I took the train to Kashiwa Station and from there, followed their yellow-clad fans along Howdy Mall, part of the 20-minute walk to Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium. The second part of the trek is along a narrow road that also has two-way traffic that might worry you if you are not used to Japan.
The box office is a little stand that is a few minutes away from the actual stadium; this allows them to control access better as you scan your ticket before entering the ground. The stadium was built in 1985 and holds 15,349 fans. Fortunately, the Emperor's Cup is not as popular as J1 League games and only 6,219 were on hand for this one, about 5,000 less than their J1 League average.
My buddy Dennis joined and I picked up a pair of tickets at the top row facing the net in front of the Reysol supporters. At 3,500 yen ($25), it wasn't cheap but I was glad to add my 99th soccer venue to the list. Reysol is a portmanteau of the Spanish words Rey (King) and Sol (Sun), which is a reference to the club's parent company Hitachi, whose name means "rising sun" in Japanese.
The club was formed in 1939 and has had some success in recent years, including winning the 2012 Emperor's Cup (photo below), one top league title in 2011, and a J.League Cup in 2013. They also fell to J2 in 2019 and won that title to get promoted back to J1 (there are three pro leagues in Japan, named J1, J2, and J3). They lost the final of last year's Emperor's Cup on penalties to Kawasaki.
As with most stadiums in Japan, SFKS is a functional venue, with few amenities or creature comforts. Even the good seats are just plastic with no backs, which is why the top row is good because you can lean back against the wall.
There are a good number of food and drink options, with prices completely reasonable, as they are at all stadiums in Japan. It is so nice to be able to purchase a beer or some food without being gouged.
Most fans spend the pregame time in the outer areas enjoying their purchases, or whatever they brought in. There are a few tables near the entrance which are a bit more comfortable than sitting on the floor.
The away side was rather empty on this night, not surprising given that it was a midweek game and weather throughout Japan made long-distance travel challenging (even the Shinkansen was temporarily suspended a few times while we were there).
On the other hand, the home supporters section was completely full, making for an impressive sight at night.
Unfortunately, they didn't have much to cheer about. Kobe (3rd in the league, 13 spots above Reysol) scored in the third minute when Daiju Sasaki clipped home a cross from Nanasei Iino (that's the ball about to go in below) and then they controlled possession for most of the match, although Kashiwa did have a couple of chances to tie things up.
Late in the game, Reysol brought on Dutchman Jay-Ray Grot, who had enjoyed some time with Leeds United. In Japanese, his name was written as Furotto, but whatever the case, he had a chance in the 87th minute when Kobe keeper Shota Arai stumbled, leaving Grot with an empty net, which he unbelievably missed. I was kind of happy because I didn't want extra time, with torrential rain hitting Tokyo at that time, and Kobe held on for the win, which sends them to Kashima for the quarterfinals.
Notes
The torrential rain never hit Kashiwa, but parts of Tokyo were deluged, with some subway stations flooding. It was all part of a lot of weird weather while we were there, though fortunately it never impacted us other than me not traveling to a couple of games that had rain in the forecast.
Best,
Sean
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