Tokyo Great Bears
 2023–24 V.League Division 1 Men's | |
 | |
| Full name | Tokyo Great Bears 東京グレートベアーズ |
|---|---|
| Founded | May 2022[1] |
| Ground | Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan |
| Owner | Nature Lab Co., Ltd. Great Bears Co., Ltd. |
| Head Coach |  Kasper Vuorinen |
| Captain |  Koichiro Koga[2] |
| League | V.League Division 1 |
| Website | Club home page |
Tokyo Great Bears (Japanese: 東京グレートベアーズ) is the Japanese male volleyball club in the SV.League, the highest-tier volleyball league in Japan. Established in May 2022 by Nature Lab Co., Ltd. and would start competing in 2022–23 season.[1]
Concept
The team name means the players and supporters that are connected, comparable to the seven stars of the Big Dipper, which is part of Ursa Major. The club intend to connect people, regions, and the world through volleyball. They will envision a future that will make the volleyball world more exciting and attractive.[3]
History
In 2021, it was announced that FC Tokyo volleyball team would suspend the operations after the 2021–22 V. League season.[4][5] But in May 2022, It was reported that the team was transferred to Nature Lab Co., Ltd. and established as the new team Tokyo Great Bears.[6][3]
In the same month, Great Bears Co., Ltd. was founded as the management company for the club under Nature Lab and some players from FC Tokyo was also transferred to the club.[3]
All players are offered professional contracts.[7]
Tokyo Great Bears broke the V.League Division 1 attendance record with 8,142 fans in attendance for the game against JTEKT Stings at Ariake Coliseum.[8]
Team
Current roster
| Team roster – season 2025/2026 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Player Name | Date of birth | Position | ||
| 1 |  Bartosz Kurek | August 29, 1988 | Opposite hitter | ||
| 3 | Fukatsu Akihiro | July 23, 1987 | Setter | ||
| 4 |  Jan Kozamernik | December 24, 1995 | Middle blocker | ||
| 5 | Wataru Taniguchi | November 5, 1996 | Libero | ||
| 6 | .svg.png){kind=small} Alex Ferreira | November 13, 1991 | Outside hitter | ||
| 8 | Masahiro Yanagida | July 6, 1992 | Outside hitter | ||
| 9 | Takahiro Tozaki | June 14, 1995 | Outside hitter | ||
| 10 | Taichirō Koga (c) | October 4, 1989 | Libero | ||
| 12 | Go Murayama | July 30, 1998 | Middle blocker | ||
| 13 | Issei Otake | December 3, 1995 | Middle blocker | ||
| 15 | Yuki Imahashi | December 25, 2000 | Setter | ||
| 17 |  Luciano Vicentin | April 4, 2000 | Outside hitter | ||
| 25 | Rikuto Goto | May 13, 2001 | Outside hitter | ||
| 26 | Riku Ito | November 14, 2001 | Middle blocker | ||
| 29 | Ryuki Ohmae | November 21, 2002 | Libero | ||
| 31 | Ryusei Kurokawa | May 31, 2002 | Setter | ||
| 39 | Yusaku Takashima | January 31, 2004 | Opposite hitter | ||
| Head coach: Kasper Vuorinen | |||||
Former roster
| Team roster – season 2023/2024 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Player Name | Date of birth | Position | |||
| 1 | Hidetomo Hoshino | September 29, 1990 | Outside hitter | |||
| 2 | Kentaro Tamaya | January 30, 1992 | Setter | |||
| 3 | Fukatsu Akihiro | July 23, 1987 | Setter | |||
| 6 | Hideyuki Kuriyama | July 15, 1993 | Middle Blocker | |||
| 7 | Kouhei Yanagisawa | May 24, 1993 | Outside hitter | |||
| 8 | Masahiro Yanagida | July 6, 1992 | Outside hitter | |||
| 9 | Takahiro Tozaki | June 14, 1995 | Outside hitter | |||
| 10 | Taichirō Koga (c) | October 4, 1989 | Libero | |||
| 11 | Daigo Yamada | April 11, 1998 | Middle blocker | |||
| 12 | Hirotaka Odashima | July 22, 1991 | Middle Blocker | |||
| 13 | Hayata Yanagimachi | June 17, 1996 | Opposite Spiker | |||
