Tokyo… it’s where it’s Hat!
In his debut piece for The Scarf My Father Wore, Jack Isherwood puts pen to paper on his recent adventures in Asia
Sunday 19 November 2023
NEXT HOME GAME: Salford – Tuesday 28 November, 7.45pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Newport – Saturday 25 November, 3pm
Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and anyone else joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Sunday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
I’ve been looking forward to sharing today’s feature with you, the first piece written for The Scarf My Father Wore by Jack Isherwood. It’s an absolute belter.
Today’s edition is sponsored by Kingsway Carpets. As always, a big thank you to Neil.
Finally, I’m currently walking every street in Stockport to raise money for mental health charity Mentell. If you’d like to make a donation to help me reach my target, please click here.
Total distance so far: 46.68 miles
Total steps so far: 83,302
Total raised so far: £987
Total completed streets so far: 24 (Click here for the full list, which includes reports and photos from every day of the walk.)
Further information on the walk can be found by clicking here.
Des Junior
After flying for 20 hours from Manchester to Tokyo via Abu Dhabi, you might be thinking we’d have a touch of jet lag. Time for a bit of sleep maybe? No time for that! Our bags were dumped and we were straight off to Shibuya to meet up with the famous Tokyo Hatters.
It was a busy night just before Halloween with the police out in force moving people on to stop them congregating. We finally found a spot to wait for a few minutes before I saw the man himself, Riichi Fujiwara, dressed in County gear from head to toe with his phone in hand recording for his vlog, and a new face I’d never seen before, a Korean-born Japanese national called Kim. Both studied English and lived in Levenshulme for over a year; both ardent Citeh supporters when they arrived in England but by the time they returned to Japan the only team on their mind was the mighty Stockport County.
Riichi and Kim quickly whisked me and Ciara off to the nearest izakaya for some food and beer. Torikazu was the place and our Japanese friends didn’t disappoint, ordering some delicious yakitori and fantastic mega-beers. Not long after – following a highly unusual delayed train – the GOAT of Japanese Hatters walked through the door: Akito Aoki himself!
It was lovely to be reunited with Akito, four years after picking him up from Manchester airport myself before taking him to his first pub in Stockport. My photo of that moment later featured online in an article for FIFA and also the BBC.
I presented the boys with some County memorabilia, including several programmes (one featuring Hardiker’s finest hour against Citeh) as well as some badges and old shirts which were warmly received with many arigatos and some more mega-beers. It was good to catch up and answer their questions about County and the team, with their main concerns surrounding Louie Barry who’d been injured the week before.
Sangenjaya was next, an area Riichi said he frequents a lot away from the tourist trap of Shibuya. We met up with some of his lovely friends – possibly a few new members for the Tokyo Hatters – for a late birthday engagement, who took us under their wing as we ate food and drank beer and sake until the early hours. It was a truly amazing experience we’ll never forget.
It wasn't just the guys we came to visit. We came to see Tokyo itself, the bustling metropolis that’s home to 40 million people. Imagine 20 Manchesters coexisting right next to each other. That’s Tokyo. We spent the next few days exploring the sights, from Asakusa and the Tokyo Skytree to Harajuku and Shinjuku, before celebrating my 30th birthday with a trip up Mount Takao on the outskirts of the city, which I fully recommend.
Later that day, we took a packed Tokyo rush hour train to Jiyugaoka, where Kim was waiting for us, whose sister had designed the newest must-have County wear: the Tokyo Hatters T-shirt. Kim took us to a great little bar where we spoke about his work and daily life, and his plans to travel to Europe again soon. It was here we tried hoppy for the first time – a combination of sake and a mixer which creates an imitation beer, created shortly after the war due to a shortage in the ingredients needed to make regular beer. Shortly afterwards, Akito was on the phone letting us know he was getting off the train, so we downed our drinks to go and meet him.
Akito and Kim had kindly booked a yakiniku restaurant for my 30th birthday celebrations, and they wasted no time in ordering. I felt really lucky having friends who knew the local lingo because it made going into these places a lot easier, but don’t let that stop you if you find yourself in Japan one day as a lot of places let you order from an English menu on a tablet.
The yakiniku was great – a Japanese BBQ with origins in Korea – made all the better by a slightly drunk Riichi showing up halfway through the evening, taking the County talk up a notch by hoping and praying we’d beat Worksop, along with the fact he was a little annoyed he couldn't get a stream for the game that weekend. We enjoyed our food and many birus until I couldn’t drink any more, before going our separate ways for the night. If you want to try yakiniku in Stockport, by the way, I think the nearest equivalent would be Baekdu, where the Little Jack Horners pub was. I've been a few times and it's fantastic.
Friday arrived – a Bank Holiday in Japan – and with it our first chance to experience the Japanese music scene. We headed to Makuhari Messe for a day festival, which was actually headlined by Sheffield rock band Bring Me the Horizon. The Japanese are famous for their otaku (geek) culture, which they follow religiously, and it was clear to see on the train with T-shirts displaying lots of different bands.
Boy did that crowd live up to the hype. I've been to a lot of gigs but that crowd was the most electric I've ever seen, with their passion and enthusiasm off the scale. Special shoutouts to Hanabie, Maximum the Hormone and BABYMETAL who knocked their performances out of the park. If you’re going to Japan, make sure you get to a gig!
