The Magic of Captain Tsubasa at Tokyo’s Yotsugi Station

Get Your Tsubasa Kicks at Yotsugi Station

Yotsugi is just a five-minute ride on the Keisei Line from Oshiage Station (the station for Tokyo Skytree), but step off the train here and you are in another world: the world of Captain Tsubasa, the famous Japanese soccer manga and anime. On the station’s platforms, announcements of train arrivals and departures feature the melody of the anime’s well-known theme song, “Moete hīrō” (Burning Hero). The announcements are in the voices of key characters Ōzora Tsubasa and Hyūga Kojirō. In an instant, you are swept away into the world of the anime.

Keisei Electric Railway’s Yotsugi Station. The moment you step off the train, you are greeted by Ōzora Tsubasa. (© Matsumoto Sōichi)

The walls of the four stairways leading to the two station platforms are adorned with giant illustrations of the major characters and multilingual welcome messages. A Captain Tsubasa fan visiting from Thailand expressed sadness at the manga series ending in April 2024, after a 40-year run, but was thrilled to be able to visit Yotsugi, and was excitedly taking photos.

Stairway to Yotsugi Station platform. A visiting fan chose off-peak hours to visit the station for some photos. (© Matsumoto Sōichi)

New Design Featuring International Rivals

Yotsugi, in Katsushika, Tokyo, is the birthplace of Captain Tsubasa’s creator, Takahashi Yōichi. Nankatsu, Shizuoka, the fictional hometown of the story’s main character, Ōzora Tsubasa, is named after Tokyo Metropolitan Minami-Katsushika Senior High School, where Takahashi went to school.

Decoration of the station began in 2019 and stretches wall-to-wall, including even ceiling and floor spaces, through the combined efforts of the railway company, the local city council, and Captain Tsubasa’s publisher, Shūeisha Inc. The designs were updated to mark the release of the new series, Captain Tsubasa: Junior Youth Arc, in November 2023. In addition to the lead character, Tsubasa, there are illustrations of international rivals, including players from Germany and Argentina. There are now significantly more panels of famous scenes from the series.

Captain Tsubasa began in 1981 as a manga series, published in the weekly Shōnen Jump magazine. It tells the story of a young footballer, Ōzora Tsubasa, as he hones his skills competing against rivals throughout Japan. The colorful characters that repeatedly appear throughout the stories and their skillful play made the manga and subsequent anime a hit around the world. It has been translated into multiple languages, and has sold over 90 million copies worldwide. Many star players from Japan and elsewhere have said that they grew up reading the comic.

The station’s decorative efforts took time to pay off, due to the impact of COVID-19 on visitor numbers. Now that the pandemic has faded, foreign tourists are back in force, though, and Yotsugi appears to be an easy place for them to get to, being close to major attractions like Tokyo Skytree and Asakusa and offering handy access to both Narita and Haneda Airports. Marutaka Susumu, the stationmaster for this stop on the Keisei Oshiage Line, says: “We’re seeing more than a few foreign tourists coming to visit our station in particular, and we’re working with local residents to keep Yotsugi an attractive destination for them.”

Stairway to Ceiling Artwork

Yotsugi Station features Captain Tsubasa artwork from floor to ceiling—even in the toilets!

Viewed from the ground-floor concourse, the striking stairway art incorporates safety messages aimed at passengers, like “Don’t walk while using a smartphone” and “Don’t run for your train.”

A stairway to a Yotsugi Station platform. The walls are emblazoned with characters from Captain Tsubasa. (© Matsumoto Sōichi)

The concourse floor is designed to resemble a playing field, with green grass, field lines, and markings. The ceiling depicts Ōzora Tsubasa and Misaki Tarō kicking a dramatic “twin shoot.” Outside the ticket gates, the ceiling design shows Tsubasa making an overhead kick. To enter the station toilets, you pass between goal posts. Other announcements within the station are in the voice of Nakazawa Sanae, head of the supporter squad for Tsubasa’s team.

