#005 This time, I will introduce the Tsuno town soccer team aiming to join the J.League, Veros Chronos Tsuno. Veros, currently based in Tsunocho, Koyu District, Miyazaki Prefecture, plays in the Kyushu Soccer League and is striving to join the J.League. In this post, I will touch on Veros’s details, history, initiatives, and one player I worked with. ◆Details about Veros The hometown is Tsunocho and the home stadium is Tsunocho Fujimi Park Athletic Stadium, where the team trains daily toward its goals. The club color is asagi (light blue-green), and the operating corporation is J.FC Miyazaki Co., Ltd., founded in 2014. ◆History of Veros In 2019, J.FC MIYAZAKI (the former team of Veros) and the general incorporated association Tsuno Sports Commission of Tsunocho signed an agreement on the Tsuno vocational training project. The following year they moved the hometown from Miyazaki City to Tsunocho and adopted the current asagi club color. The next year the club name changed to Veros Chronos Tsuno, and the team logo and emblem were revamped. Veros’s history as a name is short, but the team actually has a much longer background. I will abbreviate that history here. By the way, the name Veros Chronos Tsuno comes from combining the Greek word for “arrow,” veros, referring to Yatake Falls in Tsunocho, and Chronos, the Greek mythological god of agriculture. ◆Recent Veros I started working at the Tsuno Town Tourism Association in April last year, and since then I learned about Veros, worked with them, and began supporting the team. Many Veros players balance being professional footballers and company employees. The root of this is the regional revitalization cooperation program. The program brings people from urban areas to depopulated or disadvantaged regions to live and carry out community revitalization activities. Veros adopts this system: players devote their mornings to soccer and work at various places in the afternoons. Employers include local farmers, companies, and organizations in Tsunocho, grouped as digital teams or agricultural teams. Last year, one player was assigned to the tourism association as a cooperation squad member for a year. Veros’s youth teams are also attracting attention. As part of the general incorporated association Tsuno Sports Academy’s efforts, they run a unique, community-engaged project to nurture young people from childhood through youth in sport, daily life, education, vocational training, and local engagement. Before being athletes, these young people grow into good members of society, serve as role models for the community, and lead regional development—this kind of human resource development may be unique to this town. Frankly, if I imagined myself as a professional athlete, I would find it hard to accept working another job while still a pro; I might wonder why I had to do it. Because of that doubt, I asked players about it. ◆A player who was seconded to the tourism association as a cooperation squad member said “Certainly, some players question doing farming or working with computers while being professionals. Some players are dissatisfied with the team’s methods and policies. Still, this characteristic is rare among other teams, and for those of us without social experience, it’s a valuable opportunity. It’s rewarding, and it has changed how I think about everyday life. Joining this tourism association made me feel that, being of an age called a veteran, I must set an example for the team, and the results here strengthen ties with local residents. When I consider life after retirement, some will enter society or stay involved with soccer. In society, past athletic experience hardly carries weight. That’s why joining Veros prompted me to think about life after retirement and who I will be when I re-enter society. I want to say this: these experiences become a wonderful asset in life. There will come a time when you think, ‘It was because of that experience,’ or ‘Because I was at Veros.’ Young players might not understand now, but by working hard where you are, you earn recognition from teammates, coaches, staff, and, more broadly, local residents. That recognition will bring support not just for you but for the team. Because it’s a small town, working together and helping each other makes the team rooted in the community and able to aim higher.” He told me this. He now lives in Kanagawa Prefecture and works as a secretary to a local assembly member. That was surprising, but it’s undoubtedly the result of what he built for himself. Next, I will talk about what I felt during the year I worked with him. When I joined the tourism association in April 2024, he had been dispatched about two months earlier as the association’s first cooperation squad member. My first impression was that he looked flashy, but we quickly became close and often acted together. At the summer festival, under the blazing sun, our team carried the mikoshi shrine float. We traveled together on business to the sister city Saroma in Hokkaido and to the sister city Itoman in Okinawa Prefecture, where he was in charge of grilling local jidori chicken over charcoal at events. Looking back, he was a hard worker. The event we worked hardest on together was one of Tsunocho’s famous festivals, the Industry Festival. We arranged stalls and food trucks, scoped venues, and took on new challenges together. I may have seen him more as a respected senior colleague at work than merely as a soccer player. He rarely acted like a footballer while working. Then, at the end of 2024, he retired from soccer, left the cooperation squad, and became a secretary to an assembly member. It is common for retired professional athletes to stay in sports as managers, coaches, sports directors, or move into team management. I was amazed that he became a secretary to an assembly member after retirement. No wonder it was covered in online news. Working with someone like him from my first year as a professional was a valuable experience for me too. I write this because I believe Veros Chronos’s initiatives have real meaning. These efforts greatly influence players’ careers after retirement. Some players fell in love with Tsunocho after joining Veros and chose to live here after retirement. By not only cheering the team but cooperating with local residents, I am convinced that both Tsunocho and Veros will develop together. This year, they dominated the league with five wins and one loss, and in the Emperor’s Cup they beat J3’s Gainare Tottori, setting up a second-round match against J1 Nagoya Grampus on June 11. I hope for a giant-killing upset. I will continue to watch Veros Chronos Tsuno’s progress!!

FC Fujizakura Yamanashi Soccer Events ⚽️🌸] "NEELA MAKES YOUR DREAMS AND WISHES COME TRUE" PRESENTS🐸🌟 "FC Fujizakura Yamanashi Soccer Events" will be held in! * This Event is limited to Nirasaki City residents, those who belong to the city soccer team, those who work at business establishments in the city, and their families. She is active in the Japan Women's Soccer League With the players of FC Fujizakura Yamanashi Soccer Events ⚽️🗻🌸 where you can interact On the day of the event, in addition to Held in a soccer class "Soccer Community" by FC Fujizakura Yamanashi players and staff, "FC Fujizakura Yamanashi player autograph session" and "Fun lottery" We also have 🌈✨ fun projects such as *Autograph sessions and raffles require registration to participate in the football community. Soccer lovers! Everyone who wants to play soccer from now on! Let's ⚽️ enjoy soccer at "Soccer Town Nirasaki" 【Detailed Information】 ●Date and time Saturday, February 9, 2025 *Cancelled due to stormy weather 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Reception: 9:30 a.m.) ●Venue Greenfield Hosaka (5136-1 Miyakubo, Hosaka Towns, Nirasaki City) ●Participation Fee free * This Event is limited to Nirasaki City residents, those who belong to the city soccer team, those who work at business establishments in the city, and their families. ●What to bring Clothes, shoes, drinks, etc. for exercise ●Application Friday, December 6, 2024 at 10 a.m. * For details and applications for each class in the soccer community, Please see the Nirasaki Tourism Association Home page. ●Organizer / Inquiries Nirasaki Tourism Association Phone number: 0551-22-1991 * Weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ●Cooperation FC Fujizakura Yamanashi @fcfujizakura Nirasaki Sports Soccer Club 〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜 Nirasaki Tourism Association's "Neela will make your dreams and wishes come true" project 💫 Nirasaki City image character "Neera" is a mysterious frog 🐸🌟 who uses the power of magic to make dreams and wishes come true In the recruitment for 2024, we received from the Nirasaki Sports Club Girls. We will fulfill your request "I want to Held in a Events where you can enjoy and interact with the players of FC Fujizakura Yamanashi together." ☆

