NOTE!: I am no longer living in Kansai, and not updating this information or answering questions regarding it. Much of the information is still valid though, and I'll remove any information that I hear is out of date. If you want to join a frisbee team, try to get in touch with the Ultimate Frisbee Osaka mailing list or Facebook group, or take a look at Kyoto Ultimate.
There's a quite active Ultimate frisbee scene in Kansai, with a dozen or more teams, and quite a few tournaments each year. Below is a short summary and schedule of upcoming games.
Ultimate Frisbee Osaka (UFO)
UFO is the team that I used to play with every Sunday starting at 2 PM near near the Yodogawa river in Osaka (map to the field). The easiest way to get there is to get off at Hankyu Nakatsu station, walk towards the Yodogawa river, turn left, then walk along the river until you see a big grassy field (after the baseball fields). New members of all levels are always welcome.
Other Pickup Teams
Kyoto Ultimate is a pick-up team that plays in Kyoto. If you're in the Kyoto area this would be a good place to join!
Tournaments
Note: All of the following information is now really old (as of June 2015), but I'll leave it here anyway for reference. You can possibly find more information about tournaments on Club Jr.'s Japanese site.
- Kansai Open Wakayama: A 2-day tournament held in Kokawa, Wakayama in March. Divisions for Open and Women.
- Kansai Open Awaji: A 2-day tournament held at Sano Sports Park in Awaji City, Hyogo in April. Separate divisions for Open and Women.
- Disc Summit: A 2-day beach tournament held at Okura Beach in Akashi, Hyogo in June. It features not only two days of ultimate (pick up on the first day, normal teams on the second) but also freestyle and competitions in accuracy, disc golf, and others.
- Taj Ultimate: A two-day tournament in July put on by JET programme participants in Tajima (Northern Hyogo). It is a mixed tournament and features a great BBQ party on Saturday night every year.
- Fall Disc Summit: A 1-day beach tournament held at Okura Beach in the fall with mixed teams and other disc events like disc-golf and accuracy.
- Ultimate Minor Cup: A two-day tournament put on by Ryukoku University Roc-A-Air. It's held in Kusatsu, Shiga and features pick-up on the first day, normal teams on the second, and a party on the night between.
- Maishima Series: A series of one-day matches held in Maishima, Osaka throughout the year. New for 2009!
- Kyoto League: A league that is open to Kyoto-based teams, held in Kyoto City.
2010 Tournament Schedule (April-December)
| Apr. 24-25 | Kansai Open #1 (Awaji, Hyogo) |
|---|---|
| May 8-9 | 1st Annual Ultimate Japan Open (Central and West Qualifiers, Mie) |
| Jun. 5 | Maishima Series Match #2 |
| Jun. 12-13 | Ultimate Clinic in Kansai (Shiga) |
| Jun. 19-20 | Disc Summit 2010 (Akashi, Hyogo) |
| Jun. 26-27 | Kansai Open #2 |
| Jul. 3-4 | Taj Ultimate 2010 |
| Jul. 17 | Maishima Series Match #3 |
| Sep. 18-20 | Japan Championship (Central and West Qualifiers, Sakai, osaka) |
| Oct. 9 | Maishima Joint Practice |
| Dec. 4 | Maishima Series Match #4 |
Teams
Mixed
- Ultimate Frisbee Osaka: My team!
- Tajima Gyu: A team consisting mainly of English teachers based in Tajima, the northern part of Hyogo. They play at Tajima airport on some Sundays and welcome any new players. Visit them on the Taj Ultimate message boards for more info.
- Disc-O: A largely Japanese mixed team based in Wadayama, Hyogo.
- Osaka Natto: A highly competitive Japanese team from Osaka.
Open
- Akatsuki: A team from Kyoto.
- Osaka Spirits: A strong team that practices in Sakai, Osaka.
- Tibets: A team that consists largely of former members from Kyoto University Breeze.
- Trigger: A team from Osaka.
Women
- Buddy's: A team from Osaka.
- Freely: A team from Osaka.
- Kaede: A team from Kyoto.
College Teams
- Biwako Seikei Sports College - Lakers
- Bukkyo University - Sallian Joseph
- Doshisha University - Magic
- Hyogo University of Teacher Education
- Kansei Gakuin - Arrows
- Konan University - Chicken Heart
- Kyoto University - Breeze
- Okayama University - Black Hawk
- Osaka University - ENN
- Osaka University of Health and Sports Sciences - Bouhsears
- Ritsumeikan University - Ludolph
- Ryukoku University - ROC-A-AIR
- Wakayama University - Naked Brothers
Links
- Osaka Ultimate Memo (Japanese)