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June 09, 2006
The guide to the World Cup in Japan
Instead of heading out at 6pm on a Friday night for a few drinks, I am at home. But not for long! With the opening match of the 2006 World Cup starting at 1am (2500), I figured I could wait a bit before getting some drinks in. And it gives me some time to put together this entry. A lot of the credit should go to Nick Carter (whoever you are!) who did the hard work of figuring out the broadcast schedule for games in Japan and then sharing that information with everyone ( I received the e-mail at least three times)! If you have not seen it, you can find the relevant information by clicking on the last link in this post.
Also, I will keep this entry on top for the next month and update it as I get more information. Comments and suggestions are welcome.
Your daily reading
Worldcup365 - This is run by the people at Football365 and a must read EVERY DAY, especially if you are an England fan. Mediawatch is highly recommended.
Official FIFA World Cup site - Good for the official spin and updates on team news (injuries etc)
The Guardian World Cup site - If you aren't reading this, what are you doing?
Where to go out and watch
Despite the time difference, there are plenty of choices for going out...finding a place that is comfortable is a different story altogther. Expect these places to be busy, especially for England and Japan matches.
* Hobgoblin and Legends (World Cup schedule here)
* Paddy's - They have apparently put in a few more TVs, so could be a good place to go.
* Tokyo Sports Cafe - the event schedule is here.
* Footnik - It looks like they are on a limited reservation system. I do not usually go here, so I was not paying attention.
* Meguro Tavern is working on a reservation system...the web site does not have any information, but you can click here to access it.
* Newcomer Baron in Nishi-Azabu will also have near-full coverage, but you will have to trust me on that as their web site is also lacking in details.
I imagine for major matches, ie anything with England or Japan, you will need to go early to stake out your territory.
If anyplace particularly stands out, I will let you know.
As for tonight, I am headed to Hobgoblin Roppongi or Legends for the Gernmany v Costa Rica match.
Surviving at home
In contrast to four years ago, Japan is not an ideal place to be for the World Cup. The time difference with Germany means that match times are 10pm, 1am (25.00) and 4am (28.00). The early games are bearable, the late matches almost impossible if you have anything to do at all the next day.
One small consolation is that Japan's world cup coverage is on terrestrial and free satellite TV, meaning late night trips to the bar are not always necessary. If you expand this entry, there is a listing of matches, including date, time and TV channel.
9 June (Friday)
25.00 Group A Germany v Costa Rica TBS, BS1, Bs-hi
28.00 Group A Poland v Ecuador BS1, Bs-hi
10 June (Saturday)
22.00 Group B Englandv Paraguay Fuji-TV, BS1, Bs-hi
25.00 Group B T&T v Sweden NHK-G Bs1, Bs-hi
28.00 Group C Argentina v Ivory Coast BS1, Bs-hi
11 June (Sunday)
22.00 Group C Serbia and Montenegro v Netherlands NHK-G, BS1
25.00 Group D Mexico v Iran TV Asahi, BS1, Bs-hi
28.00 Group D Angola v Portugal BS1, Bs-hi
12 June (Monday)
22.00 Group F Australia v Japan NHK-G, BS1,Bs-hi
