How the Olympics expands Japan’s curling “pond”

Like the United States, interest in curling soars in Japan during the Olympics. This interest has reached even greater levels following Japan’s bronze medal performance at the 2018 games. Naoki Iwanaga, a former competitive curler from Japan now living in the US, joins us to talk all things Japanese curling. We discuss the differences in curling culture between Japan and the US. Then, we learn about the growth of the sport in Japan and the need for a dedicated curling facility in Tokyo. He also introduces us to the concept of “沼” (meaning pond or swamp) and how it relates to the increased attention on curling during Team Fujisawa’s games. Japan Curling Association’s Curling Pond YouTube series Follow Naoki on Twitter