It’s tough for me, as a 5-foot-10-inch woman, to fit in here. Literally. Everything is tiny, from the doorways to the spaces to sit to the plates and bowls. But I’ve come to really appreciate a lot of what I’ve learned about Japanese culture during my first visit here, as a guest player for Arsenal Ladies in the leadup to the International Women’s Club Championship.
The Arsenal Ladies club is run quite professionally. From the moment I agreed to join the team for this tournament, I received emails welcoming me, instructions on the paperwork I needed to fill out to obtain a visa to travel, and a detailed itinerary of our trip. When I arrived in London for preparations, I collected my new gear and was taken to spend the night at a house that is home to a few of the players and right down the road from the Arsenal training facility.
On the field, the level of knowledge and communication in the team is impressive. The Arsenal Ladies squad is full of experience, strewn with internationals from England, Ireland and Scotland, and also two World Cup Champions from Japan, Yukari Kinga and Shinobu Ohno. The team has high standards tactically, and it plays with a style that I enjoy. Following the instruction I receive as a midfielder while also trying to match the level of communication by talking to the players around me has been a good learning experience.
Japan has been a different kind of experience. There is a strong attention to detail here. From schedules to meal preparation to options on the toilet seat (a button for warm!) to the sorting of recyclables — everything here seems very intentional.
This became particularly apparent at the welcoming party held for Arsenal. A chef at each table prepared a traditional meal, but there were also sandwiches available, just in case. There was enough cake for each guest to have (precisely) two pieces, and we concluded the evening with the traditional way of ending a party (it involved the group clapping in a pattern on cue), which we had to practice twice before doing the real deal.
The respect for and excitement about women’s soccer here is amazing. Our two Japanese players, Kinga and Ohno, are celebrities at home. I’ve seen girls crying because they got to see them in person, and random people on the street or in the hotel come up to them to ask for a photo. As part of our experience, we’ve done several coaching clinics and appearances with female youth teams. The excitement to meet us is like nothing I’ve experienced.
The level of soccer here is superb. I have been extremely impressed by the quality of play, from the youth players we coached to the college team we played against in a friendly match to our first opponent in the tournament, Okayama Yunogo Belle. From a very young age, the players all have been taught a similar idea of how to play, and the techniques necessary to execute that style. Even young children perform this way: they pass back to the goalkeeper, play out of the back from a goal kick, and look to keep possession in tight spaces. The approach to the game is very team-oriented, and it works because everyone is on the same page. Every player knows exactly what her teammates will do.
We beat the college team we played, 5-0, but they had some excellent sections of play and there were moments when we were completely outclassed. I was honestly taken aback. The depth of talent and approach to the game here makes it clear why Japan is the defending World Cup champion. There is a lot the rest of the world can learn from the system the Japanese have created.
I may be one of the tallest women in Tokyo this week, but otherwise I feel like I would fit in well here.
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