[2025.07.05] The First Skate

[yuzurujenn]

*Please do not reply in this thread. Machine translation, inaccuracies exist*

 

 

2025.07.16

 

Source: https://mag.minkabu.jp/life-others/34754/
Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20250716123737/https://mag.minkabu.jp/life-others/34754/

 

The birthplace of Japanese figure skating... Remembering the origins of Yuzuru Hanyu. Essays from the Sendai City Arena Opening Commemorative Event "The First Skate" (1) 

 

Spoiler

Young Yuzuru Hanyu “Moment of Realization”

 

July 5, Sendai.

 

Now, he reflects on the origin of it all.

 

“But it was when I couldn’t skate to my heart’s content that I realized that figure skating is really fun… That’s when I truly remembered. I finally realized that I can’t live without skating.”  ※1

 

This was the “realization” of a nine‑year‑old Yuzuru Hanyu, over twenty years ago, after winning the All‑Japan Novice B in his first appearance. Young Hanyu, who admired Evgeni Plushenko, who loved Ultraman Gaia, and who once considered a career as a professional baseball player because he also loved baseball.

 

“Six years after I started skating. The rink I was attending closed down. Suddenly, we lost our practice venue, and to continue skating, I had to travel much farther to another rink.”  ※2

 

“Some skaters from the same club quit because of that. I think about three boys stopped.”  ※3

 

At the end of 2004, the Konami Sports Club Izumi ice rink—“the rink I used to attend”—shut down due to financial difficulties. Like many people associated with Yuzuru Hanyu, you probably understand me: around the year 2000, the Japanese figure skating world, especially men’s singles, was in a tough spot. After the bubble burst and the collapse of financiers like Yamaichi, many corporate teams withdrew not only from figure skating but from the wider sports world.

 

Yuzuru Hanyu’s “Economic Sphere”

It is precisely because of those difficult times that I have long written about the “post-Hanyu Yuzuru era”—not only in terms of technical and artistic aspects, but also in terms of the economic impact he has brought to figure skating in Japan, an impact worthy of being called the “Hanyu Yuzuru Economic Sphere.”

 

The Konami Sports Club Izumi, which had been shut down, reopened in 2007 as today’s Ice Rink Sendai. However, even then, the Katsuyama Skating Club was closed in 2009. Compared to that era, public interest and economic engagement in figure skating have clearly grown since the rise of Yuzuru Hanyu.

 

Of course, it’s not only thanks to Hanyu Yuzuru—but still, the economic effects he has brought—the economic benefits his presence has brought to the city of Sendai, and even to Japanese figure skating as a whole—are immeasurable. Today, it is no exaggeration to say that Hanyu Yuzuru is the driving force behind the global figure skating economy, but I’ll leave that point aside for now.

 

Even so, Yuzuru Hanyu himself has faced many hardships since childhood. While the 3.11 earthquake tends to be most frequently mentioned, and of course, that is an extremely important part of his story, long before that, Hanyu Yuzuru had already been yearning for a safe, reliable environment to train in not just for himself, but for all figure skaters in this country. The fact that many of his childhood peers were forced to give up the sport they loved because of those difficult circumstances is something truly heartbreaking.

 

There was even a report by Shukan Bunshun (published by Bungeishunju) that absurdly framed a training rink as if it were a “Hanyu-only” facility funded by taxpayer money and closed off from the public. That was an outrageous distortion. Now, in hindsight, it’s clear that this was fabricated, and I will continue to point that out again and again. It was, in fact, a fabrication.

 

Today, Yuzuru Hanyu’s donations to Ice Rink Sendai alone exceed 100 million yen (approx. $700,000 USD). Even though he is now in a position where he no longer has to worry about where to practice, he has continued to give back through donations.

 

‘I hope I can put on a show that can only be done here.’

 

I’ve written this many times, and in July 2023 I even posted on X:

 

“It’s not a simple matter. Anyone, thinking about their future, wants money. Competitive skating, of course, but pro skating costs even more. That is truly not easy.”

