The official YouTube channel for Japanese keirin has published a new guide to the experience of watching and placing bets at a keirin event. But for the first time, as far as we can tell, the video has been posted in both Japanese and English versions.

Over the course of 10 minutes – with an excited voiceover, a varied musical soundtrack, and glossy graphics, all reminiscent of a Nintendo console – we are introduced to the basics of keirin racing, before joining a Japanese woman as she learns how to ‘enjoy keirin together’ … despite being curiously alone throughout.

As a product of the sport’s gambling organisation, the video inevitably concentrates on the essentials of collecting and completing a betting slip, placing a bet, and then (hopefully) collecting your winnings.

The English voiceover explains what is happening; but the pictures only show interaction in Japanese, leaving international viewers to wonder whether knowledge of the language is essential once you’re there.

The video has clearly been made primarily for a Japanese audience, then translated into English. Having gone to the effort of making the video, it’s a small additional step to add an English voiceover and graphics. But it certainly doesn’t feel like a concerted effort to encourage tourists or foreign residents to give keirin a try.

The most curious aspect for international viewers, aside from the pronunciation of ‘veeelodrome’, is the advice not to yell or heckle during the race. The noise of the crowd, particularly indoors, is an essential part of the velodrome experience!

We believe it’s the first English-language video to be posted on the channel in its 9 years of operation, although the keirin.jp website has carried a beginners’ guide section in English since 2017.