The Mrs and I had a couple of hours to kill between the daughter's university graduation ceremony in the morning, and her departmental graduation ceremony in the afternoon. It so happened that Nagasaki's spanking new football stadium was just a stone's throw away from where the morning ceremony had taken place, so we both thought it would be a good idea to stroll over and check it out.
Hiroshima, where we live, also has a new city-centre stadium, so I thought it would be interesting to compare the two. Modern football stadium design in Japan is quite different from English and probably most European football stadiums. In English football stadiums the fans are segregated and kept apart as much as possible. In both Hiroshima's "Peace Wing" stadium and Nagasaki's "Peace Stadium Connected by SoftBank" there is a walkway behind the stands that goes all round the stadium and both the home and away fans can freely access it from their the stands and stoll round and mingle with no fear of any agro! You can buy food and drink, including booze, from booths located around the walkway, and you can even sit at tables or counter-style places and watch the game from the walkway while wolfing down your nosh.
Actually, my first experience of that kind of stadium design was at the "new" Hiroshima "Mazda Zoom Zoom" baseball stadium that opened in 2009.
Nagasaki Football Stadium
The first thing I noticed as we approached the stadium was the first signs of blossom on the young cherry trees. I tried to take a selfie with the blossom and the stadium behind me, but was photobombed by the Mrs - typical!
When we got to the top of the flight of steps we were surprised at how open and easy of access the whole stadium was. You can walk straight into the stands. A few people here and there were sitting in the stands. The Mrs wanted to go and sit right behind the goal and that provided a nice opportunity to include the young bloke who was mowing the pitch in the picture. I always enjoy watching other people working when I am not.
There was a nice terrace bar, but rather than go there for lunch, I suggested to the Mrs that we hoof it back down the steps and pop into the Lawson's convenience store that is part of the complex of shops, cafes, bars and restaurants, grab some grub and a refreshing drink and have a light lunch in the stands. Cheap and certainly very cheerful. So that's what we did. For my part, I only wanted a light "lunch" of a can of Kirin "Ichiban Shibori" and a box of Meiji "Almond Chocolate" (chocolate coated almonds) - nothing heavy that might cause me to nod off during the afternoon ceremony...
And so, there we sat, in our free stadium seats, enjoying the view and, at least in my case, a refreshing drop of beer to gladden the old heart.
For more info about Nagasaki Peace Stadium Connected By Softbank check out this Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Stadium_Connected_by_SoftBank
Cheers!
David Hurley
#InspiredFocus