This is the Iwata City Tourism Association. Nice to meet you all!! Iwata City in Shizuoka Prefecture sits in western Shizuoka roughly midway between Tokyo and Osaka. Known as a “sports town,” it hosts professional teams such as J.League soccer club Jubilo Iwata, Nadeshiko League women’s soccer team Shizuoka SSU Bonita, and Japan Rugby League One’s Shizuoka Blue Revs. The city actively promotes community-building through sports and health initiatives centered on athletics. ◆What is Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture?◆ The population is about 160,000. The city has interchanges on both the Tomei Expressway and the Shin-Tomei Expressway, making it about a three-hour drive from Tokyo and about 1 hour 15 minutes from Nagoya. The shinkansen gateways are Hamamatsu Station or Kakegawa Station; transfer to the Tokaido Line and reach Iwata’s three city stations (Iwata Station, Toyodachou Station, Mikurigaoka Station) in 10–15 minutes. Since ancient times, Iwata has flourished as the center of Toei Province, home to the Tōtōmi Kokubun-ji and Toei Kokubu. With more than 900 kofun (ancient burial mounds) dating to the Kofun period, the city carries a long, living history. In the Edo period it prospered as Mitsuke inn (Mitsuke-juku), a post town on the Tokaido’s Fifty-Three Stations. In recent years, Iwata has developed as an industrial city with traditional textiles plus metalworking, automotive, and musical instrument industries. Its agricultural output ranks among the top in the prefecture, famous for greenhouse melons, tea, white leek, ebi-imo (taro), Chinese vegetables, and seafood such as shirasu. The city balances urban and rural development. ◆Tourist attractions in Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture◆ [Mitsuke inn] Located near the midpoint of the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido (the 28th post town), this post town still preserves small side alleys off the highway, with many shrines and temples that evoke the former atmosphere and lodging-town charm. The area also features the Former Mitsuke School, Japan’s oldest surviving wooden pseudo-Western style school building, and Iwata Bunko (both national historic sites); Mitsuke Tenjin Yanahiru Shrine, the stage of the Mitsuke Tenjin Hadaka Festival and the site of the Shippeitaro spirit legend; and the Former Akamatsu Residence Memorial Hall, designated as prefectural and municipal cultural properties. In 2022, the Former Mitsuke School and Iwata Bunko were recognized as Shizuoka Heritage sites, celebrated as ‘‘the crystallization of Shizuoka people’s passion for modern education,’’ alongside Mitsuke inn and Mitsuke Tenjin Yanahiru Shrine. [Ryuyo Marine Park] A seaside park featuring a marine center with sports facilities and a multi-purpose lawn. The expansive grounds include tennis courts, baseball fields, a playground, a roller slide, and an auto camp ground, making it family-friendly. The adjacent Shiosai Ryuyo complex at the auto camp ground sells local products and offers a restaurant, BBQ facilities, and bathing amenities. The marine center also offers hands-on experiences such as stand-up paddleboarding (SUP). [Nagisa no Koryukan and Fukuda Fishing Port area] Nagisa no Koryukan sits within Fukuda Fishing Port, looking out over the vast Enshū Sea. It has a food court where you can enjoy fresh shirasu bowls, such as raw shirasu don and kama-age shirasu don, while gazing at the ocean. The area also features the “Minna no Sunaba” sand ground for beach soccer and beach volleyball and an event plaza for outdoor gatherings. A nearby fishing spot offers easy shore fishing, and adjacent Toyohama Coast is a surfing location that has hosted national competitions thanks to its excellent waves. Fukuda Fishing Port is known for shirasu fishing and also supports recreational fishing charters, serving as a base for offshore fishing in the Enshū Sea. Within one to two minutes from the port, several shirasu processing plants line up, attracting customers from far away. [Shishigahana Park] According to legend, Kobo Daishi founded this