 

This attitude shown by Yuzuru Hanyu changes the world, creates an era. His achievements aren’t just about him, but they are undeniably his.

 

And so, Sendai City Arena (Xebio Arena Sendai, hereafter “Xebio”) came into being.

 

A year-round, international-standard rink. Thinking back, Xebio too was built after great struggle, especially since construction began right after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Young Yuzuru Hanyu, who had no great achievements yet compared to what came later, was gazing up at Sendai’s stars—how strange, cruel, and yet wonderful fate can be.

 

In the 2024 "Sendai City Newsletter," Mayor Kazuko Kori spoke of her conversation with Hanyu:

 

"We thought it was a problem that young skaters who aspire to become gold medalists like Shizuka Arakawa and Hanyu would leave Sendai midway through their training due to a lack of training facilities." (※4)

 

"We received a proposal to renovate the Xebio Arena Sendai into a multipurpose facility for figure skating and donate it to our city. We would love to have Hanyu perform a show here." (※5)

 

To that, Yuzuru Hanyu replied:

 

"Thank you very much. I hope to be able to put on a show that can only be done here, and I would be happy if I could convey the appeal of figure skating to even more people." (※6)

 

That, truly, was the embodiment of “The First Skate.”

 

Sendai, the kingdom of figure skating, lives up to its name

July 5, Sendai.

 

I was at Nagamachi Station, the closest station to Xebio Arena. “The First Skate”—the inaugural event commemorating the opening of Sendai City Arena.

 

As a writer, I always try to maintain the mindset of “just one spectator” when I write. So unless absolutely necessary, I don't enter as press. But since this was a municipal event hosted by the City of Sendai, I obtained permission from the Sendai City Arena Opening Commemoration Event Office to attend.

 

That day in Sendai reached a high of 34 °C, and even before noon had surpassed 30 °C. Still, many figure skating fans gathered. This is a testament to Sendai being the kingdom of figure skating.  Earlier that morning, I had visited Goshikinuma in Sendai Castle (Aoba Castle), well known as the birthplace of Japanese figure skating.

 

In the late 19th century, figure skating—a sport originating in Europe—was brought to this area by foreign teachers. In the early 20th century, it began on the frozen surface of Goshikinuma by students of the old Second High School (Tohoku University) and locals in Sendai. ※5 At that time, stars like Ulrich Salchow and Gilbert Fuchs competed internationally. In Japan, as Kawakubo Shirou described, it was “winter playground exercise” ※6, and the best people could do was imitate and enjoy elements of figure skating.

 

Some time later, in 1931, Japan saw its first Olympians in figure skating, Kazuyoshi Oimatsu and Ryuichi Obiya, the country’s first Olympic figure skating representatives.

 

At the 1932 Lake Placid Olympics, legends such as Karl Schäfer, Britain’s Grafström, and Erneste Baier competed fiercely. The Japanese skaters didn’t fare well (Oimatsu placed 9th and Obitani placed 12th out of 12 participants), but those two athletes, chosen at the Second All-Japan Championships in this Sendai region, connect in lineage all the way to Yuzuru Hanyu.

 

Yuzuru Hanyu — the Culmination of a Century on the Ice Rink

Yes, all things follow the rule of fate and connection. And Yuzuru Hanyu is precisely the culmination of this country's hundred-year history on the ice.

 

That is why, to figure skating fans, Sendai is a “place to return to.” It is the hometown of Yuzuru Hanyu, and also the birthplace of figure skating in Japan. “I'm home”—what a beautiful thing fate is.

 

On the ice of Xebio Arena, a group performance by young figure skaters began. Spectators looked on, with facilities and athletes' skills now far beyond comparison to the past—yet, just like the ancient Goshikinuma long ago, the warmth of people and the passion poured into the ice remain unchanged.

 

Because Sendai is where we started. It's the hometown of figure skating and the hometown of Yuzuru Hanyu.

 

Now, the curtain has risen on The First Skate.

