Paris Saint-Germain Handball concludes historic Japan Tour
Paris Saint-Germain Handball’s first Japan Tour came to an end on Thursday after an intense week of training sessions and games, fan activations, and activities to get in touch with the local culture.
After arriving in Japan on 27 July, the Rouge-et-Bleu spent a week in Tokyo as part of their pre-season preparations.
The Parisians won two games at the Ariake Arena, beating Zeekstar Tokyo (36-27) on 31 July and the Japan national team (39-24) on 2 August. While the first game set an attendance record for a handball game in Japan with 10,304 fans watching, the second beat it, raising the mark to 10,801.
The tour was also aimed at meeting the clubโs Japanese fans and contributing to the development of handball in the country. To this end, the Rouge-et-Bleu gave pupils at Dokkyo College an introduction into the sport, while around 100 local fans were able to meet the players and watch training at the Ariake Arena.
The whole squad got a chance to experience Japanese culture. They were given a crash-course in baseball at the home of the Yomiuri Giants before taking in their game against Chunichi Dragons at the Tokyo Dome.
๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐ฬ๐ฌ-๐ฆ๐ข๐๐ข ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ง๐จ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ง๐ฌ ! โค๏ธ๐
โ PSG Handball (@psghand) July 28, 2023
โพ๏ธ Initiation avec Mr. Sota Katoh, ancien joueur des @TokyoGiants ! ๐ช
๐ Match des @TokyoGiants au Tokyo Dome. ๐#PSGJapanTour2023 ๐ฏ๐ต pic.twitter.com/i3obzJXQvP
Luka Karabatic & Co. also visited the iconic landmarks of the Japanese capital: the Tokyo Tower, the Zojoji Temple, the Hie-Jinja and Asakusa sanctuaries, a Shibuya gaming centre, the Nakano City market, Nakamise-dori Street and the Akihabara neighbourhood.
๐๐ ๐๐๐ - รpisode 3 ๐บ
โ PSG Handball (@psghand) July 29, 2023
ร la dรฉcouverte de Tokyo avec les Rouge et Bleu ! ๐ฅ๐ฆ#PSGJapanTour2023 ๐ฏ๐ต pic.twitter.com/x8mMGofgN9
The team will now continue pre-season preparations in Paris before a training camp in Germany between 17-20 August where theyโll play HSG Wetzlar and VfL Gummersbach.
โThe first Japan Tour in the handball teamโs history has been a complete success. We have been able to prepare in very good conditions while also being able to organise several promotional activities. I hope our coming here will increase the sportโs momentum in Tokyo and throughout the country. Our players were delighted to meet our Japanese fans, and to get to know Japanese culture. Weโd like to warmly thank Future and Zeekstar Tokyo for giving us such a warm welcome, and we hope to have the chance to return to Japan in the coming years.โ
Thierry Omeyer, Paris Saint-Germain Handball General Manager