The concourse floor is designed to look like a playing field. The ceiling depicts an unstoppable technique from the work, the “twin shoot.” (© Matsumoto Sōichi)

Passing through the ticket gates feels like entering a football stadium. (© Matsumoto Sōichi)

One corner of the station displays autographs of the manga’s creator, Takahashi Yōichi, and celebrity footballers: Andres Iniesta, a former star on the Spanish national team who also played for J. League side Vissel Kobe, and a known fan of the work, Inamoto Jun’ichi, a former Japanese national team player and now a member of the local amateur team Nankatsu SC, and Sawa Homare, a former Japanese national women’s soccer player, among others.

Autographs of Andres Iniesta, formerly of the Spanish national team, and other star players, are on display. (© Matsumoto Sōichi)

A station worker also confesses to being a Captain Tsubasa maniac since his youth. “I really enjoy being able to discuss characters and episodes from the series with overseas visitors to the station.”

More Tsubasa Spots: Statues and a Stamp Rally

Katsushika began using Captain Tsubasa in local promotion efforts in 2012. Currently, there are nine bronze statues of characters from the series in public spaces around Yotsugi and adjacent Tateishi. The city designed a walking trail and distributes free Japanese and English maps, the latter of which, it says, are proving very popular this year. We spoke with Noé Gomez, another Tsubasa fan, and his friends who were visiting from the United States. “I’ve loved the anime since I was a kid. I’m so happy to visit the place where it all started.”

Noé Gomez (rear center) and his friends pose for a photo with a statue of Ōzora Tsubasa’s rival, Hyūga Kojirō, in Katsushika’s Yotsugi Park. (© Matsumoto Sōichi)

A statue of Ōzora Tsubasa outside the main entrance to Tokyo Metropolitan Minami-Katsushika Senior High School. There is a space where you can pose, with your foot to the ball in place of Misaki Tarō, for a shot with Tsubasa himself. (© Matsumoto Sōichi)

The city-produced map to bronze statues of Captain Tsubasa characters. (Courtesy of Katsushika City Government)

Katsushika is also striving to rejuvenate the local community in conjunction with promotion of football. Each year in January, it stages the Captain Tsubasa Cup Katsushika, inviting soccer teams from parts of Japan with a connection to the series. In fall of 2023, it launched its first digital stamp collection rally, collaborating with Nankatsu SC, an amateur team with the same name as Tsubasa’s team in the story. Participants collect stamps by visiting the bronze statues, eateries, sporting goods shops, and so on. Around 2,400 people took part, according to Katsushika’s municipal tourism office. For fall 2024, they hope to further develop the rally to make it more accessible to non-Japanese speakers.

The final chapter in the story, volume 20 of Captain Tsubasa Magazine, released in 2024 (foreground), and three paperback volumes from the series. (© Matsumoto Sōichi)

The End of Print and the Switch to Digital

The serial publication of the comic ended with Captain Tsubasa Magazine vol. 20, released on April 4, 2024. In the magazine, creator Takahashi Yōichi commented: “I am retiring as a manga artist, but I still enjoy drawing and imagining stories, so I will continue to do so.” On the website Captain Tsubasa World, the artist intends to continue publishing rough sketch storyboards drawn in pencil.

Keisei Electric Railway Yotsugi Station

• Address: 1-1-1 Yotsugi, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo
• Access: From Asakusa, catch Toei Asakusa Line (subway), which continues as the Keisei Oshiage Line (approx. 9 mins)
• Station entry ticket (without travel, as of June 2024): Adults, ¥150; elementary school, ¥80; preschoolers, free
• Hours: From first until last departure (weekdays: approximately 4:30 am to 0:45 am)

(Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: Keisei Electric Railway Yotsugi Station entrance. The vivid mural depicts characters from Captain Tsubasa in a stadium, and the station name is written in the font of the manga title. © Matsumoto Sōichi of Nippon.com. All characters are © Takahashi Yōichi/Shūeisha/Captain Tsubasa Season 2/Junia yūsu hen seisaku iinkai/Junior Youth Edition Production Committee.)