Heading into the weekend, Kim had invited us to his hometown of Yokohama, a city about 50 minutes south of Tokyo on the metro. The locals call it “the Liverpool of Tokyo” with their own brick warehouses reminiscent of the Albert Docks. “Yellow Submarine” even plays over the loudspeakers.
A local food festival taking place offered the chance to try my first bit of wagyu and takoyaki, along with more Japanese beers obviously. Yokohama is also home to Asia’s largest Chinatown, where we tried some delicious Chinese fried chicken and dumplings. After that, we made our way to the cup noodle museum, which sounds boring but I found it really interesting, and you even get to make your own custom cup noodle at the end.
As the evening drew to a close we got to meet Kim’s family as they took us to a local restaurant which they visit regularly. We were the only gaijin (foreigners) they'd ever seen in there, so knowing the Tokyo Hatters and having that friendship enhanced our visit by experiencing places we wouldn't have gone to, giving us a taste of the real Tokyo. That continued an hour later when Riichi sent us a message while we were on the metro telling us to join him for a drink in Yurakucho. Coincidentally, that was where we had to change, so it would have been rude not to join him for a beer or two. (Or seven.)
Having done a lot of the tourist stuff, we spent the next few days enjoying some of the local delicacies. As I said before, Tokyo is huge, with over 130,000 restaurants so you won’t be spoilt for choice. Your tastebuds will be tingling from the moment you land as the food in Tokyo is some of the nicest on the planet. I’ll give you a couple of recommendations. Kikanbo is a ramen restaurant, which has a “devil level” if you like your spice! We also enjoyed Gyukatsu Ichi Ni San, which serves rare katsu beef with a little hot plate so you can cook the meat to your own liking. This was one of the best meals I had in Tokyo.
We also managed to do a bit of shopping, heading to Shibuya and Harajuku to check out some classic shops. I have to give a special mention to an area called Shimokitazawa as well, which I discovered on a hunt for a particularly rare vinyl by a Japanese artist. It’s like the Northern Quarter of Tokyo with loads of cool little bars and vintage clothes shops to fulfil all your hipster needs.
Our second weekend in Tokyo soon arrived, with County taking on Swindon. Our pre-match meal was sushi with Akito and Kim, with the four of us managing 45 plates collectively. A valiant effort, but not quite troubling Kim’s previous record of 189 plates with five of his friends.
Sushi polished off, we jumped on a train to an area just north of Shinjuku, heading for a pub called The Second Half – owned by a Manchester United fan who lived in Brighton for 10 years. He’d brought a little bit of Britain to Tokyo, with the pub completely kitted out in sports memorabilia. By the end of the night, a County shirt was proudly displayed in prime position.
The Second Half housed an eclectic mix of football fans: a barman in a Newcastle shirt, American Arsenal fans cheering on Wolves against Tottenham, Japanese locals in United clobber, and Riichi sat at the bar talking the ears off a group of QPR fans ready to watch their game against Bristol City. You'll be happy to know County had the biggest contingent. Akito hooked up the laptop to a TV in the Tokyo Hatters’ usual spot, allowing us to go absolutely mental when Odin Bailey’s screamer flew in at the County Ground. We were very happy to remind the QPR fans that we’ll probably be playing them in League One next season.
County’s game kicked off at midnight in Japan, finishing around 2am. This showed the real dedication of the three Tokyo Hatters for me. With Tokyo being so big and the last trains stopping around 1am, if you’re going to the pub to watch the game you’re out for the night. A taxi home is like going from Manchester to Stoke, costing around £150, so for the Tokyo Hatters they usually find an all-night izakaya, before catching the first train at 5am. What a night that was.
The first train was rammed with the all-nighters heading home but by 5.30am we were back at our hotel. I know the Tokyo Hatters wouldn't have got home until after 6 so supporting County over there takes some doing. We said our goodbyes to Akito and Riichi on the train, but we managed to see Kim one more time on the Monday as he’d kindly offered to drive us to the airport.
And that was that, as they say. To sum up, Tokyo is amazing. Japan is amazing. It should be on your bucket list to go there and immerse yourself in the culture, the food and the beer. But more importantly, if you’re travelling over there as a County fan, be sure to share your plans with the Tokyo Hatters. They’re the most helpful guys you could meet and will make sure your trip is the best it can be. I can’t wait to see them again, hopefully sooner rather than later, as Kim’s due at Edgeley Park for the Swindon game in February, with Riichi and Akito currently planning to get back over to Stockport as well.
Until we meet again, I have to say “arigato gozaimashita” to Kim, Akito and Riichi. That was some holiday.
It’s time to get a new carpet
One of our sponsors is Kingsway Carpets. Established in 1985, the family-run business have a huge selection of carpets to suit all budgets and there’s no hidden extras – the price quoted is the price you pay. They also have a team of experienced fitters who will expertly lay your brand new carpet perfectly. If you’re in need of a new carpet, give them a call and they’ll have you sorted out in no time.
Visit kingsway-carpets.co.uk for further details.
DJ Des
DJ Des couldn’t read the above article and not check out Maximum the Hormone on YouTube could he? Be warned, however, this particular track might not be suitable if you’ve got a Sunday morning hangover.
Would you like DJ Des to play a song for your favourite County player, or a friend or family member? Email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com with your requests/shoutouts!
Photo of the day
Wembley Stadium, London
Some nervous-looking Hatters at the play-off final in 2008.
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absolutely superb piece. Sounded like an amazing trip & credit to the Tokyo hatters