Interesting article by Lynn Rutherford about the popularity of figure skating in Japan and the fans who travel the world to attend competitions.
IN Article about Japanese fans
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Interesting article by Lynn Rutherford about the popularity of figure skating in Japan and the fans who travel the world to attend competitions.
I would dearly love to travel the world to watch my favourite skaters compete, go to all their competitions too. But unfortunately, unlike these fans I don't have that kind of money. The average person in my country makes less than the average Japanese, but the cost of living here is higher and we also have fewer holidays and fewer days of paid leave.
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Yes, VERY interesting. All the money and popularity involved in figure skating.... now I see why it's a privilege to get assigned to NHK Trophy.
I can only wish......nope, figure skating will not be that popular in the US anytime soon.
So how do u become a big deal with Japanese fans?
I can only wish......nope, figure skating will not be that popular in the US anytime soon.
So how do u become a big deal with Japanese fans?
I was at Skate Canada and saw what Lynn was talking about, at least half the audience was Japanese (and mostly women). At men's practice they would sit in the front row and take video of his practice sessions. I was fortunate to travel to Mississauga from NY, but at a fraction of the cost of traveling from Japan.
It's amazing to me that so many of the fans have the disposable income and time to travel around the world to see Yuzu and their fave skaters. I have to wonder if this is sustainable as many of them are older and may not be able to travel forever.
It's amazing to me that so many of the fans have the disposable income and time to travel around the world to see Yuzu and their fave skaters. I have to wonder if this is sustainable as many of them are older and may not be able to travel forever.
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I have two "Wonders", if you catch my drift.
First - will this be sustainable after Hanyu retires? I expect that we're going to see a huge dropoff in interest/fans travelling/ticket sales after he does.
Second - is this actually contributing to growth in the grassroots levels of the sport in Japan? More parents putting their kids into skating, more funding for development, that sort of thing? It's great that the Japanese fans are so passionate, but that's not going to help if there's nobody coming through.
First - will this be sustainable after Hanyu retires? I expect that we're going to see a huge dropoff in interest/fans travelling/ticket sales after he does.
Second - is this actually contributing to growth in the grassroots levels of the sport in Japan? More parents putting their kids into skating, more funding for development, that sort of thing? It's great that the Japanese fans are so passionate, but that's not going to help if there's nobody coming through.
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I think Mao's retirement might have a temporary negative impact on the fan base, but I think Japanese fans are more excited by the men at the moment. If a new ladies star emerges in the next few years (Marin?), the sport can probably keep its momentum going. From what little I've gleaned from media coverage, certain cities in Japan (notably Nagoya, Osaka, and Tokyo) have established centres of excellence in figure skating and will continue to attract a steady stream of aspiring young skaters (mostly girls, but boys as well inspired by Dai, Yuzu, and Shoma). Japan also has a school/university club system that allows skaters to train at grassroots level. If another rink opens in Kyoto, that will no doubt contribute towards nurturing new talent. It would be great if Japan could develop more pairs and dance teams.
The great thing about being a FS fan in Japan is the sheer accessibility of it - there is a lot of mainstream TV coverage, even more if you have pay TV. You can follow the sport without ever attending a competition live (which is just as well, since it's so hard to obtain tickets!)
No, most of those Japanese women are not wealthy at all
though the ones who follow their favorite skaters to international competitions are mostly middle aged women,
who probably have some money in their pockets, at least more than young ones, but not far above the average.
I assume they are either unmarried middle aged women with their career or house wives with very busy husbands.
So why are they so passionate?
This phenome reminds me of fans of Takarazuka musical troupe,
which is the all female musical troupe for mostly female fans.
Just watch these videos!
Dream Girls
Takarazuka - Is the Ideal Man a Woman?
Japan is the country where many men work to death literally,
and women feel being left alone with their kids at home because their men do not have much time with them.
Additionally in recent years, it is said that many young Japanese men have turned to Omnivores,
which means that they have a very reserved attitude toward most of aspects of their lives, including their career, money, life plans and women.
Then what should women do since they were taught that they should not be the aggressive one in the relationship.
Naturally this has created a serious issue in their relationship/communication between men and women,
and as the result of it, so many Japanese are single now, and struggling to find their mates.
So under this circumstance, Japanese women have to find something else to give their passion to,
Something else that Japanese men do not provide to them,
and some found it in figure skating.
