Diamond geezers

As the J.League's last ever summer season reaches its conclusion, FFT headed to the Far East to watch Japan's most supported team - after an appearance at the Club World Cup they'll never forget

- Matthew Frohlich

The afternoon sun is beating down outside the Saitama Stadium, as the latest child positions themselves at the top of a water slide, then gleefully hurtles down into the pool below.

There's a buzz of excitement around Reds Wonderland, where FourFourTwo are ahead of this evening's J.League game between Urawa Red Diamonds and Avispa Fukuoka. It's a family friendly environment brimming with plenty of entertainment for young supporters, some of whom are paddling around a bigger pool in little inflatable boats. Elsewhere, tents have been set up to provide shade and sell food and drink, while a live band is also playing.

Urawa mascot Diarra is among those wandering around - one of the club's four cuddly green wolf characters, along with sibling Schale and parents Redia and Frendia. The twins were introduced to fans in 2006, after Redia and Frendia tied the knot in 2004 - the couple had an actual ceremony and everything during halftime of a league fixture.

Fans from both teams are mixing freely with no problems, some holding picnics on the grass. It's a gloriously pleasant way to build up to a match, where things are about to get a whole lot noisier.

BIG IN JAPAN

FFT have flown 15 hours to the other side of the world to get a taste of what the J.League has to offer. Excitement outweighs the apprehension about the jet lag when we touch down - Japan is eight hours ahead of the UK.

As it turns out, there's no chance of feeling tired when we arrive in Tokyo anyway - our senses are immediately stimulated by an array of new sights, sounds and smells, in one of the busiest cities in the world. While the 14 million population of Tokyo itself puts it 12th in the list of the globe's largest cities, the Greater Tokyo Area - including Saitama in its north west and Yokohama in the south - reaches 38 million people. By that metric, there's no bigger urban area anywhere on the planet.