 

(To be continued)

 

 

References

1* Yuzuru Hanyu, Aoi Honoo (Blue Flame), Fusosha Publishing, 2012, p. 30.

2* Ibid., Hanyu, p. 27.

3* Ibid., Hanyu, pp. 27–28.

4* Sendai City General Affairs Bureau, Public Relations Division, Sendai City News, Aoba Ward Edition, January 2024 issue, p. 5.

5* Ibid., Sendai City General Affairs Bureau, same.

6* Ibid., Sendai City General Affairs Bureau, same.

7* Sendai City Museum, City History Compilation Office, Sendai City History Bulletin, No. 20, published January 31, 2009, p. 1.

8* Shiro Kawakubo, Hyōkatsu (Ice Skating), Tokyo-do, published in Taishō 6 (1917), p. 2.

 

[yuzurujenn]

*Please do not reply in this thread. Machine translation, inaccuracies exist*

 

 

2025.07.22

 

Source: AERA Weekly issue 2025.7.28, pg 50-53
Online version: https://dot.asahi.com/articles/-/261550?page=1 

Info: https://www.amazon.co.jp/AERA-アエラ-2025年-28-増大号/dp/B0FB98BFTR 

 

Yuzuru Hanyu – Feelings for Sendai
Ice Show “The First Skate” Is Held

 

An ice show held at a newly opened rink in Sendai. What the top skater born in Sendai showed there was a special performance filled with gratitude and thoughts for the future.

 

Spoiler

On this day too, he created a celebratory atmosphere with his overwhelming presence.

 

On July 5, the ice show “The First Skate” was held at “Xebio Arena Sendai” in Sendai City.

 

Xebio Arena Sendai, previously used as the home ground for a professional basketball team and other events, underwent renovations to install a year-round ice rink. By laying insulation and other materials on the ice, it was reborn as a multi-purpose arena that can still host basketball games and concerts as before. This event was held to commemorate the reopening.

 

The audience seats were packed with people lucky enough to get tickets from a lottery with odds over 100-to-1. From the opening, the show was enveloped in a festive atmosphere. Following a group performance by two local skaters from Ice Rink Sendai, the aria “Nessun Dorma” from the Italian opera Turandot played. It is a song that became widely known when Shizuka Arakawa performed it at the 2006 Turin Olympics and won the gold medal.

 

The finale was ‘Haru yo, Koi’

 

Skaters connected to Sendai then appeared on the ice one by one to that melody. Rika Hongo, Akiko Suzuki, Takeshi Honda... As the fourth skater appeared, the arena erupted in loud cheers. It was Yuzuru Hanyu. As he gracefully performed an Ina Bauer to the beautiful yet powerful music, the crowd once again roared with applause.

After the opening, solo performances followed from two local skaters and four top skaters.

 

The final act was Hanyu. He chose “Haru yo, Koi” (“Come, Spring”) for this day — a familiar exhibition program he had performed since his competitive days. After the show, he revealed why he chose it:

 

“Since ‘beginning’ is one of the themes, I picked something that gives the image of spring, which is the season of beginnings for me. I skated with the hope that, for the kids who performed today and for the people who came to watch, something might start even just a little, or that they might be able to take a step forward after seeing this program. I skated with that wish in mind.”

 

The crowd, having watched his emotionally rich performance, seemed fully absorbed in the lingering afterglow.

 

But it wasn’t over yet. Hanyu returned to the rink once more.

 

Some skaters lost their training rinks

 

For the encore, he performed “Let Me Entertain You.” During the COVID-era 2020–2021 season, he brought this upbeat rock number to life with the wish to bring joy to others. With sharp movements that matched the rhythm perfectly, the atmosphere turned electric, like a live concert. It was a symbolic moment of the show’s success and a communal celebration of the rink’s completion.

 

Sendai is known as the birthplace of figure skating in Japan and has produced many renowned skaters. Among them are Hanyu, Honda, Suzuki, Hongo, Shizuka Arakawa (who sent a video message for the show), and Mone Chiba, the 2024 World bronze medalist.

