Shizuoka

Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa is located in Fukuroi City. Because Fukuroi sounds similar to fukuro (the Japanese word for "owl"), last fall the city designated the owl as its official bird. In order to boost the enjoyment for visitors that come to watch the World Cup, the city is distributing free stickers that have a friendly owl mascot on them. Fukuroi is also working to spruce up its looks by putting up a number of statues in public places.

World Cup Games to Be Held in Shizuoka
Cameroon vs. Germany (June 11)
Belgium vs. Russia (June 14)
Quarterfinal (June 21)

Fun Facts About the Stadium
Shizuoka Prefecture is known throughout the nation for its strength in soccer, and it is even referred to as "Japan's Brazil." Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa was completed in the spring of 2001, and it was built with the pride that Shizuoka Prefecture is at the leading edge of soccer in Japan. Recently naturalized Japanese citizen Alessandro dos Santos, a star player for J. League team Shimizu S-Pulse who was born in Brazil, said, "It's a great field."

Famous Local Products
Shizuoka boasts a number of famous products. The prefecture leads Japan in the number of model kits produced, and many of them are exported. Both kids and adults alike enjoy putting together models of airplanes, ships, cars, and anime (cartoon) characters. Shizuoka is also famous for green tea. While green tea is commonly thought of as a drink for adults, recently it is also becoming known as an ingredient in food. Green tea leaves are sometimes ground up and used in cakes or tempura batter.

Famous Sights
Mt. Fuji, Japan's highest mountain at 3,776 meters (12,388 feet), straddles Shizuoka and Yamanashi Prefectures. Mt. Fuji has a beautiful, even shape, and it is known throughout the world as a symbol of Japan. Although it is still classified as an active volcano, Mt. Fuji has not erupted since 1707.

Festivals
The Hamamatsu Festival is held every year on May 3-5 in Hamamatsu, a city located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Fukuroi. The highlight of the festival is a "kite-flying battle" in which more than 160 giant kites fight each other in the air, attempting to cut the strings of their rivals and be the last one to remain in the air. Each of the kites represents a neighborhood in the city, and tens of thousands of people come to cheer them on. The atmosphere at the sand dunes where this event takes place can get quite heated.

Mt. Fuji, with fields of tea in the foreground. (Shizuoka Prefectural Tourist Information Center in Tokyo)


Giant kites are flown at the Hamamatsu Festival. (Hamamatsu City)