Mark W & the Scottish Masters' Japan Trip 2026

Club member Mark W and a group of the Scottish Masters visited Japan for another trip to train and sightsee in the home of judo. Mark has written up a great summary of their trip which you can read below.

Following the great experience had by all on the first Scottish Veterans Judo trip to Japan in 2023, there was a healthy appetite for a return visit, so David Gibson (EdinburghJudo Coach, Senior Examiner and a 5^th Dan) pulled out all the stops once again, organising another trip. This saw 14 of us who attend, or are associated with, the monthly Veterans sessions at Ratho leave Edinburgh Airport back in May, headed for Heathrow and then onto the 14 hour flight to Tokyo.

Arriving in Tokyo late morning on Saturday, a bit tired and jaded from the flight and time zone change, we took the Metro from the airport to our hotel, then set about getting our bearings and headed to the Kusukura shop. There was some decent business done there for the owner, with purchases from our group ranging from picking up a belt to others doing what resembled a trolley dash and buying judogis, t-shirts, training bags and pretty much anything else on the shelves!

Sunday saw some of the group head to the Tokyo football derby, and some to the Prince Chichibu Stadium for the rugby derby between Tokyo Sungoliath and Black Rams Tokyo. 

On Monday, our first session of the trip took place at the home of Judo: the Kodokan. The session we attended was the open randori held in the top floor dojo of the institute, which is open to all judoka. Stepping onto this prestigious mat does feel like an honour, and we were made to feel welcome by the Senseis. The ethos of the randori at the Kodokan is to focus on traditional Tachi Waza, with one of the Senseis explaining that they should use their Tokui Waza (favourite technique) and remain upright, avoiding drop techniques. Indeed, when one visiting French player threw his partner with drop Kata Guruma during randori, a Sensei came on from the side of the mat to advise him not to do this again due to the potential for landing Uke on his head.

All of our group thoroughly enjoyed our first venture onto the mat of the trip and finished off that visit to the Kodokan with an obligatory team photo at the statue of Jigoro Kano outside the institute.

Tuesday was daytime sightseeing, including a visit to the Samurai museum where fantastically ornate historic armour and beautifully made Katana swords were the main attraction displays. The guide’s commentary on the warrior code and quizzing us to guess how many people could be sliced through before a sword needed sharpening did increase my appreciation of the modern era and The Gentle Way some more! 

Tuesday night, we were back to Kodokan for the kata training session. After warming up, Davie and I began practising the first set of the Nage No Kata with Davie as Tori and me as Uke. Just as we started, one of the Senseis came over and said that he would take us through the entire kata. This amounted to a personal lesson, with the Sensei offering advice, clarifications and insights into all 15 techniques as we worked through them under his instruction. Davie is a BJA Kata Examiner, and as such very experienced in the Nage No Kata. He was able to discuss some very fine detail with the Sensei, including getting input on body positioning for Ura Nage and kuzushi for Uki Waza, which the Sensei advised differently to perceived wisdom in Britain. For myself, this was a deeper insight into the role of Uke in the kata, and I took a lot of learning away from that session.

Wednesday saw us leave Tokyo taking the shinkansen bullet train south to Shizuoka, where we were met by John Thacker and his wife, Asoko. Most of our group knew John through his coaching at Ratho Veterans sessions, which he attended regularly prior to moving to Japan. John and Asoko had very kindly hired a coach, which John drove, taking us to our hotel before returning that evening to take us to their local club, Suruga Jushinkai.

When we arrived at the club, the kids' session had just finished, and we joined the seniors on the mat for their warm up prior to randori starting. The Japanese players were all keen to have a practice with us, and we all mixed in with a variety of ages, from older youths to veteran players from the club. There were some excellent techniques deployed, and I even managed to get a cheer from some of the kids watching at the side when their coach planted me flat on my back directly in front of them with a textbook Tomeonage! Our club visit was greatly appreciated on both sides and even managed to make the local press, with an article appearing in the newspaper. 

After training, John and Asoko immersed us in Japanese culture by taking us to their local karaoke bar. Some of our guys were naturals on the mic, and the team renditions of “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” and “Flower of Scotland” were impressive enough for the bar owner to ask for repeat performances so she could film them.

The next day was spent on John’s bus touring around local shrines and visiting Fuji viewing points before heading to John and Asako’s house, where we had a session in their private dojo in a converted workshop next to their home. Takeaway from that session for me was a grip strategy that John demonstrated whereby Uke’s posture is broken by directing force onto their shoulders when Tori pulls elbows in towards the solar plexus. We were then treated to a fabulous home-cooked meal for which we were very grateful indeed.

Friday saw us back on the shinkansen bullet train headed for Osaka and a session at the Kodokan branch in that city. The Osaka Kodokan is much smaller than the main institute in Tokyo, though it was well worth visiting and probably my favourite session of the trip. When we arrived at reception, the staff seemed a bit bewildered by us, but once we showed our Kodokan membership cards, all became clear, and we were made very welcome. As we were early for the senior session, we sat at the matside while a junior class finished, and I was very impressed watching three lads about 14 years of age on Nage Komi rotation repping very skilful Hane Goshi.

The session started with a similar warm up to our Newaza at the club, and it did feel very familiar crossing the mat in Ebi Komi on a Friday evening. Following the warm up there was Newaza randori for about 45 minutes, followed by the same for Tachi Waza. We all fared fairly well in the randori with the Japanese players, I’d say, possibly feeling the benefit of this being the fifth consecutive night of training.  The session finished with a group photo with all who’d been on the mat and appreciative handshakes from our hosts.

Saturday was time for rest and recuperation as we headed to Kyoto for a night. Staying in a Ryokan, a traditional Japanese hotel. The rooms were very basic, though very comfortable, and a few of us agreed in conversation that the basic colour scheme, lack of clutter and ornaments made for a very tranquil room. Something that amazed me as a cultural difference in Kyoto was when some of the guys showed a photo of the menu from the restaurant they’d been in, and seared chicken was on the menu among other unusual foods. I’d imagine that seared chicken would take a lifelong training of the stomach to get used to, and not a dish to try on your holidays! After some sightseeing in Kyoto the next day we were on our way back to Tokyo and the Kodokan for Monday night open randori.

The Grand Sumo Tournament was on in Tokyo, and Davie’s organisational skills had come into their own as ever, as he’d managed to secure us group bookings for these greatly in demand tickets. Our guide took us around the Sumo museum and on into the venue, where he was very informative about the sport, even providing a poster with the Sumo equivalent of the Gokyo with their techniques. As you’d expect, there were a few similar to Judo, with the banned (in Judo) throw Kube Nage common to both sports. After the Sumo, it was a final outing on the Kodokan mat at the open randori to round off the trip.

On our last night we went to watch the Businessman’s Randori at the Kodokan. This is a practice mainly for Judoka who are employed by Japanese companies that effectively sponsor them to be full time players while on the company books. There was some excellent Judo on display as you’d expect at that session. Of our group, young Josh from Carnegie Judo was the last man standing as he participated in this practice and gave a great account of himself. For the rest of us, it was a fine conclusion to a memorable trip in the fabulous country that is Japan.