Within the wake of attending 20+ totally different sports activities in 2023, just about each upcoming occasion will get promoted on my social media or immediately in my inbox. I just lately caught sight of a motor-cycle occasion in Saitama Prefecture going down over an extended weekend in mid-January. I had by no means heard of the stadium so regarded it up on Google Maps and noticed that I’d be capable of cycle there in lower than an hour. Scrolling down by the assorted ticket costs finally took me to at least one for simply 1000 yen so I purchased it with out an excessive amount of thought because it’d give me one thing new to do on the Friday after I was off work.
After reserving the ticket I started to dig a bit deeper for what I’d received myself concerned in considering I used to be about to see one thing like speedway or motorcyle racing. It quickly dawned on me that I had bought a ticket for what’s principally only a playing sport in Japan. While I knew in regards to the three major betting sports activities in Japan (horse racing, keirin biking and boat race) I used to be completely unaware that there was a fourth one referred to as Auto Race. Moreover, I realised that entry to the primary outside stand was truly free and that I had unneccessarily spent cash for a seat which I actually didn’t want!
The day started at 10:00 am and completed round 5:00 pm however I used to be positive an hour or two can be greater than sufficient so didn’t go away the Tokyo Fox World Operations Centre in Itabashi Ward till 11:30 am. It was a reasonably easy route for me going by Akabane and passing near Kawaguchi station, and I used to be in a position to park my bicycle proper exterior the circuit which had a fairly shabby-looking entrance.
Once I went to Boat Race in Miyajima (Hiroshima Prefecture) initially of final 12 months I used to be a bit shocked to see fairly a number of females, and even some households in attendance as my earlier expertise of witnessing these playing sports activities was that the spectators have been practically all outdated males! That was additionally the case right here at Kawaguchi Auto Race Circuit so regular enterprise was resumed.
My paid seat was a padded one with just a little desk in entrance for my drink, notepad, pen, betting slips and newspaper type information. Properly, it might’ve been if I used to be a correct fan however I didn’t actually know what was occurring. The reply was not a lot however after some time the riders sporting totally different colored outfits took to the circuit able to burn some rubber.
Prepared, regular, go! The eight riders started in staggered style and rode spherical for half a dozen laps on their 599cc two-speed gearbox bikes. Like keirin biking, there aren’t any brakes which all provides to the jeopardy I suppose. I can’t say I used to be too captivated by that specific race however possibly that was as a result of I had nothing driving on it!
My ideas turned to the betting slips for the subsequent race however regardless of having been to some of those playing sport races I nonetheless can’t keep in mind methods to fill them in! I’ve labored it out on all earlier visits however this time I simply couldn’t be bothered to search for methods to do it so was most likely the one individual in the entire place watching it purely from a sporting viewpoint!
There was a race each half an hour or so and I watched a few them from my flash snug seat on the 4th ground but it surely wasn’t actually enjoyable in any respect seeing it by the glass home windows with the sounds of the roaring engines absent.
Down on the primary ground was a much more interesting expertise as I’d be capable of see the motion up shut however first I made a decision to splash out a bit on some food and drinks. I purchased a glass bottle of coke which took me again to a bygone period. I handed it to the employees member as I paid for it and was anticipating her to crack open the bottle and hand it again however she poured it right into a paper cup!! But more cash wasted as I might even have purchased a less expensive cola elsewhere within the stadium!! I additionally spent 250 yen on an enormous fried rooster stick which was definitely worth for cash however the style was sadly just a little disappointing.
You might need to zoom in to see it extra clearly however this garbage bin (beneath) shows a message saying “no spitting” which is one thing I’d by no means seen earlier than. I can solely assume that is associated to older males having the behavior of spitting. They definitely do it when within the bathrooms (full with the noisy pre-spit sound impact) so possibly it was an issue with these bins too, particularly within the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
I watched my final race of the day trackside the place there was much more ambiance and pleasure because the followers cheered on the riders they’d invested their cash in.
Watching the bikes flash by at about 150 kilometers per hour across the 500-meter asphalt monitor was extra attention-grabbing than I believed it might be. The six laps flew by very quickly and I can’t inform you how good it was to have the ability to hear the sound of these engines in addition to the ups and downs of the spectators keen them on.
While you’ll be able to keep and watch the motion all day I used to be glad to only pattern a number of races of a “sport” I didn’t even know existed a number of days earlier than! It was additionally one other stay sport so as to add to my rising tally, and one which I realized one thing new from with the primary factor being that I must be just a little extra cautious when reserving future sporting tickets!
- Kawaguchi Auto Racing is situated at 5-21-1 Aoki, Kawaguchi, Saitama-ken. It’s open day-after-day between 09:00 and 17:00. Race days are pretty frequent so please examine the official website for extra particulars.
Click on right here to learn ‘I Watched 15 Sports activities In Japan For The First Time In 2023’
Click on right here to learn ‘The Different Massively Standard Factor To Do At Miyajimaguchi Station!’
Click on right here to learn ‘Warming Up For Tokyo 2020 Biking With A Journey To See Some Native Keirin Motion’
Click on right here to learn ‘A Day At The Races For The Japan Cup’
