New Zealand v. Namibia - Sunday 6 October
We camped close to the stadium for two nights as we had two matches across a Saturday and Sunday. Now, this is the equivalent of trying to camp in Richmond to go to Twickenham (or more accurately, Hounslow as we were west of the stadium), so we couldn't find an actual campground. Instead we parked in Nogawa Park and used the park loos.
It was hardly picturesque or adventurous but it did mean a short hop to the stadium, avoiding the crowds. We had carried out the journey three times from Tokyo, so it was nice to go in from a different direction (which we called 'the arse end'!).
The park had a BBQ area so we decided we would have a BBQ prior to heading out to the England match. But, we didn't have an actual BBQ in the van and the gas stove wasn't allowed! We headed to three supermarkets to look for a disposable BBQ, before calling it a bust and opting for a picnic instead. We were driving through the suburbs, made up of cute but narrow streets amongst quite a fair bit of green parklands too. Then we were queuing in traffic to park at a supermarket.
It was quite a domesticated morning in Tokyo for us, rushing around, dodging Saturday traffic and screaming toddlers. It included an obligatory argument over what food to buy, getting lost a few times and running out of time (praise be the single life).
It was blazing hot, and after a rushed picnic, I got Red Rosed up (grateful for the standing mirror I brought with me all the way from Singapore > London > Japan) and with a few tinnies in hand heading to the stadium to be among my people (other England supporters).
The Argentinian fans were a hoot, lots of energy and passion. The England supporters were there en masse, and those in fancy dress (men dressed as women, bright wigs and morph suits) were popular with the Japanese crowd.
I headed down pitch side to observe and monitor England's warm up, for which they looked confident and sweaty, if anyone had asked me.
I cohorted with another England fan (who was in a white tennis skirt, male) to attach his rugby flag to the railings in front of us. He used zip ties to attach it, and I encouraged him to do it knowing full well stadium security would drop by within 30 seconds and ask him to take it down.
So they came by and had to wait for five minutes for scissors to cut the zip ties 😂. I hope the flag made it on to TV because it was an England flag with the name of his local rugby club on it!
I don't think I made it on TV even though we were only 17 rows up from the pitch to the right of the goal posts. I believe the fairy lights twisted into my red rose crown were not bright enough to cast a spotlight on me!
The match was fun, with the England and Argentina crowds singing a lot (although Argentina became quieter as the match went on). England did well enough but there were some silly mistakes. However, I can forgive because they were the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals. We made it out of the pool, hurrah!
The teams go to each side of the field to bow to supporters after the match.
It's a nice touch (geddit?!)
After the match, we headed to a little town nearby called Tama to try to watch the Japan v. Samoa match. We had hoped they would show this match on the gigantic screens in the spectator zone adjacent to the stadium. However, they did not due to 'safety reasons'. A lot of guys started kicking and throwing a rugby ball around the area, causing complete outrage by the authorities who were politely yelling to stop. But the crowd of 100 people were not listening. It was quite funny, with the police trying to intervene but having to dodge out the way of the ball and running people.
I did notice more police presence at the match than at other matches, seems to be the case whenever England play. The next day, at New Zealand v. Namibia I noticed less police!
In Tama, we were trying to find a pub to watch the Japan match. We were standing on the pavement outside the bus station and Lawson (like 7-Eleven), and this tiny van pulls up to the curb, the boot pops open and lights up the inside with a TV showing the Japan match live!
This guy had tricked out his car with a TV and stereo, and was happy to park up so a crowd could watch the match from the boot of his van. Unbelievable!
A quick run inside Lawson for tinnies and I was happy to stand there and watch the match. Loadsa England supporters kept passing by too, and it became quite a fun crowd to hang with on the street (shout out to the Judo guys from the British Army!).
En route to the van (short walk) I ate more fried chicken, which is now my default post-match ritual.
From my perch in the penthouse, the next day dawned wet and windy. Grrreat.
The campervan was parked next to tennis courts, so at what felt like the crack of dawn, I could hear the pop pop pop of balls bring volleyed. Also at crack of dawn (literally) some bleeding banshee of a bird started squawking away and light aircraft started landing and taking off (yes we had also parked next to a small airport).
It was nature meets Wimbledon meets London Heathrow. And it cost us a crap load in parking fees too. I will share more about the cost v. benefit of having a campervan in another blog (quick preview: cost wins).
This would be my very last morning waking up in the van. Oh rejoice sweet baby Jesus, I am saved! I tried to appreciate the closeness to the outdoors; to the wind rustling the leaves in the trees less than 3ft from where I slept. To the skylight that on the previous morning showed me bright blue sky while I lay in bed.
But let's all remember I have poor vision without lenses or glasses so all I saw was a blur out the skylight. And amongst the sounds of leaves rustling was also the bleeding rustling of plastic bags as Paul phaffed below and car doors slamming as other park visitors arrived. So it was 'sayonara' to the penthouse, 'see you in two thousand and never', and off we went to New Zealand v Namibia.
Views from the penthouse
We passed a Nepalese restaurant along the way, and we had naan and curry for lunch. It was pure heaven, alongside a mug of sweet Indian chai, on this rainy, grey day. Perfect!
The match itself was kind of cute (kawaii!) as Namibia played with such heart against the All Blacks. Before that, the Haka was performed in pin drop silence which was quite eerie - most supporters from the opposing team would try to drown out the Haka, but not the Namibians and not the Japanese fans either. Equally, the anthems were quiet affairs too (Namibian anthem sounds good, I must check it out). I am quite certain I was the loudest person singing God Defend New Zealand - in my very best attempt of Hayley Westenra.
The New Zealand crowd are very polite and quiet too. I mentioned this to a nearby Kiwi and he said he had stopped going to matches in NZ because the atmosphere can be pretty dry, crazy.
I think TJ Perenara from the All Blacks landed the try of the tournament during that match. I am calling it!
The Blacks (although in blue) warming up
The Haka
After, we drove around in circles a bit trying to access the freeway to get to Mt Fuji (more about driving around in circles in another chapter (Quick preview: Google Maps is flawed, cheers Google)).
Once we arrived in the town of Fujiyoshida (essentially like most US towns, albeit nestled in the valleys of Mt Fuji and her sister mountains), we checked into the capsule hotel and ran in the rain to a Chinese restaurant next door.
Best. Steamed. Pork. Dumplings. Ever.
#Singaporemusttryharder
Next day, we woke up early for - well, go read the next Chapter!
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