only J1 club on Japan's southern-most island of Kyushu after Avispa Fukuoka were relegated at the end of last season, Oita are a popular team despite their current lowly position. They got off to a cracking start last year, but their form dipped in the second half of the season, and they never regained it at the start of 2007. Shusaku Nishikawa, Daiki Takamatsu and Shota Matsuhashi were Oita's most influential players last year - they are notable this year for having all been dropped by Brazilian coach Pericles. Indeed Nishikawa was widely tipped to be Japan's number three goalkeeper at the Asian Cup, but his form has been so poor that he's lost his place in the Oita team to veteran Seigo Shimokawa. Other than that, I don't know a whole lot about Oita. I could look them up right now, but then, so could you...

Stadium: These days known as the Kyushu Oil Dome (fill 'er up!), the ground is colloquially known as Big Eye Stadium, which is equally unfortunate. As a venue for the 2002 World Cup, it's as high-tech as you'd expect it to be and includes a retractable roof that slides into place during inclement weather, which Oita experiences quite a bit. Holds around 40,000 and Oita probably last filled it when local rivals Avispa Fukuoka came to town last year.

Interesting stuff: Oita represent the longest away trip for practically every single club in the J1. I hope Consadole Sapporo are promoted at the end of this season just so we can crank up the clichés about the 2000 kilometre journey between Sapporo and Oita.

Should you support them?: If you like, although it'll probably make more sense if you're planning on visiting Kyushu.

Omiya Ardija 

What's to know?: The team all you gaijin dorks have been itching for me to get to, what can I say about this club that isn't already well known? Arguably the most popular club in Japan, with a glorious history and a stadium so superb that it doesn't even need the kind of renovations that take about three years to finish. Now that the lying is over, we'll get to the nitty gritty. Omiya are doomed to always be known as "the other club." That is, sadly enough for Omiya fans, because they hail from the city of Saitama - home to a certain team called Urawa Reds. What that means is that for thirty-two rounds of the season just about everyone ignores Omiya, until the Saitama Derby rolls around and we all start falling over ourselves to trot out the "raging underdogs" and "David vs Goliath" lines. In truth Omiya are a relatively well supported club - particularly for one whose management has failed so spectacularly in the past. Omiya fans have been patiently awaiting the reopening of their Omiya Park Stadium since about the time Commodore Perry sailed into Yokohama Harbour, but the stadium looks set to be reopened - no doubt with uncomfortable new seats, just in time for Omiya to celebrate relegation back to the Second Division. That's a bit harsh - to label Omiya as bad as JEF United and Yokohama FC is a bit of an insult, but unless the so-called "Squirrels Of Saitama" start cracking some wins under new coach Robert Verbeek, they will be doomed for a return from whence they came.

Interesting stuff: Again, I probably could have brushed up my factual knowledge here, but unless I'm mistaken - and please correct me if I'm wrong, the city of "Saitama" was created by a merger of several smaller towns, including both Urawa and Omiya. I should probably have had something insightful to add to that, such as "hence the strong local identity that citizens of Omiya feel towards their club," but...I didn't really think that far ahead.

Stadium: Omiya Koen Park Stadium. The naming rights were sold the other day but I'm sure everyone will ignore that fact and simply call it by its proper name. You get an idea of the stature of the club when you realise that the stadium never met J1 requirements when Omiya were first promoted at the end of 2004, but the J-League assumed the club would go straight back down and thus never bothered to insist that Omiya upgrade their ground. When Omiya stayed in J1 at the end of that season, the J-League suddenly insisted that they make improvements to the ground, and it has seemingly been under refurbishment ever since. It should be finished by November of this year. Since the ground started undergoing improvements, Omiya have tested the patience of their loyal fans by playing at Komaba Stadium - the spiritual home of Urawa Reds.