 

Despite its brilliant history, there were times when the city lacked skating rinks, leaving skaters without a place to train. Even when rinks existed, the training conditions were far from ideal, prompting some athletes to move out of the prefecture in search of better environments.

 

Hanyu was one of them. When he was in elementary school, his main rink was shut down, and he struggled to find a place to train. In his second year of high school, he decided to move to Canada and left Sendai.

 

Reflecting on his own experience, he said:

 

“When aiming for the top of the world, you inevitably have to go to a more favorable environment. I had to as well. At the same time, there are always moments when you feel overwhelmed by thoughts of home, family, and your friends. I really did wish I could stay in the place I loved, with the friends and teachers I loved, and keep doing what I loved.”

 

Even as the environment for Sendai skaters remained challenging, Hanyu donated large sums of money to maintain and improve Ice Rink Sendai, the place where he began skating and still trains. In fall 2022, after turning professional, he even appeared on a local TV program and publicly stated, “Please build a rink in Sendai.”

 

The ice was finally made

 

That long-held wish was realized with the renovation of Xebio Arena Sendai. So first, he expressed his gratitude:

 

“Since this venue was originally made for basketball games and artist events, installing a permanent ice surface must have been incredibly difficult. Amid such circumstances, I’m incredibly grateful that they experimented with things like temperature and humidity control to finally make this ice. The water has just been laid down recently, so I believe that through more and more experience, including today, this ice will develop into something that will support future competitions too.”

 

He also gave a message to the young skaters who performed alongside him:

 

“If even a few of the kids who skated today felt inspired by us, or thought, ‘I’ll definitely become better than them!’ — I’d be really happy.”

 

This new rink, born in the birthplace of Japanese figure skating, is a long-awaited place that will provide a richer environment for young skaters.

 

But its significance goes beyond just that.

 

Built to international standards, the rink will likely host future competitions and shows. For the people of Sendai, it will be an opportunity to feel figure skating more closely.

 

Local citizens’ ticket allocation

 

This opening event was part of that. An hour before the show began, a long, winding line formed in front of the entrance. Compared to Hanyu’s usual ice shows, the crowd included people of a wider range of ages. That was likely due in part to the “local citizens’ ticket allotment” during ticket sales. It also seemed like many first-time ice show viewers attended. That, too, conveyed the significance of this new rink.

 

After Hanyu’s encore, the group finale began, and the show reached its end.

 

While circling the rink with the other skaters, Hanyu waved and smiled, responding to the cheers and looking carefully from the 1st-floor seats to the 2nd, then the 3rd, continuing to wave.

 

One by one, the skaters left the ice, and finally, Hanyu stepped off the rink and shouted at the top of his lungs:

 

“Thank you very much!”

 

The arena erupted in applause and smiles. This successful first stage left everyone with the feeling that a new chapter in skating history had just begun. 

 

[yuzurujenn]

*Please do not reply in this thread. Machine translation, inaccuracies exist*

 

 

2025.07.28

 

Source: https://nc.ox-tv.co.jp/news/detail/2025072800005

 

Yuzuru Hanyu's Sendai ice show will be streamed for a fee from August 8th for 1,000 yen including tax for one week only

 

Spoiler

The ice show featuring Yuzuru Hanyu and others, held on July 5th at Xebio Arena Sendai in Sendai City, will be available for a fee from August 8th.

 

Xebio Arena Sendai in Taihaku Ward reopened on July 5th as a year-round ice rink that meets international standards, and a commemorative ice show, "The First Skate," was held.

 

Yuzuru Hanyu and other skaters with ties to Sendai appeared in the ice show.

 

The show will be available for a fee from August 8th to 14th.

The distribution platform is "ZAIKO," and tickets cost 1,000 yen including tax. (*Separate payment fee applies.) Tickets will go on sale from August 2nd, and can be viewed from overseas.