25.00 Group E USA v Czech Republic NHK-G, BS1
28.00 Group E Italy v Ghana BS1, BS-hi
13 June (Tuesday)
22.00 Group G South-Korea v Togo NHK-G, BS1
25.00 Group G France v Switzerland TV Tokyo, BS1, BS-hi
28.00 Group F Brazil v Croatia TV Tokyo, BS1, BS-hi
14 June (Wednesday)
22.00 Group H Spain v Ukraine NHK-G, BS1
25.00 Group H Tunisia v Saudi-Arabia BS1, Bs-hi
28.00 Group A Germnyn v Poland BS1, Bs-hi
15 June (Thursday)
22.00 Group A Ecuador v Costa Rica NHK, BS1
25.00 Group B England v Trinidad and Tobago NHK-G, BS1
28.00 Group B Sweden v Paraguay BS1, Bs-hi
16 June (Friday)
22.00 Group C Argentina v Serbia and Montenegro NTV, BS1, Bs-hi
25.00 Group C Holland v Ivory Coast NTV, BS1, Bs-hi
28.00 Group D Mexico v Angola BS1, Bs-hi
17 June (Saturday)
22.00 Group D Portugal v Iran Fuji-TV, BS1, Bs-hi
25.00 Group E Czech v Ghana NHK-G, BS1
28.00 Group E Italy v USA BS1, Bs-hi
18 June (Sunday)
22.00 Group F Japan v Croatia TV-Asahi, BS1, Bs-hi
25.00 Group F Brazil v Australia Fuji-TV, BS1, Bs-hi
28.00 Group G France v South-Korea BS1, Bs-hi
19 June (Monday)
22.00 Group G Togo v Switzerland TBS, BS1, Bs-hi
25.00 Group H Saudi-Arabia v Ukraine NHK-G, BS1, Bs-hi
28.00 Group H Spain v Tunisia BS1, Bs-hi
20 June (Tuesday)
23.00 Group A Ecuador v Germany NHK-G, BS1, Bs-hi
23.00 Group A Costa Rica v Poland BS1
28.00 Group B Sweden v England BS1 (ONLY!!!)
28.00 Group B Paraguay v Trinidad and Tobago Bs-hi
21 June (Wednesday)
23.00 Group D Portugal v Mexico NHK, BS1, Bs1-hi
23.00 Group D Iran v Angola BS1
28.00 Group C Holland v Argentina BS1
28.00 Group C Ivory Coast v Serbia and Montenegro BS-hi
22 June (Thursday)
23.00 Group E Czech v Italy Fuji-TV, Bs-hi
23.00 Group E Ghana v USA BS1
28.00 Group F Croatia v Australia BS1
28.00 Group F Japan v Brazil NHK-G, Bs-hi
23 June (Friday)
23.00 Group H Saudi-Arabia v Spain NTV, Bs-hi
23.00 Group H Ukraine v Tunisia BS1
28.00 Group G Switzerland v South-Korea Bs-hi
28.00 Group G Togo v France BS1
24 June (Saturday)
24.00 1/8 Final 1 Winner A v Second B NTV, Bs-hi
28.00 1/8 Final 2 Winner C v Second D NHK-G, BS1
25 June (Sunday)
24.00 1/8 Final 3 Winner B v Second A NHK-G, BS1
28.00 1/8 Final 4 Winner D v Second C BS1, Bs-hi
26 June (Monday)
24.00 1/8 Final 5 Winner E v Second F TBS, BS1
28.00 1/8 Final 6 Winner G v Second H NHK-G, BS1
27 June (Tuesday)
24.00 1/8 Final 7 Winner F v Second E TBS, BS1
28.00 1/8 Final 8 Winner H v Second G BS1, Bs1-hi
30 June (Friday)
24.00 Quarterfinal 1 NHK-G, BS1
28.00 Quarterfinal 2 TV-Asahi, BS-hi
1 July (Saturday)
24.00 Quarterfinal 3 NTV, BS1
28.00 Quarterfinal 4 NHK-G, BS1
4 July (Tuesday)
28.00 Semifinal 1 NHK-G, BS1
5 July (Wednesday)
28.00 Semifinal 2 TV-Tokyo, BS1, Bs-hi
8 July
28.00 3rd/4th play-off NHK-G, BS1
9 July
27.00 Final TV-Tokyo, BS1, Bs-hi
Comments
do you have any info on japanese media covering the world cup in little italy, ny? i was there with my family, my children are half-italian, half-filippino, & 2 members of a japanese tv show interviewed us for several minutes. they said it was being aired on japanese tv, & the fact that we were an asian looking family with an italian father would make good tv. but they told me there were no local cable channels that would cover it, & i am interested at getting the footage from a station. any info would be greatly appreciated.
thanks,
jason
Posted by: jason at July 10, 2006 10:48 PM