| 14 | Shin Tehara | April 14, 1993 | Setter | |||
| 15 | Yuki Imahashi | December 25, 2000 | Setter | |||
| 16 | Takumi Kameyama | February 27, 2001 | Outside Hitter | |||
| 17 | Shingo Kasari | January 29, 1997 | Outside hitter | |||
| 18 | Tetsuya Muto | November 5, 1997 | Middle Blocker | |||
| 20 |  Rafael Araújo | June 13, 1991 | Opposite hitter | |||
| 28 | Kandai Goto | January 25, 2003 | Libero | |||
| Head coach: Kasper Vuorinen | ||||||
| Team roster – season 2022/2023 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Player Name | Date of birth | Position | |||
| 1 | Hidetomo Hoshino | September 29, 1990 | Outside hitter | |||
| 2 | Kentaro Tamaya | January 30, 1992 | Setter | |||
| 3 | Shohei Nose | July 20, 1993 | Libero | |||
| 4 | Yuma Nagamoto | December 22, 1991 | Opposite Spiker | |||
| 5 | Wataru Taniguchi | November 5, 1996 | Outside Hitter | |||
| 6 |  Zhang Binglong | September 11, 1994 | Outside hitter | |||
| 7 | Kouhei Yanagisawa | May 24, 1993 | Outside hitter | |||
| 8 | Hideyuki Kuriyama | July 15, 1993 | Middle Blocker | |||
| 9 | Takahiro Tozaki | June 14, 1995 | Outside hitter | |||
| 10 | Taichirō Koga (c) | October 4, 1989 | Libero | |||
| 11 | Daigo Yamada | April 11, 1998 | Middle blocker | |||
| 12 | Hirotaka Odashima | July 22, 1991 | Middle Blocker | |||
| 13 | Hayata Yanagimachi | June 17, 1996 | Opposite Spiker | |||
| 14 | Shin Tehara | April 14, 1993 | Setter | |||
| 15 | Yuki Imahashi In | December 25, 2000 | Setter | |||
| 16 | Takumi Kameyama In | February 27, 2001 | Outside Hitter | |||
| 17 | Shingo Kasari | January 29, 1997 | Outside hitter | |||
| 18 | Tetsuya Muto | November 5, 1997 | Middle Blocker | |||
| 20 | Rafael Araújo | June 13, 1991 | Opposite hitter | |||
| 21 | Ryosuke Hirata | May 18, 1995 | Middle Blocker | |||
| 26 | Ayato Kuroda | January 30, 1996 | Outside Hitter | |||
| Head coach : Koichiro Shimbo | ||||||
Head coach history
| Name | Years |
|---|---|
| Koichiro Shimbo | 2022-2023[9] |
| Kasper Vuorinen | 2023-Present[10] |
Notable players
Rafael Araújo (2022)
Bartosz Kurek (2025)
Results
League result
Champion Runner-up
| League | Position | Teams | Matches | Win | Lose | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V.League Division 1 | 2022–23 season | 8th | 10 | 36 | 10 | 26 |
References
- 1 2 "tokyo-greatbears information". tokyo-greatbears.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ↑ "022-23シーズン 選手契約（12選手）及びキャプテン決定のお知らせ" (in Japanese). tokyo-greatbears.com. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- 1 2 3 "バレーV１新チーム『東京グレートベアーズ』小池百合子東京都知事を表敬訪問" (in Japanese). prtimes.jp. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ↑ Li, Matthew (8 December 2021). "Espejo's team FC Tokyo to suspend V.League ops after season". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ↑ "FC東京バレーボールチーム活動休止のお知らせ ｜ニュース｜バレーボール｜FC東京オフィシャルホームページ". FC Tokyo (in Japanese). 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ↑ "応援ありがとうございました。" (in Japanese). fctokyo.co.jp. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ↑ "【東京GBインタビュー①】久保田代表取締役が感じたVリーグの可能性「我々も26年前にはなかった会社」 | 月バレ.com【月刊バレーボール】". 月バレ.com【月刊バレーボール】 | 月刊バレーボールが運営するバレー情報サイト (in Japanese). 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
- ↑ "東京グレートベアーズ 2023年3月5日(日)V.LEAGUE MEN 最多入場者数更新のお知らせ". プレスリリース・ニュースリリース配信シェアNo.1｜PR TIMES. 2023-03-05. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
- ↑ ネイチャーラボ. "真保綱一郎監督 退任のお知らせ - NEWS - ニュース｜東京グレートベアーズ公式サイト". 東京グレートベアーズ公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-22.
- ↑ ネイチャーラボ. "カスパー・ヴオリネン新監督就任のお知らせ - NEWS - ニュース｜東京グレートベアーズ公式サイト". 東京グレートベアーズ公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-06-15.