Japan

THE FOOTBALL

FC Tokyo and Tokyo Verdy 1969 both play at the Ajinomoto Stadium in the suburb of Chofu, a good 40 minutes from the city centre by train.

Several clubs have used the National Stadium throughout the season (including, at times, Tokyo Verdy) but this is usually due to fixture congestion and stadium capacity constraints.

Average J-League attendances touch 30,000 these days, but that’s well short of capacity so getting tickets shouldn’t be a problem.

The same applies to the Yokohama International Stadium, home of the Marinos and venue for the 2002 World Cup Final.

THE PLACE

The Land of the Rising Sun and Mount Fuji is also home to sushi, sumo wrestling and ‘sci-fi supermarkets’ (handy for cheap electrical goods). You can enjoy all three and more within the bright lights of the frenetic capital Tokyo or take the 40-minute train ride to the less claustrophobic Yokohama.

There you can visit the western-looking suburb of Yamate, have a meal in Japan’s finest, er, Chinatown, walk over the world’s second biggest cable bridge and stare up at Japan’s tallest building, the Landmark Tower.

As England discovered to their cost in 2002, Japan can be uncomfortably hot and humid in mid-summer, but spring and autumn, which bookend the football season, are dry and mild.