Should you support them?: Yes, particularly so you can learn about Takuro Nishimura's budgie here: Go! Go! Omiya Ardija

Sanfrecce Hiroshima 

What's to know?: Plying their trade in the southern Japanese town of Hiroshima, Sanfrecce (which may or may not be supposed to mean "three fleets") are at a disadvantage for several reasons. Firstly, they have no real local rivals, with Hiroshima more or less equidistant between Oita and Osaka as the crow flies...and remember that crows can fly over water. Secondly, they come up against popular baseball team Hiroshima Carp, which according to my source (a drunk Japanese businessman I once talked to in a bar) is partly funded or owned or something by the local people of the town. Thirdly, their hugely unpopular stadium is built well out of town, meaning that those who might otherwise be slightly ambivalent towards watching the club play, generally just don't bother. That being said, the Mazda-backed club can usually be relied upon for their entertaining, albeit erratic displays on the pitch. This season strikers Ueslei and Hisato Sato seem to be locked in their own personal duel to secure the Golden Boot as the highest scorers in the J-League, although the fact that Sato sets up most of Ueslei's goals is often overlooked. They've got some talented youngsters is Yosuke Kashiwagi and Toshihiro Aoyama, and in ex-Tottenham midfielder Kazuyuki Toda, they have a copy-writers dream, as the man who "once spat on David Beckham" (whilst playing for Tokyo Verdy, I might add).

Stadium: Sanfrecce play in the wildly unpopular Big Arch Stadium, which Hiroshima locals might more aptly describe as the Big Piece Of... Stadium. It was built for the 1994 Asian Cup Final, apparently by the same guy who designed the Colosseum in Rome about two thousand years ago. It looks about two thousands years old, with a tiny pitch dwarf by massive concrete stands. There's a roof over the press box but that's about it. Hiroshima will invariably struggle for as long as they play in this abomination of a stadium.

Interesting stuff: Their stadium sucks.

Should you support them: Perhaps, but mainly if you want to recreate the feel of Kenilworth Road circa 1986.

Shimizu S-Pulse

What's to know?: Taking Shimizu as the centre of the universe, as your correspondent is want to do, there is little else to say other than Shimizu S-Pulse are probably the greatest sporting team in the history of competitive sport. Sure they've never won the J-League, and it's true they're not always regarded as one of the best teams in Japan, let alone in Asia. But where else can you watch fans do some kind of hybrid Go-Go dance on the terraces and STILL keep a straight face? In truth, Shimizu's fans are some of the most passionate in the J-League - don't let the fact that many of them are either small children or elderly grandparents fool you. They also take pride in their team, which, unlike many other J-League clubs, is not the offshoot of a major Japanese corporation. That has had its pros and cons as Shimizu will attest, with the club twice almost going to the wall courtesy of a lack of funds. A whip around of the local folk and, particularly, local businesses has helped keep the club afloat and it's a good thing too, considering the 2007 vintage contains some of the most exciting young talent in the J-League, in the likes of Akihiro Hyodo, Takuma Edamura and Jungo Fujimoto. Shimizu probably don't quite have what it takes to win the J-League any time soon, but they play exciting, attacking football under local legend Kenta Hasegawa, who is almost as beloved as his team around these parts.

Stadium: Forgive my bias, but Nihondaira Stadium would almost have to be the most atmospheric in all of Japan. Set amongst the Nihondaira hills, overlooking the Pacific Ocean with a perfect view of Mount Fuji, this 20,000 capacity stadium conjures a cracking atmosphere when full. That is significant, because Shimizu played their home games against Urawa and Jubilo Iwata at a half-full Ecopa Stadium last year, while they moved their home fixture with Kashima Antlers to Tokyo's National Stadium. So irked were the fans at having to travel long distances - which they regularly do to attend away matches, that this season Shimizu decided to play every home game at Nihondaira Stadium. They even printed t-shirts to proclaim as much!

Interesting stuff: The "Pulse" in the name supposedly represents the pulse of two towns - Shimizu and Shizuoka. The major city of Shizuoka lies around eight kilometres to the south of Shimizu, and the club draws thousands of their supporters from the city and its surrounding environs. Indeed, support in the prefecture of Shizuoka is roughly split between those who support Shimizu and those who support their bitter local rivals, Jubilo Iwata.

Should you support them: Yes, and then drop around to my place for a drink after the game.