 

There were over 30,000 applications for the venue's capacity of approximately 3,000 people, and many fans said they would like to watch it on streaming.

 

 

 

Source: https://deepedgeplus.kyodonews.jp/ice-show/114724/

 

The ice show "The First Skate" starring Yuzuru Hanyu and others will be streamed from August 8th to 14th. Tickets will go on sale from August 2nd.

 

Spoiler

　On the 28th, the event office announced on their official SNS account that a recorded version of the ice show "The First Skate," which was held to commemorate the reopening of "Xebio Arena Sendai" on July 5th and featured two-time Winter Olympic figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu and other skaters with ties to Sendai, will be streamed on the distribution service "ZAIKO" from August 8th. Tickets must be purchased to watch the stream.

 

"The First Skate" was held as the opening event for a new year-round skating rink to be built at "Xebio Arena Sendai," an indoor sports facility in Taihaku Ward, Sendai. In addition to Hanyu, Honda Takeshi, Suzuki Akiko, and Hongo Rika also appeared in the show.

 

Delivery details
◆Program name: "The First Skate"
◆Streaming service: ZAIKO
◆Ticket sales period: August 2nd (Sat) 10:00 – August 14th (Thu) 22:30
◆Streaming period: August 8th (Fri) 10:00 – August 14th (Thu) 23:59
◆Ticket price: 1,000 yen
◆Ticket user fee: 209 yen
◆Streaming fee: 135 yen

*You will need to register for a ZAIKO account to purchase tickets and watch the video.

 

Streaming ticket purchase site
https://l-tike.zaiko.io/e/sendaicityarena-op

 

Sendai City Events Office website
https://www.sendaicityarena-op.jp/ticket/

 

[yuzurujenn]

*Please do not reply in this thread. Machine translation, inaccuracies exist*

 

 

2025.07.28

 

Source: https://dot.asahi.com/articles/-/261550?page=1 

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20250728072620/https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/907962?display=full

 

Yuzuru Hanyu's "Prayer" performance that was not shown on TV - A soulful performance on the new Sendai rink [Complete report]

 

"Everything about that day" that could not be fully conveyed through video.

 

Spoiler

On that day, on the ice that had just been laid in the arena in Sendai, Yuzuru Hanyu was quietly praying.

 

He didn’t want this performance to end as just a performance. He wanted to deliver it as something that would surely remain in the hearts of the spectators who overcame the high-odds lottery to attend, the fans across the country and around the world who missed out in the drawing, and someone who might start skating in the future.

 

However, only about one minute of footage from this show was broadcast on television. Many moments that couldn’t be fully reported definitely existed on the ice.

 

That is why now, I want to convey all of it through words what Hanyu entrusted to the “first ice.”

 

He skated “Haru yo, Koi” with a wholehearted desire to reach others, right up to the moment he stepped onto the rink

 

On July 5, 2025, Xebio Arena Sendai, located in Taihaku Ward, Sendai City, made a fresh start as a year-round skating rink.

 

A venue that had previously been used for professional basketball and music events was reborn as a full-scale, 60m x 30m rink capable of hosting international competitions.

 

To celebrate this historic “opening day,” Yuzuru Hanyu—the world champion born in Sendai—appeared in the inaugural show, The First Skate.

 

At the start of the show, young skaters from Ice Rink Sendai graced the stage with a group performance. As the aria “Nessun Dorma” from the opera Turandot echoed through the arena, top skaters with ties to Sendai such as Takeshi Honda, Akiko Suzuki, and Rika Hongo appeared one after another.

 

Then, the moment Yuzuru Hanyu emerged, the atmosphere in the venue completely changed.

 

Swaying lights, unending cheers. Just the sight of him standing quietly on the ice seemed to take the audience’s breath away.

 

Yuzuru Hanyu’s solo program that day was “Haru yo, Koi.” Set to Shinya Kiyozuka’s piano arrangement, he skated as if putting a prayer into each and every movement.