park, which has well-maintained walking trails and athletic play areas. In spring, cherry blossoms and azaleas bloom; in early summer you can enjoy fresh greenery for forest bathing and birdwatching; in autumn the foliage is beautiful. It’s ideal for hiking and walking. From the observation deck you can see the Enshū Sea in the distance, and the park is a popular spot to watch the first sunrise on New Year’s Day. [Yamaha Stadium] [Yamaha Motor Communication Plaza] Yamaha Stadium is the home ground for Jubilo Iwata (soccer) and Shizuoka Blue Revs (rugby). It is about a 15-minute walk from JR Mikuriya Station north exit, and on match days attracts many fans from Japan and abroad. Next to the stadium, within the Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. headquarters, the Communication Plaza corporate museum showcases Yamaha Motor products and history and serves as an engaging industrial tourism spot. [Ruins of Tōtōmi Kokubunji Temple] Excavations began in 1951, and the site was designated a Special National Historic Site the following year. The kokubunji layout once centered on a main hall (kondo) and included a seven-story pagoda, lecture hall, middle gate, and cloister. Major structures, including the seven-story pagoda site, were discovered, and the site received national special historic designation in Showa 27 (1952). In fiscal 2022 work restored the wooden foundation platforms for the lecture hall and monk’s quarters on the north side of the ruins, and in fiscal 2023 the wooden foundation platform of the main hall was restored. Plans call for reconstructing cornerstone stones that supported building pillars and the stone steps placed on the front of the platform. This valuable heritage testifies to Iwata’s role as a regional center. ◆Local specialties of Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture◆ Iwata’s specialties let you taste the bounty of the land: ebi-imo, iwata tea, aroma melons, white leek, and dried persimmon rounds (koro-gaki). Locally grown ingredients are known for their freshness and flavor. Seafood such as shirasu, wild tora-fugu, and grilled white-cut eel are also popular; shirasu in particular are prized for their firm texture from swimming in the area’s swift coastal currents. These specialties are popular as souvenirs and as return gifts for hometown tax donations. ◆Festivals and events in Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture◆ [Fu Hachiman-gu Shrine Festival] Held each year in the Nakaizumi area on the first Saturday and Sunday of October. Each neighborhood parades elaborately decorated floats. The festival is full of atmosphere, with drums, flutes, and spirited calls filling the air. [Mitsuke Tenjin Hadaka Festival] The grand festival of Mitsuke Tenjin Yanahiru Shrine is designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. It takes place on the Saturday and Sunday just before the 10th day of the eighth month of the old lunar calendar. The festival’s highlight is the nighttime procession of naked participants and mikoshi (portable shrines), which runs from around 9:00 p.m. into the early hours of the next morning, reaching a peak around 1:00 a.m. Naked men, grouped into four units called teidan, parade through the old Tokaido route within the Mitsuke area and proceed to the shrine’s worship hall. Inside the worship hall, the excitement builds each time a new group joins, and intense chants and vigorous dances (oni-odori) continue. In the deep of night, all lights in the area are extinguished, plunging the scene into pitch-black darkness as the mikoshi run in a breathtaking climax. ◆Sharing information about Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture◆ In Iwata you can feel history and culture nurtured over long time. In 2022, Iwata’s Teratani water was registered as a World Irrigation Structure Heritage, adding another chapter to the city’s proud historical story. In 2023 Iwata reclaimed the top spot nationwide in a ranking of municipalities most associated with the phrase “sports town,” helping to solidify its brand as a city of sport. Yet even now this post cannot fully capture all the charms and strengths alive in Iwata’s history, culture, sea and mountain nature, industries, and people’s lifestyles. We will continue sharing recommended information via Cool Japan videos, so please stay tuned!

