Every new season brings new teams, as clubs are promoted from J2 up to the MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE. This season, Júbilo Iwata and Kyoto Sanga F.C. are making the leap, which means the top flight gets a pair of exciting club cultures, fanbases and, of course, stadiums.

A stadium isn’t just a concrete set of risers and seats with a pitch in the middle. It is a club’s home, where teams draw upon their city for a massive advantage over the visitors and the fans build communities, traditions and memories.

Júbilo bring two stadiums to the top flight: the smaller Yamaha Stadium and Ecopa Stadium, where they play their bigger matches.

Yamaha Stadium is in Iwata and sits next door to a plant run by Júbilo owner, Yamaha Motor Company. Seating a hair over 15,000 fans, it will be the smallest stadium in J1 next season, but with a passionate supporter base and stands right up against the touchlines, it can be one of the loudest. The 44-year-old stadium has been renovated four times and is clad in Júbilo’s sparkling blue.

Because Yamaha Stadium is on the smaller side, Júbilo play their bigger games in Fukuroi City at Ecopa Stadium. The 50,000-seat venue opened in 2001 with a Shizuoka Derby between Júbilo and S-Pulse, and hosted three matches at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, including Brazil’s defeat of England in the quarter-finals.

Over in Kyoto, Sanga have the newest stadium in the top flight: SANGA STADIUM by KYOCERA.

The stadium opened in 2020 and seats 21,600. It is a totally modern venue, with Sanga purple seats surrounding the pitch on all four sides split over two decks and a roof covering all the seats. The stadium’s inner roof features wood, connecting it to Kyoto’s long temple history. There is also an extensive array of wood sourced from the region all over the stadium, from corridors to finishings, to make Sanga’s home quintessentially Kyoto.

Both Júbilo and Sanga have had multiple stints in J1 before, so they are not new to the top flight. In Júbilo’s case, both of their stadiums have hosted first-division matches so this season will mark more of a reintroduction to two great Shizukoka stadiums, where top-flight history and memories will be made yet again. For Sanga, they may have played in J1 before, but they’ve never done so at SANGA STADIUM by KYOCERA. The gorgeous ground will make its top flight debut in 2022, and get the spotlight it absolutely deserves.

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