When those Japanese middle aged women see Yuzuru performing, they feel like being teenage girls all over again.
The days when fantasizing something so passionately was so natural and so easy for them come back to them.
Due to their style of education, Japanese are tend to be very reserved and shy, and many of them are nerdy and geeky.
But even nerdy geeky ones like to express themselves sometimes.
Many popular Japanese cultures have come out of their shy, geeky, nerdy nature,
and what you see in Japanese figure skating fans is definitely that part of Japanese culture.
They are expressing themselves by following their favorite skaters,
buying expensive tickets and giving them so much presents even though they have to sacrifice so much for them.
though the ones who follow their favorite skaters to international competitions are mostly middle aged women,
who probably have some money in their pockets, at least more than young ones, but not far above the average.
I assume they are either unmarried middle aged women with their career or house wives with very busy husbands.
So why are they so passionate?
This phenome reminds me of fans of Takarazuka musical troupe,
which is the all female musical troupe for mostly female fans.
Just watch these videos!
Dream Girls
Takarazuka - Is the Ideal Man a Woman?
Japan is the country where many men work to death literally,
and women feel being left alone with their kids at home because their men do not have much time with them.
Additionally in recent years, it is said that many young Japanese men have turned to Omnivores,
which means that they have a very reserved attitude toward most of aspects of their lives, including their career, money, life plans and women.
Then what should women do since they were taught that they should not be the aggressive one in the relationship.
Naturally this has created a serious issue in their relationship/communication between men and women,
and as the result of it, so many Japanese are single now, and struggling to find their mates.
So under this circumstance, Japanese women have to find something else to give their passion to,
Something else that Japanese men do not provide to them,
and some found it in figure skating.
When those Japanese middle aged women see Yuzuru performing, they feel like being teenage girls all over again.
The days when fantasizing something so passionately was so natural and so easy for them come back to them.
Due to their style of education, Japanese are tend to be very reserved and shy, and many of them are nerdy and geeky.
But even nerdy geeky ones like to express themselves sometimes.
Many popular Japanese cultures have come out of their shy, geeky, nerdy nature,
and what you see in Japanese figure skating fans is definitely that part of Japanese culture.
They are expressing themselves by following their favorite skaters,
buying expensive tickets and giving them so much presents even though they have to sacrifice so much for them.
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I read this article earlier and I'm seeing a lot of comments about disposable income of these fans.
Last year at Skate Canada they did a feature (on CBC I believe) on Japanese fans and they mentioned many of them are not rich and they save up money to attend these competitions, often bringing their own food for meals and whatnot. I can tell you that in Helsinki I saw many of them bring their own instant noodles and cook them with hot water that would've been for tea in the arena, so it's not like they're having an extravagant vacation. I think that select fans probably easily have the disposable income, but I'd be willing to bet many of them save money and spend it only on figure skating as the fluff feature suggested.
Last year at Skate Canada they did a feature (on CBC I believe) on Japanese fans and they mentioned many of them are not rich and they save up money to attend these competitions, often bringing their own food for meals and whatnot. I can tell you that in Helsinki I saw many of them bring their own instant noodles and cook them with hot water that would've been for tea in the arena, so it's not like they're having an extravagant vacation. I think that select fans probably easily have the disposable income, but I'd be willing to bet many of them save money and spend it only on figure skating as the fluff feature suggested.
One thing that I don't think is as fully appreciated as it should be, is that the Japanese fans are truly fans of skaters from all over the world. I cannot think of fans from ANY other country where it is considered "par for the course" to attend an event with a lap full of flags from so many different countries, to wave them with ferver and provide such vocal (not token) expressions of kindness and support for skaters, seemingly regardless of nationality.
Of the major skating nations, this is such an exceptionally consistent and heartfelt part of what makes Japanese skating fans favorites of skaters worldwide.
Of the major skating nations, this is such an exceptionally consistent and heartfelt part of what makes Japanese skating fans favorites of skaters worldwide.
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I don't think that will happen. When I was touring back in the 90's, I remember landing at the airport near Chiba and seeing a giant picture of Yuka Sato in the airport baggage claim area. It was for an ice show that featured Yuka and her picture was everywhere. When I attended Worlds in 2001 the amount of press that followed Fumie and Takeshi Honda was equal to, or greater than all the other nations put together. I think skating in Japan will always be a big deal. Even the coaches are popular with the fans and all it would take to guarantee a sell out crowd is to ask Hanyu to do an exhibition performance.