 

As the arc of his Ina Bauer sliced through the ice, a sigh escaped from the audience. It was a performance they must have seen many times before, and yet, for some reason, they couldn’t look away.

The ice reflecting the light under the spotlight, the utterly still atmosphere, it was a performance that seemed to illuminate the depths of each person’s heart.

 

Yuzuru Hanyu:
“One of the themes is ‘beginnings,’ so for me, I chose this piece with the image of ‘spring’ in mind.
If seeing it could spark something to begin, or help someone take a first step… I skated with those feelings in my heart.”

 

The arena shakes to the passion unleashed by ‘Let Me Entertain You’

 

The encore applause gradually swelled into a wave of excitement, calling Hanyu back onto the ice once again.

 

He performed “Let Me Entertain You.”

This program was created in 2020, when anxiety and loneliness swirled amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with the hope of bringing at least a little joy.

 

It was a performance where the emotions he had held back were suddenly unleashed all at once. Hanyu thrust both arms upward and dashed across the rink, stepping rhythmically.

 

The audience’s cheers exploded in response. “Frenzy,” “ecstasy,” “festival” — those words perfectly captured the moment. There was a side to figure skating here that you don’t see in competitions, a “live” aspect. It was a miraculous moment where the audience and performer connected with exactly the same intensity.

 

To the younger skaters who skated together with him: The ‘future’ and ‘origins’ entrusted by Hanyu

 

This show featured the seniors Hanyu once admired, as well as the juniors he now watches over, performing together.

 

Yuzuru Hanyu:
“I’m glad we could bring the joy of creating something together to the people of my hometown.”

 

Hanyu’s roots lie at Ice Rink Sendai. However, that rink once faced closure. In the winter of his second year of high school, after losing his training base, he decided to move to Canada. For Hanyu, “having a rink in my hometown” was an ideal he always wished for.

 

Yuzuru Hanyu:
“If I could keep skating with friends I like, coaches I like, and in a place I love, that’s something I’ve hoped for myself, too.”

 

After turning professional, Hanyu made substantial donations to the hometown rink and even appealed on TV, saying, “Please build a rink in Sendai.” And finally, that wish took shape this time.

 

At a group interview, he spoke about his feelings performing alongside the junior skaters.

 

Yuzuru Hanyu:
“I myself have been greatly inspired by skating with my seniors. I would be happy if the kids who skated today could take something from us. It’s fine if they think, ‘I’m definitely going to be better than those guys!’ (laughs)”

 

Memories and hopes connected by the “rink.” In Hanyu’s gaze, there is always the next generation.

 

And the true story that was not shown on television

 

This historic show was originally supposed to be covered in a long feature on television.

However, in reality, only 60 seconds of footage was used. Behind this was confusion even among those at the reporting site.

 

On the day of the coverage, immediately after all filming was finished, the organizer—the city of Sendai—suddenly notified that “video usage must be within 60 seconds.” The reason given was that “it might affect a paid streaming event planned for a later date.”

 

There had been no such restrictions in advance notices or meetings. Since this was a highly public project and a meaningful stage where Hanyu performed with younger skaters from his hometown, Sendai Broadcasting asked the city of Sendai to reconsider. However, the restriction was not overturned.

 

Although the city of Sendai apologized, saying they “were inexperienced with handling media requests,” the broadcast had to be limited within the restriction.

 

[Supplement] Why We Choose to Convey This Now in Writing: Our Responsibility to the Media and Fans

 

That’s exactly why I want to deliver this now through words. The passion, the energy, the smiles, the words that were on that ice can never be fully expressed in just “one minute.”

 

The finale where Hanyu shouted, “Thank you so much!” The audience who continued applauding with tears in their eyes, the local parents and children watching an ice show for the first time, the fans who rushed over from Taiwan— All of them engraved a story on the “first ice.”

 

The “true story” that wasn’t shown on TV. I want to deliver it now to you, who are reading this.

 

The rink is complete. The story has only just begun.

 

Sendai Broadcasting