How Tokyo City Keiba changed my Opinion of Horse Racing

Hey guys, it’s been a while! How have you been? 

I am still living in Japan and I am still a student at Yokohama National University.

Last month I had the opportunity to visit the Tokyo City Keiba racecourse, a horse racing course located in the heart of Tokyo! I will talk about the access a little more detailed in my next article.

This was my first time ever visiting a horse racecourse and I can tell that actually it is a lot more fun than most people think.

I always had the image that visiting a horse race is something old, rich people belonging to the higher ranks of society would do in their free time, so when I first heard that us international students were invited to a horse racing event, I was like “oh my god no, seriously? why?” and I basically had zero motivation to go.

I hadn’t checked any information or pictures of the venue on the internet before so I had no idea how it was going to be like, but as soon as we arrived at the course and saw the huge sign saying “Tokyo City Keiba” I got really excited! The venue is huuuuge, super modern and so clean! It took me a few minutes to get used to the smell though to be honest (lol).

As soon as we got to our seats my friend Sofie and I decided to challenge our luck and purchased some betting tickets. It is a little difficult to buy if you cannot speak Japanese, but the staff is super friendly so please do not resist to ask them for help!

Unfortunately we both were super unlucky, I did not win more than 90 Japanese Yen but still it was a lot of fun and a good experience! Just watching the horse racing without betting is exiting too, but I swear if you bet on a certain horse and root for them to be the first one to reach the goal it’s even more exiting!

Last but not least, as soon as it got dark there was a huge illumination all over the course and I guess that is the reason why Tokyo City Keiba has recently become a popular dating spot as well!

In short, I realized it is not only fun for “old, rich people” but also for students, so I would definitely recommend checking it out if you ever get the chance.

Thanks for reading,

Carla 

This post is supported by Tokyo City Keiba, one of City-Cost's Supporters helping City-Cost bloggers to enjoy life in Japan and engage in new experiences.