I think skating in Japan will be fine.
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Even at competitions where Yuzuru is not competing, there are always plenty of Japanese fans in the audience, and Japan has many other stars rising. Shoma of course is already successful, and they have a huge amount of talented ladies. There are some fans who only care about Yuzuru, I'm sure, but it doesn't seem to be the majority. As someone else mentioned, they often bring a whole lapful of different flags and posters and gifts to cheer on skaters from all over the world.
I sat next to Japanese fans at Skate Canada too with a giant bag of flags, they also shared some chocolate with me, I took a picture of it because I was so touched and it was packaged so nicely haha. They had flags for almost everyone with a lot of signatures on them but they had specially made banners for Yuzuru and Satoko that were really fancy.
I ended up spotting them in the crowd at the GPF and Worlds in Helsinki on video from the comfort of my own home, very jealous of them haha.
Maybe it isn't sustainable, maybe a lot of them won't be there after some skaters retire, but as of right now, they're helping to sell out seats overseas which helps makes these events profitable for organizers, every bit helps.
I ended up spotting them in the crowd at the GPF and Worlds in Helsinki on video from the comfort of my own home, very jealous of them haha.
Maybe it isn't sustainable, maybe a lot of them won't be there after some skaters retire, but as of right now, they're helping to sell out seats overseas which helps makes these events profitable for organizers, every bit helps.
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I have watched figure skating live only twice, but I always enjoy watching competitions at home via TV coverage and live stream
And I think it is true that it is easier for us to get the tickets of the competitions held in other countries. It is also treasure for us that we are able to see official practice and taking photos or videos, which usually doesn't happen in competitions in Japan.
Figure skating is a major sport in Japan, with fan clubs for international skaters. Sean Rabbit & Jason Brown, for example have fan clubs. In addition to significant television coverage, Japanese news programs and commentators take the time to explain technical aspects of skating including jump layouts (there is a hilarious clip of Nobunari Oda explaining "Zayaking").
Re fans, not all Asian people waving Japanese flags at competitions are Japanese. Some are from China, some North American, European, etc. Western news seems to focus on "Japanese fans cheering for Hanyu" but he has an enormous international fanbase.
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Indeed, if you just take one of the platform: Yuzuru Hanyu International Fan Group on facebook it is mostly for International English speaking fans and members are over 11 000 - it is insane, then there is Russian group in VK and it is around 6.000 fans.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1610393525875114/?ref=bookmarks - Facebook group
https://vk.com/yuzuru_hanyu- Russian (you should register to see here)
Add he has enormous fanbase in China, just check Weibo. Many fans who travel on competitions are not only Japanese, they are Chinese, Taiwanese...His fandom is huge in Russia and China. Sometimes when they see Asian features they think they are all Japanese but I have seen groups of Chinese and Taiwanese Yuzu fans in Helsinki.
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In short, figure skating competitions are like a concert of Arashi, a popular Johnny's band or other famous idols. Mostly female fans of a certain age, trying to win the 'ticket lottery'. Figure Skating is a sport, though, and happens outside of Japan, and those who have no chance to get a ticket can go to competitions in other countries. Also I don't believe that once Yuzuru retires it'll all be over. If you watch videos of Shoma as a young boy, watching Daisuke videos with adoration and pure fanboying in his eyes, it is highly probable that some young boy now is watching Yuzuru on TV, thinking, "I want that". And for the Ladies, it's even less worrying, they have so many great skaters. The more popular the sport, the wider the talent pool, the more likely it is that a true star emerges. And Japan has had a lot of them in the past.
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If Marin Honda continues to deliver and winning she has all the potential to become one of the greatest stars of Japan and international figure skating..because She has that a la Mao and Yuzu star quality which is so needed aside talent and hard work. That is why Japanese Federation has been promoting her since novice times and crossing fingers and toes for her..even through I might like other girls more, if she keeps delivering and winning she is the next N1 star.
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Very positive article, and I agree Japanese fans are mostly a blessing. Although there can be some negative aspects... eg. seats for practices "reserved" by blankets and left unoccupied for hours ;-D
But having said that, Helsinki did not seem to suffer from that much... perhaps because practice tickets had seat numbers? (Even though on arrival we were told the ticket seat numbers actually meant nothing, and seating was "free placement" unless you had a better-than-gold "premium" ticket in the fenced-off short-side section...)
