Rugby: All Blacks prove to be big business at World Cup camp base

The All Blacks are already big business in Kashiwa, a day before their arrival in the city for their pre-Rugby World Cup camp.

City officials and local building company Mitsui Fudosan have shelled out about $1 million for the rights to host the Steve Hansen-coached side.

The Herald revealed the lucrative deal in May.

And local officials aren't wasting any time in maximising the promotional opportunities for their city, about 50km northeast of Tokyo.

A website promoting the All Blacks' visit has gone live. Officials say the All Blacks will be using local training facilities during the five-day pre-tournament camp and the city will be hosting a number of events and activities, including for local kids, to promote rugby.

The All Blacks already feature in a range of videos promoting Kashiwa – including some players eating Japanese food, and another featuring spellbound locals running towards the landing spots of rugby balls kicked all the way from New Zealand by Jordie Barrett, TJ Perenara and Codie Taylor.

The promotional slogan for the visit is "TRY the Future". An official release from the local welcoming committee explains they shared a similar goal with the All Blacks to strive for the best with a bright future.

"With overwhelming power and speed, the All Blacks lead global rugby. However, their challenge never ends, aiming higher. Along with such All Blacks, Kashiwa city would like to keep running toward a next future."

Parts of Kashiwa are being blacked out and large banners promote the All Blacks' presence around the city. Buses and trains also feature the silver fern.

Some of Kashiwa's 413,954 inhabitants are embracing Māori culture.

Auckland Rugby junior development officer Karl Pokino
wrote a haka for the city after a trip in March to run several coaching clinics.

"They wanted to learn a haka to perform while the All Blacks are in town," Pokino told the Herald on Sunday. "I thought we should do something special and write [them] their own haka."

He returned in July to perform the haka, Nau te Rourou Ka Ora te Iwi or With our collective thoughts it will benefit the people, at a public event at a shrine in the city that drew hundreds of locals.

Residents and school children will perform it for the All Blacks when they arrive in Kashiwa.

The squad were guaranteed a warm and respectful welcome in the city, Pokino said, even though Kashiwa traditionally follows football instead of rugby.

School children and local sports fans have also learned the English and te reo Māori versions of our national anthem to perform at a range of events.

"[The locals] are on cloud nine," he said. "And the All Blacks will be looked after very well.

"They are painting places black and white, the buses are being rebranded with All Black logos and there are banners everywhere.

"And with Japan not expected to make the quarter-finals, they are looking to back the All Blacks all the way."

As well as a warm welcome in Kashiwa, the All Blacks can expect to soak up a little luxury away from the field during their campaign to defend the Rugby World Cup title.

The squad will stay in the Mitsui Garden Hotel during the training camp. It's "an environmentally and ergonomically friendly hotel designed to provide all the comfort and functionality one needs" its website says.

Amenities include a garden spa sourcing water from a natural hot water spring rich in mineral salt, a mist sauna and a large gym.

The players will then travel to Tokyo next Saturday ahead of their tournament opener against the Springboks, staying at the five-star Conrad Tokyo Hotel where executive rooms cost about $1000 a night.

All Blacks wanting to start the day with some stretching will be able to attend morning yoga, pilates or ballet classes in the hotel's aerobics studio, and unwind at the end of the day with a massage at the Mizuki Spa, which has views across the city from the 29th floor.

The All Blacks will spend two nights at Suginoi Hotel, Beppu, when they play Canada at Oita, a prefecture known for its hot springs.

The hotel features an Aqua Garden, complete with fango therapy involving mud from its hot spring, a sauna featuring more than 30 salts from around the world and an illuminated musical fountain.

Players wanting an escape from the pressures of the World Cup might also want to check out its large floating meditation space.

"With high salt density hot spring water, illuminations and music, the Float Healing Bath is essentially a process of placing the body into a state of total relaxation," the hotel states.

"You can enjoy relaxing and floating by placing your head on the edge of the bath. There is enough space for more than a dozen people. Floating with illuminations and music leads you to a meditative state."

The Hilton Tokyo Bay, where the All Blacks will stay when they play Namibia, will also provide a chance to escape from the hype of the World Cup.

They may also want to pop across the road for a bit of fun - Tokyo Disneyland is across from the plush hotel and will host Disney Halloween events while the All Blacks are in town.

The Tokyo DisneySea attraction is also nearby.

• All Blacks in Kashiwa: https://kashiwa-allblacks.jp/