- Title: Meet urikos, the women who wait on thirsty Japanese sports fans
- Date: 13th June 2019
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (MAY 30, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF 'URIKO' BEER VENDORS IN REFILLING STATION PREPARING FOR WORK / RECITING SOME OF THE KEY PHRASES THEY WILL SAY TO CUSTOMERS URIKO APPLYING MAKE-UP IN MIRROR URIKO, RIRIKO SAITO, HAVING BEER KEG REFILLED SAITO'S BEER KEY BEING REFILLED / LEAVING REFILLING STATION AND HEADING BACK TO CROWD VARIOUS OF SUPPORT STAFF REPLACING BEER KEGS SAITO'S BEER KEY BEING REFILLED / LEAVING REFILLING STATION AND HEADING BACK INTO CROWD FANS WATCHING TOKYO YAKULT SWALLOWS BASEBALL GAME AT MEIJI JINGU STADIUM SAITO, WALKING THROUGH CROWD DURING GAME / SAITO RAISING HAND AND OFFERING BEER TO FANS / SAITO GREETING FAN AND ASKING HIM FOR 1500 JPY FOR TWO BEERS VARIOUS OF URIKO SERVING BEER TO CUSTOMER FAN GIVING MONEY TO URIKO SAITO SPEAKING TO CUSTOMER / SAITO SAYING (Japanese): "Mr. Obaysashi, hello, I am Ririko. Here your change, 250 yen." / CUSTOMER SAYING (Japanese): "Her father is a former professional baseball player." / SAITO SAYING (Japanese): "Don't tell that to everyone. He was not that big." HIROSHIMA CARP FANS (IN RED) WATCHING GAME / OLYMPIC STADIUM IN BACKGROUND VARIOUS OF CARP FANS CHANTING DURING GAME / URIKO MOVING THROUGH CROWD SAITO SPEAKING TO CUSTOMER / CUSTOMER SAYING (Japanese): "Come back a bit at quick pace at the beginning of the innings." / SAITO SAYING (Japanese): "Okay I will be back in 10 minutes, thank you very much." (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 'URIKO' BEER VENDOR, RIRIKO SAITO, 20, TALKING ABOUT GOING UP AND DOWN THE STAIRS, SAYING: "It is very hard, so hard that I usually get sore muscles the day after and sometimes I cannot stand up. I have that especially at the beginning of the season. But I am getting use to this." BEER EARRINGS DANGLING FROM SAITO'S EAR URIKO SERVING BEER TO CUSTOMER (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 'URIKO' BEER VENDOR, AMI MAEDA, 19, SAYING: "Since I was small, my family liked baseball and we often went to baseball at a stadium. When my parents bought beer, the smiles of the uriko were very pretty so I knew I wanted to be a uriko when I grew up." FLOWER ATTACHED TO MAEDA'S HAT (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 'URIKO' BEER VENDOR, AMI MAEDA, 19, SAYING: "Of course, I want to earn some money, but at the same time, I have been longing to be a uriko. You have to be as old as a university student to apply for this job, so I really wanted to become uriko and I am enjoying this very much." VARIOUS OF URIKO SELLING BEERS IN CROWD SAITO SPEAKING TO CUSTOMER / CUSTOMER SAYING (Japanese): "Man, they are not doing well today." / SAITO SAYING (Japanese): "They need to change players." / CUSTOMER SAYING (Japanese): "No changing, it will be worse again." / SAITO SAYING (Japanese): "It was close yesterday." / CUSTOMER SAYING (Japanese): "Batters were hitting alright." YAKULT SWALLOWS MASCOT 'TSUBAKURO' WALKING THROUGH REFILLING STATION AND POSING FOR CAMERA
- Embargoed: 27th June 2019 10:44
- Keywords: Uriko beer sellers baseball rugby world cup
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
- City: TOKYO, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Baseball,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA001AJ68WFZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Uriko', or 'beer vendors', are a common sight at Japanese baseball games, hurrying up and down the terraces, carrying 17 kilogram kegs of beer on their backs to quench the thirst of eager punters in their seats.
Uriko, the vast majority of whom are female students between 18-25 years-old, have been commonplace at Japanese sporting events for decades.
And while Formula One have decided to end the use of female models on the starting grid and this season's Tour de France will also not feature 'podium girls' for the first time since 1930, the Japanese highly treasure their uriko who are firmly part of sporting culture in the country.
Under the concourse of Tokyo's Meiji Jingu stadium, nestled in the shadow of the under-construction Olympic Stadium and home to the Yakult Swallows baseball team, 160 beer vendors, all of whom are female bar one, are getting ready for a busy shift.
There is camaraderie but also tension. As all earnings are based on commission, the competition between vendors is fierce, with speed and efficiency the order of the day.
On a good day, the top vendors will expect to sell over 200 cups of beer during the game. As the beer goes for JPY750 (6.96 USD) a cup, being a uriko can be a seriously lucrative business.
With the bulky, beer-filled bag on their backs and armed with a quick-action beer spray, the 'uriko' resemble 'Ghostbusters' as they sprint and shuffle amongst the supporters, delivering their precious load.
In the refilling station beneath the terraces, likened by one of the vendor organisers to a Formula One pit-lane, workers aim to refill each vendor's keg and unleash them back into the crowd as soon as possible. The record is 13 seconds.
The uriko are well-loved in Japan and many young fans grow up wanting to be one.
"Since I was small, my family liked baseball and we often went to baseball at a stadium," said 19-year-old Ami Maeda, who has been working at Meiji Jingu for two years.
"When my parents bought beer, the smiles of the uriko were very pretty so I knew I wanted to be a uriko when I grew up."
Beer vendors will feature at the Rugby World Cup later this year, but with longer skirts and a more even split between men and women.
While cold beers will be brought to fans in their seats at certain stadiums, Japan 2019 organisers want to make sure the hawkers are dressed appropriately and there is a gender balance amongst the vendors.
"Stadium hawkers will be a fantastic addition to Rugby World Cup 2019 and a feature that our international fans are sure to both appreciate and remember," said Japan 2019's Executive Director Mick Wright in a statement to Reuters.
"All our in-venue food and beverage staff, including both men and women beverage hawkers, will be in attire befitting the international nature of a Rugby World Cup."
Heineken, the official beer suppliers of Japan 2019, said they wanted a similar policy.
"Overall, we take care to avoid any form of dressing that may come across as provocative or suggestive," the Dutch beverage giant said in a statement to Reuters.
"The uniform must be safe, functional and decent/appropriate. For women this means no revealing cleavage, and pants or skirts which cover the legs to just above the knees.
"No super tight fit or high stretch materials, no use of transparent materials, lace, latex, rubber, or high gloss materials."
More than 400,000 foreign fans are expected during the period of the World Cup, which runs from September 20 to November 2.
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