Heiwado HATO Stadium

The ground at Hikone Sports Park opened in 2023 as a complete rebuild, replacing a facility that had stood since the 1979 National Sports Games. The stands rise in a single tier, supported by a series of angled concrete pillars that give the roof a sense of movement. The seating is grey, matching the concrete, and the roof overhang provides shade over the rows.

Reilac Shiga FC moved here for the 2024 season. It is a small club, and the stadium feels built for their ambitions rather than inflated by a need for grandeur. The capacity is 9,000, a number that feels right for the town. The atmosphere is quiet in the way that open spaces are quiet. The wind comes straight through from the hills, carrying the sound from the track or the pitch without obstruction.

The attendance record was set in a relegation play-off. 9,006 people turned up for that match, which also makes it the highest attendance for any sports event in Shiga Prefecture. It was not a fixture that drew out the general public, but one that mattered enough to fill the blue seats. The stadium sits between the town and the mountains, a plain piece of infrastructure that does not try to be anything else.