And sorry to be so picky... but the article says that for Helsinki World's "The only hotel within walking distance, Original Hotel Sokos Pasila, was booked solid more than two years in advance by a Japanese tour company". But that is not true:
a) There was also a Holiday Inn within walking distance (slightly nearer than the Sokos).
b) I think Japanese tour companies mostly don't care about hotels being within walking distance - they usually provide shuttle buses so their customers don't have to walk anywhere, don't need to know the route etc? (I think they are more interested in the official hotel, and hotels close to the official hotel, so fans can try to see/meet skaters in the lobby, bar, restaurant... coming and going at the entrance etc.)
c) I myself stayed at the Sokos Pasila hotel - and I had no problems booking with less than a year to go. So it wasn't booked solid 2 years in advance. And when I was there it wasn't packed out by Japanese fans by any means, and the ones that were there, not many seemed to be with a tour company...
But having said that, Helsinki did not seem to suffer from that much... perhaps because practice tickets had seat numbers? (Even though on arrival we were told the ticket seat numbers actually meant nothing, and seating was "free placement" unless you had a better-than-gold "premium" ticket in the fenced-off short-side section...
)And sorry to be so picky... but the article says that for Helsinki World's "The only hotel within walking distance, Original Hotel Sokos Pasila, was booked solid more than two years in advance by a Japanese tour company". But that is not true:
a) There was also a Holiday Inn within walking distance (slightly nearer than the Sokos).
b) I think Japanese tour companies mostly don't care about hotels being within walking distance - they usually provide shuttle buses so their customers don't have to walk anywhere, don't need to know the route etc? (I think they are more interested in the official hotel, and hotels close to the official hotel, so fans can try to see/meet skaters in the lobby, bar, restaurant... coming and going at the entrance etc.)
c) I myself stayed at the Sokos Pasila hotel - and I had no problems booking with less than a year to go. So it wasn't booked solid 2 years in advance. And when I was there it wasn't packed out by Japanese fans by any means, and the ones that were there, not many seemed to be with a tour company...
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- Jan 13, 2014
Hi YesWay,Very positive article, and I agree Japanese fans are mostly a blessing. Although there can be some negative aspects... eg. seats for practices "reserved" by blankets and left unoccupied for hours ;-D
But having said that, Helsinki did not seem to suffer from that much... perhaps because practice tickets had seat numbers? (Even though on arrival we were told the ticket seat numbers actually meant nothing, and seating was "free placement" unless you had a better-than-gold "premium" ticket in the fenced-off short-side section...
And sorry to be so picky... but the article says that for Helsinki World's "The only hotel within walking distance, Original Hotel Sokos Pasila, was booked solid more than two years in advance by a Japanese tour company". But that is not true:
a) There was also a Holiday Inn within walking distance (slightly nearer than the Sokos).
b) I think Japanese tour companies mostly don't care about hotels being within walking distance - they usually provide shuttle buses so their customers don't have to walk anywhere, don't need to know the route etc? (I think they are more interested in the official hotel, and hotels close to the official hotel, so fans can try to see/meet skaters in the lobby, bar, restaurant... coming and going at the entrance etc.)
c) I myself stayed at the Sokos Pasila hotel - and I had no problems booking with less than a year to go. So it wasn't booked solid 2 years in advance. And when I was there it wasn't packed out by Japanese fans by any means, and the ones that were there, not many seemed to be with a tour company...
I am a Yuzuru's fan. I am Canadian. I was staying at Sokos hotel Pasila too. I loved my trip very much. Loved the hotel very convenient to walk a short distance to Hartwall arena everyday.
I traveled with my husband, me for skating, him for visiting Helsinki and the vicinity.
I bought the package all-event tickets and hotel with the Finnish agency about one month before, so I could get the hotel only because of the agency.
I am not Japanese, but I have made friends with many Japanese ladies, since 2 or 3 years, because I have met them at competitions of Yuzuru.
I have met also many Yuzuru's fans who come from other countries like me, from Canada, America, Europe, Asia.
For me, the only reason I travel to competitions is to watch Yuzuru skate, nothing else.
I will not travel to competitions if Yuzuru is not there.
So when he retire from competitions, I will not travel to competitions anymore.
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