Ventforet Kofu 

What's to know?: The most unfashionable team in the J-League. There, I said it. Everyone else has, so why can't I? At one time Kofu were the most hopeless team in Japanese professional football. Then something happened...such as them miraculously starting to play decent football, and they suddenly found themselves involved in a promotion/relegation playoff with Kashiwa Reysol (I think) at the end of the 2005 season. Helped by a somewhat handy five goal haul by Brazilian striker Bare in the second-leg of that playoff, Kofu marched into the top flight under an avalanche of "David vs Goliath vs Ventforet Kofu" headlines. Expected to lose more or less every single game in their maiden J1 season, Kofu confounded their critics (when DON'T teams do this? Oh right, Watford) and smashed most of the teams that travelled to their rural Kose Sports Park Stadium. Bare scored fourteen goals last year before Kofu cashed in and sold him to Gamba Osaka, and most expected the team to struggle this year without him. They are struggling without him - and they could make the drop, but that would be harsh on both coach Takeshi Oki and their loyal fans. The club are run on the smell of an oily rag, with an annual budget that would make some amateur teams blush. Oki has his team play a unique brand of pressing football that results in plenty of goals - Kofu are generally more likely to win 5-4 than they are 1-0.   

Stadium: Kose Sports Park Stadium. Close enough to downtown (if you can call it that) Kofu, Kose Stadium is as rustic a J-League ground as you'd expect to find at a rural club. It has a running track (in case Takehito Shigehara wants to work off some of that anger by running laps), the obligatory roof over the press box and main stand, and that's about it. Still, it's often full for big matches, and the locals create a partisan atmosphere.

Interesting stuff: The club were helped out financially by Shimizu S-Pulse in recent times, with Shimizu more or less Kofu's geographical neighbours, leading to clashes between the two clubs to be labelled as the "Mount Fuji Derby."

Should you support them?: Yes! They need every yen they can get.

Vissel Kobe

What's to know?:  Vissel Kobe are a club that just scream mediocrity. Apologies in advance to their fans, but they are about as nondescript an outfit as you can find in the J-League. Successful? Nope...but Gamba Osaka just down the road are. Nice stadium? Yep, but it's never full. Likeable players? Yoshito Okubo. Everywhere you look there is something to dislike about this team. From the fact that they are "bankrolled" by a millionaire who puts as much money into the team as I spend on books called "How To Create Bad Metaphors," to the fact they are sometimes so ambivalent on the pitch you could almost accuse them of match-fixing. Their latest fiasco involves sacking popular captain Atsuhiro Miura who made some mildly critical remarks about coach Hiroshi Matsuda. Miura has been working hard to get back into the starting team after suffering a series of injuries, but having failed to do so, he was overheard grumbling about Matsuda's selection policies (or the effect of global warming...one of the two) at a reserve team game. Cue stereotypical Japanese reaction to subordinates criticising their masters, and Miura - an ex-Japan international who stayed loyal to the club even when they were relegated to J2 last year, was sacked. A likeable club? Not particularly.

Stadium: Vissel (<-- don't ask me what that means) play in the high-tech Kobe Wing Stadium (it's called something like "Home's Stadium" after a sponsor now, but let's ignore that fact), which has all the mod-cons that you expect in one of these high-tech, super-expensive modern arenas. I'll probably be able to provide a better reflection when I visit the ground in September, but on TV it has a soul-less character that a lot of these new grounds have when they're only half-full.

Interesting stuff: No one likes Vissel Kobe.

Should you support them?: It's better than supporting baseball team Orix Buffaloes, at least.

Urawa Reds 

What's to know?: Urawa Reds, these days perhaps Japan's most famous team, are seemingly admired and despised in equal measure. They are admired because the club fostered a fervent local support in a town that was hitherto nothing more than a commuter stop-off for people travelling to work to and from Tokyo. Once Urawa had the support of the town, the club turned its attention to making those supporters the most vocal and vociferous of all of Japan's teams - and the club still enjoys fierce rivalries with the likes of Kashima, FC Tokyo and of course Omiya. Yet many have claimed that the soul of the club has been diluted - that you are more likely to find bandwagon supporters and glory-hunters at Saitama Stadium, than you are to find genuine supporters. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, but there is little doubt that Urawa have gone from somewhat of a "working class team" to one of the J-League's glamour clubs. Glamour is popular in Japan, and although Urawa have only ever won one J-League title, their popularity is likely to grow if they continue to recruit players like Shinji Ono and Takahito Soma - popular with the ladies and handy on the football pitch too. The recruitment of players like former Fenerbahce striker Washington and ex-Bayer Leverkusen man Robson Ponte might be looked upon more favourably if the two didn't spend the majority of matches whinging to the referee, and the overall growing egotism of the club (who claimed they would be the first Japanese team to make it to the knockout stages of the revamped Asian Champions League...they obviously hadn't seen Kawasaki's group) make them an easy team to dislike.