NICE TO MEET EVERYONE WHO WATCHES COOL JAPAN VIDEOS! This is the Kawasaki City Tourism Association. We will guide you through the charm of the city that will make you want to visit Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Best regards! ◆◆◆ What is Kawasaki City ◆◆◆ Kawasaki City is located in the northeastern part of Kanagawa Prefecture, between Tokyo and Yokohama, and is a vibrant city with a population of about 1.54 million as of April 2023 Reiwa 5. Since it is adjacent to Tokyo, it has flourished as a transportation hub since ancient times. It has both the aspect of an industrial zone and the aspect of a city where nature and culture coexist. Kawasaki City has a long history, and in the Edo period, it flourished as one of the 53 Tokaido roads. In addition, Kawasaki Daishi Heiken-ji Temple has been crowded with worshippers since ancient times, and about 3 million people visit Kawasaki Daishi for the first time alone, and the number of first-time worshippers in 2023 is the third highest in Japan after Meiji Jingu Shrine and Naritasan Shinshoji Temple. Currently, the King Sky Front, which creates new industries based on world-class research, with a focus on the life sciences and environmental fields, is located right in front of Haneda Airport, making it a hub for open innovation. ◆◆◆ Introduction of sightseeing spots in Kawasaki City ◆◆◆ Here are some of the most popular tourist spots in Kawasaki City, albeit briefly. ◇ Tokaido Kawasaki Hostel Exchange Center You can learn about the history of the area at a facility that conveys the atmosphere that flourished as a post town "Kawasaki-juku" on the 53rd line of the Tokaido Highway. ◇Kawasaki Ukiyo-e Gallery It is a museum that exhibits valuable ukiyo-e prints that are highly regarded both in Japan and abroad, directly connected to the north exit of JR Kawasaki Station. ◇ Ikuta Ryokuchi It is the largest urban park in Kawasaki City and is popular as an urban oasis. Admission is free, and many cherry blossom viewers visit as a famous place for cherry blossoms in the spring season. ◇Kawasaki City Fujiko F. Fujio Museum It is a facility where you can experience the world of the works of the national manga artist "Fujiko F. Fujio-sensei" who created "Doraemon". In addition to Japanese, voice guidance is available in four languages: English, Chinese, and Korean, so foreign tourists visiting Japan can enjoy it with confidence. ◇Kawasui Kawasaki Aquarium It is a new sensation entertainment aquarium that opened in front of Kawasaki Station in July 2020. Inside the museum, the beautiful watersides of the world are reproduced, and various creatures are exhibited. ◇ Todoroki Ryokuchi It is a park located almost in the center of Kawasaki City, and it is an urban park with facilities such as Todoroki track and field stadium, the home of Kawasaki Frontale of the J1 soccer team, and tennis courts. ◆◆◆ Kawasaki City Factory Night View ◆◆◆ The night view of the factories on the "Metropolitan Expressway Kanagawa No. 6 Kawasaki Line", "Ogibashi", and "around the Shiohama Canal" in Kawasaki City, which has developed as an industrial zone, creates a fantastic contrast of light and shadow, creating a otherworldly scenery. The factory night view cruise, where you can see the night view of the factory area such as the Keihin Industrial Area from the boat, is also popular, and you can enjoy the scenery that can only be experienced here. ◆◆◆ Events and festivals in Kawasaki City ◆◆◆ ◇Kawasaki Daishi Wind Chime City It is a festival that represents Kawasaki City, which is held every year in July, and is popular as a summer tradition. The cool sound of about 30,000 wind chimes of 900 types gathered from all over the country heals visitors. ◇Kawasaki Sanno Festival It is the largest festivals in the Kawasaki area, held every August at Inage Shrine, and the highlight is the Great Mikoshi Shrine. In addition, the "Ancient Miyaza Ceremony," a ceremony in which dishes using ancient cooking methods are offered to the gods, is designated as a Kanagawa Prefectural Folk Cultural Property. Kawasaki City is a fascinating city full of unique landscapes where history, rich nature, and advanced industrial areas coexist. Please visit this wonderful city and experience it all. The area around Kawasaki Station is constantly being reborn as a new city in a new history, but when you step into the alley, you will see a row of bars full of Showa retro. We also recommend a trip to find your favorite store in Kawasaki City! We will continue to deliver tourist information about Kawasaki City to everyone, so thank you.

[Location]Ajinomoto Stadium Tokyo Stadium, Chofu City, Tokyo Soccer and athletics are held in this place. It is where the Rugby World Cup 2019 was also held.