Nap time.

ピタゴラスイッチ is unironically the best and most inventive show on Japanese television.

One month back in Scotland and have returned to Japan the same weight I was when I left. A medical miracle.

Gran and Papa’s 50th wedding anniversary at the hotel beside Rugby Park. Mercifully for Kiddo, Killie were playing away at the time, but she did get to see where her da misspent about 20 years of his life.

A few proper shanners there - Gas and Grampus the worst. Reysol the best of the bunch for me. Quite like ours too, but want to see it in the flesh first.

Confirmation we aren’t taking the Diddy Cup particularly seriously - depends if it’s strategy or necessity.

Whit.

American capitalism’s greed poses the greatest threat to world peace.

The last game for this trip home. Lost 3-1 at home. Relegation pending, but I did get to meet Captain Conker and aye, he does talk.

To sum up, a US president is going to war without congressional authorization against a sovereign nation that has not attacked or threatened it, and is doing so like a thief in the night, with no explanation for the American people or the world. It is all so unimaginable that it strains credulity.

We increasingly live in a world run by gangsters.

A defining moment for Europe. If it endorses/fails to condemn this flagrant breach of international law, it will have surrendered its core justification for opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

The soccer offsides rule is so confusing. You can't run ahead of the defensive team but you can pull a hood over their head, stuff them into a cargo plane and take them to your country and run a show trial against them. Didn't that involve illegal use of hands?

In the end Taniguchi being the only high-profile player to bugger off is a pleasant surprise. Maybe other bigger moves in the league will happen after the Diddy Cup.

Happy new year from slightly under-the-weather me and the perfectly genki wean.

Super Killie away with 2 x Nihonjin guests.

Enjoyed Yamada Fuuki’s hero-to-villain story arc. Scores the first goal in J1 for 16 years from a brilliant free kick, hits another couple, before gradually becoming quite anonymous and rather average, to departing to general shrugs, to booting Morita onto the injury list, to joining that mob.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Jofukuball to continue, then? Don’t think we could have lucked out more than having this relegation-free diddy tournament to give us a fighting chance of having some sort of competent solution on the park in place before 26/27. Very happy with Morita signing, though.

Catching up with old pals. A very Verdy day out as Kilmarnock put in an abject performance to lose 1-0 at home to an average Falkirk team.

Renewals/expirty announcement season! [Andy Williams voice:] 🎵 It’s the most miserable time of the year 🎶 Only seen a few squad players announced so far.

スコットランドへ！

Our politicians hate us www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

My song of the year is this bizarrely emotive slice of J-pop about various forms of plant life from NHK’s Wakey Show, the evening broadcast of which I’m a regular viewer of these days since it perfectly coincides with the kiddo’s pre-bath/bedtime routine. youtu.be/Ozi2apVWlPE?...

Welcome back, ずっとも！

Scotland vs Japan?

Taniguchi all but confirmed to Frontale, then? Yeah, very very hard to see where Verdy are going, even medium-term. This also opens up questions about what Jofuku does: a squad based on a strong defence while the club is forced to sell its best defender must make him wonder what the point is.

Right, that's enough earthquakes thanks.

Just been sent this by an old J.League gaijin regular who moved back to Scotland. Proud, very proud.

Didn’t want to go, and now I can’t.

Most I’ve shat it from an earthquake despite it not being particularly strong in Tokyo. Having a kid really ramps up the anxiety levels for these things.

Lowest goals conceded outside the top seven teams. Lowest goals scored in the entire league. That’s an approach that gets you one place above relegation, so probably worth doing something about that, Verdy. And Xebio.

Thanks, everyone. It’s been horrible.

Think we can safely say Ryoya Yamashita has done himself out of a pleasant reception during the ex-player aisatsu from now on.

大阪へ！

Japanese signage copy smut:

Changing carriages on the Hibiya Line cos the one you got on absolutely reeks of pish. Next carriage jammed full of sumo wrestlers. #tokyosketches

Genuinely surprised the average is up this year, given the derby was midweek and we just had the one Kokuritsu game. Positive, despite the pretty poor fare on the park.

Kawasaki Frontale sniffing around Matheus, according to one transfer rumour account on Twitter.

Continuing my seasonal tradition of sneaking into the back of the big team/fan photo at the top of a stairwell.

Jofuku getting a bit emotional in his end-of-season speech. Team does the photos and goes back into the tunnel to chants of “Jofuku Verdy!” Expect he’ll be around next year.

401,300 season attendance. Someone invest in us, please.

Lost that because of two mistakes in a row, otherwise matched the best team in the country for most of that. Please play more like that next season, for the love of Christ. And get one competent bloody striker, eh.

Gouki Yamada thinking he’s Scott McTominay there. Sadly, he isn’t.

And of course it’s superstar striker, um, Hiroto Taniguchi who almost draws us level by hitting the post. Antlers roar as the keeper clutches it.

38k in today. Every Tokyo Derby should have those crowds.

Massive caveat that this is a dead rubber for us and the pressure is off, and Antlers are nervy, but that’s the best half of football on balance we’ve played this season. Slick, dynamic and everything we haven’t been all year. Finishing still pish, right enough, but welcome any triumph.

Another unbelievable shitebag referee. Genuinely the worst halfwits.

Former double title-winning manager Yasutaro Matsuki and former player Ryōhei Hayashi on the mics for NHK today. Hayashi was the star when I moved here. Does feel like a proper occasion today, despite it not really mattering much to us at all.