Stadium: Arguably the showpiece stadium in Japanese football, Saitama Stadium was at one time considered as a potential venue for the 2002 World Cup Final, before that honour eventually went to the slightly larger Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. The word "futuristic" is often bandied about in regard to this ground. I'm not sure what that is supposed to mean, but it features around 63,000 pretty comfortable seats (which is always a plus in Japan), although the fact that it lies so far outside of town is somewhat of a negative.

Interesting stuff: Urawa are sometimes called "the biggest club in Asia" - despite the fact that as recently as 2000 they were playing in the Second Division, and they only won their first...and only J-League crown as recently as 2005. They do, at least, possess the loudest and arguably most intimidating supporters in Japan.

Should you support them?: If you're one of those types that claims their favourite team is Manchester United/Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter and Lyon then...yes.

Yokohama FC 

What's to know?: Every league needs a so-called "fairytale team." Sometimes that fairytale involves winning, although the likelihood of that happening for Yokohama FC this season is slim-to-nil. They seemingly possess one of the worst teams ever to grace the top flight of Japanese football - although on paper their mish-mash of veterans and inexperienced youngsters doesn't look that different to the squads of several other struggling clubs. The fact that a 40 year old in the form of Kazu Miura is a regular starter should raise eyebrows, while last time I checked the 37 year old Motohiro Yamaguchi was their captain - even though he was dropped for several games. Just to buck the trend Yokohama recently signed the 32 (or so) year old Takuya Yamada...who was recently rejected by Adelaide United, and a 17 year old Korean High School student to try and lift them off the bottom of the table. It hasn't worked. Yokohama FC are important for an entirely different reason. They are a club started by fans. There isn't enough space to transcribe the sad demise of Yokohama Flügels, but if you've ever wondered why there is an "F" in Yokohama F. Marinos' name, think no further than Marinos + Flügels = merger. So enraged were Flügels fans at the unequal merger forced upon the club by the pull-out of its two major sponsors, that when the club did eventually merge, some Flügels fans simply started a new one. Thus Yokohama FC was born, and they plied their trade in the lower levels of Japanese football for eight years. They finally reached the holy grail of J1 this year, and they'll watch it disappear over the horizon as they slide back into the Second Division next season. Fittingly, however, their first ever win in the top flight came over...you guessed it, Yokohama F. Marinos.

Stadium: Yokohama FC play in Mitsuzawa Stadium, which for a long time was the home of Yokohama F. Marinos. It holds about 14,000 when absolutely packed, but notably it has no roof whatsoever to speak of.

Interesting stuff: If Yokohama FC have never played a friendly with FC United of Manchester or AFC Wimbledon, they probably should. They are the antithesis of what is wrong with football these days (and yes, I am aware of the set-up support they received from companies like IMG and Citibank).

Should you support them?: Yes. They're the good guys.

Yokohama F. Marinos

What's to know?: As much as the merger of the Yokohama clubs was an unequal one in Marinos' favour, it was no doubt just as disruptive to the club and its fans as it was for the now defunct Yokohama Flügels. Still, Yokohama Marinos were one of the J-League's most powerful clubs before the merger, and title wins in 2003 and 2004 suggest that that remains the case. Nevertheless Yokohama F. Marinos have struggled in recent seasons, both with the expectations placed upon them by the club's enthusiastic fans, and some failed signings in the transfer market. The latest of those is former Red Star Belgrade striker Takayuki Suzuki, who has gone from being virtually anonymous in Europe to being virtually anonymous in his own backyard. Star player Koji Yamase would probably play for Japan if his club team was more successful (or JEF United) and while F. Marinos churn out some talented youngsters every year from their expensive youth academy, they may struggle unless they can sign a striker capable of scoring twenty goals a season.

Stadium: Yokohama F. Marinos play almost exclusively at the 70,000 capacity Nissan Stadium. That is not particularly useful for a club with average gates of around 20,000 - so no matter how loud Yokohama's loyal fans are, the atmosphere inside the ground can feel somewhat lifeless compared to other Japanese stadiums.

Interesting stuff: They have a humourous fan club called M.O.I.S.T. Check them out here: M.O.I.S.T.

Should you support them?: If you like.