Tochigi City FC, a J-League club, has finally decided to be promoted to J2. Tochigi City FC, which once had a rickety stand and was never talked about, moved from the Kanto League to the JFL in 2023, when it changed its name from “Tochigi Uva FC,” and to the J3 in 2024. On November 23, 2025, Tochigi City FC won a 3-0 victory over AC Nagano Parciero to secure the “top 1 or 2 places in J3” necessary for automatic promotion, and will play in J2 from 2026 after being promoted for three consecutive years. Tochigi City’s chant, “Fight, our Tochigi City, stand up with pride,” sung to the melody of X Japan’s “Rusty Nail,” is outstandingly cool. The “CITY FOOTBALL STATION,” which will open in 2021, has a seating capacity of approximately 5,000 people, but the environment for watching the games is surprisingly good, as if to say, “Even in J3, you can watch such interesting soccer games! The stadium and the teams are not the only factors that contribute to the quality of the game. However, even though there are weaknesses in factors other than the stadium and the team, …… is a good place to start. Having visited 49 of the 60 clubs from J1 to J3, and having eaten stadium food, I visited the stadium to see what the weak points are. What is the only weak point?
Players play at TV viewing distance. Players and spectators are close! The greatest feature of Tochigi City’s home stadium, “CITY FOOTBALL STATION,” is that the distance between the spectator seats and the players is close. The distance between the pitch and the stands is only about 5 meters, about the distance between the diagonals of an eight-mat room. It is like watching TV in a large living room, where the players are sweating, fighting for the ball, and roaring “Hmmm! and kicking a corner kick with a roar! What would I say if I didn’t call this “powerful”? On the reserved seating side (closer to the clubhouse), you can sit on cushioned seats with backrests and listen to Naoshiro Imaya, the Tochigi City manager, giving the players instructions in rapid succession. Sometimes, you can even hear the opposing team’s coach yell out a curse word in desperation, “Hey, what are you doing? After attending a few times, you will enjoy watching soccer from the perspective of a manager or staff member. However, there is a clear disparity in the quality of the seats on the away side and in the free seats, so enjoy watching the game with an open mind. Behind the stands and a few steps from the exits, stag lined up in rows. The small stadium is close to everywhere you need to go, and in less than a minute you can order udon, Sano ramen, tacos, fruit tarts, and more as much as you like! It is nice that there are about 60 stores open for business, even though it is a J3 stadium and the attendance is not that large.
© Source travel watch