is a small athletic and

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

(capacity 10,202), opened in 1990 at Honjō Park in Ohiraki, Yahata Nishi-ku,

Kitakyushu is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fuk ...

Fukuoka prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Association football

It was the designated home stadium for

Giravanz Kitakyushu is a Japanese football club based in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture. They currently play in J3 League, Japanese third tier of professional league football. History Mitsubishi Chemical SC (1947 –2000) The club was formed in 1947 as part o ...

(formerly known as New Wave Kitakyushu until 2009 season), an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club promoted to

J. League The , commonly a.k.a. shortened to the , and officially known as the for sponsorship with Meiji Yasuda Life, is the men's association football league in Japan. It is responsible for organizing Japan's major professional football tournaments, i ...

from 2010 season to 2016 season. It underwent a major renovation which lasted until 2010 to install benches on the grass-covered spectator area to meet the minimum requirements of 10,000-seatings which J. League organization requires all J2 clubs to have their own stadia. Now its capacity is 10,202.

Rugby

It was the venue for

versus

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

in the inaugural IRB Pacific 5 Nations

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

tournament on June 4, 2006. The game celebrated the recent opening on March 16, 2006, of the New Kitakyushu Airport and was the first test match to be played in

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

in 22 years. Some 8,100 spectators saw the game in a nearly full stadium. Together with Sayagatani stadium in

Tobata ward Tobata may refer to: * 46596 Tobata, a main-belt minor planet * Seiichi Tobata, a Japanese professor of agriculture * Tobata-ku, Kitakyūshū, a ward in Fukuoka, Japan * Tobata Station, a railway station on the Kagoshima Main Line, Japan {{dab ...

, Honjo stadium hosted the All Japan rugby clubs championship on January 13 and 14, 2008. On December 5, 2009, the first

Top League Japan Rugby League One (), formerly known as the Top League (), is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by ...

game ever held in Kitakyushu was played here.

Coca-Cola West Red Sparks The Coca-Cola Red Sparks () was a Japanese company-owned rugby team based in Fukuoka city, Kyūshū. The team was initially founded as Kitakyushu Coca-Cola and then changed its name to Coca-Cola West Japan. The team won promotion to the expande ...

beat

Ricoh Black Rams Black Rams Tokyo (formerly Ricoh Black Rams) is a Japanese rugby union team in the Japan Rugby League One. Being ranked tenth meant that, in order to continue in the league, it had to defeat one of the top regional clubs in a play-off, which it ac ...

29-22.

Access

The nearest railway station is Honjō Station and Futajima Station on the

Chikuhō Main Line The is a railway line in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Wakamatsu Station in Kitakyushu with Haruda Station in Chikushino, Fukuoka, Chikushino. Between Orio Station and Haruda Station, as ...

, 15 minutes walk away. The Kitakyushu City Buses line No. 30 from

Orio Station is a junction passenger railway station located in Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, Japan, operated by the JR Kyushu. Lines Orio Station is served by the Kagoshima Main Line and Chikuhō Main Line. It is located 30.1 km from the start of th ...

takes about ten minutes to the stadium and costs 230 yen. Kitakyushu City Buses runs shuttle buses between the stadium and Orio Station when Giravanz plays home games.

References

External links

Honjo Athletic Stadium
- photos on the Kitakyushu Film Commission site (promoting possible venues for movies) {{DEFAULTSORT:Honjo Stadium Football venues in Japan Rugby union stadiums in Japan Rugby in Kyushu Buildings and structures in Kitakyushu Athletics (track and field) venues in Japan Multi-purpose stadiums in Japan Giravanz Kitakyushu Sports venues in Fukuoka Prefecture 1990 establishments in Japan Sports venues completed in 1990

Association football

Rugby

Access

See also

References

External links