On tour in Northern Japan, Hokkaido

This week Nordic Vikings is on tour in Northern Japan, Hokkaido to play 4 Away Games

Report from General Manager Shin Yahata Larsson on the road to Hokkaido Northern Japan.

We are now over the first weekend with extremely good results for us… but it is really now this week we are going to see the colour of Nordic Vikings and how far we have come so far.

It has really been an intense summer for me with all this work to put up this totally new team. It has not been any soft start in my new career building up the team, within less than three weeks in June, still wondering if I should play this season in Japan. After this intense start and later my decision to hang up the skates in august. I have now start to come more into the work and have been more confident in my new role as a Sport Manager for Vikings.

After this first weekend in Northern China we now really phase the reality and meeting 2 strong Asia League Ice Hockey Contenders from Hokkaido this weekend. For me this moment is especially intense and special. First I gave the Japanese Ice Hockey the best years of my own Career and I host a lot of great memories from this years inside me. Our trip is going to Hokkaido where I spent the last two seasons in Oji Paper and it was really close that I have accepted the very generous offer I was given by Nippon Paper Cranes.

My decision to start the job for Vikings was in the end mainly built on the fact that I eally want to come closer to my family in Sweden but the decision was not easy for me. Now I feel that my team is contending their first real exam for the season in this weeks four games in Japan. How good are we ? The only thing I could guarantee is that I will be there with my whole heart and brain to give the Japanese Teams a real game.