When it comes to football I have two options in Osaka. Gamba Osaka and Cerezo Osaka. I went to see Gamba when I was last in Japan. However, there is a disadvantage to going to their games (and I’m not talking about them being in the relegation zone). Their stadium is on the northern side of Osaka. From where I am in the south it would take me nearly 2 hours to get there. Cerezo is nearer although it does take a while to get there as I need to travel by “local trains” (I’ll take about “local trains” at some point in the future).

I went to see Cerezo play Hiroshima. They were good defensively but not much going forward. They duely lost the match 1-0 but then again Hiroshima are top of the league so maybe it wasn’t so bad.

There were other things to note.

Their mascot is a combination of Elvis and Frank Sidebottom:

Their motto is “For The Top of Dreams”. A bit clumsy but not the worst use of English I’ve come across in Japan. In fact the other day I came across a hair salon called Lego Hair. I do wonder what look people go for there.

A commonly seen haircut in Japan.

They are sponsored by Nipponham (a sausage manufacturer in Osaka).

The ground (the Yanmar stadium) is next door to a cemetery. As I was approaching the stadium a lot of funeral goers were off to pay their last respects. I guess that this isn’t so unusual. Anfield is next door to Goodison after all.

Their stadium appears to incorporate a Youth Hostel.