This year’s SV.League World Tour in Thailand felt completely different from last year. The entire event was on a much bigger scale. The first thing I noticed was a huge Hailyuu booth that immediately drew a lot of attention. Right at the entrance there were many Japanese food stalls and the whole area felt lively and welcoming, almost like a small festival.
My favorite team, Suntory Sunbirds, did not join the tour this year, which I felt a little sad about. But we still had Osaka Bluteon and Toray Arrows Shizuoka coming to compete. I did not get to see Toray Arrows Shizuoka because I decided to leave the arena earlier than planned. The heat inside and the uncomfortable seating became too much for me. I was still happy that I stayed long enough to watch Nishida Yuji and his team. The atmosphere shifted the moment he walked onto the court and it reminded me why I enjoy volleyball events so much.
A few weeks before this event, I went to Nippon Haku Bangkok 2025 and I got to meet Rui Takahashi and the rest of the Suntory Sunbirds members at their booth. That moment was honestly amazing. It felt very personal and made me really happy, especially since they were not coming to the SV.League tour this year.
I am sharing some of the photos I took so you can get a sense of what the event looked like. It was a tiring day but still a very fun one and I would definitely go again.