There’s a genre of World Cup content that has almost nothing to do with soccer, and Japan’s traveling supporters have cornered it completely. The matches are happening, of course. Japan is currently in Texas competing on one of the sport’s grandest stages, and has already pulled off a minor miracle, rallying from two goals down to secure a draw against the Netherlands. But somewhere between Dallas and Arlington, the algorithm decided that the real story was Japanese people discovering Texas Roadhouse.

One clip has become the unofficial mission statement for the whole phenomenon. A Japanese supporter beams into a phone camera in Arlington and announces, “I can not speak English, but … I am exciting!!!!”

It’s difficult to imagine a more accurate summary of this World Cup’s parallel internet.

As clips pile up — Japanese fans reacting to Walmart, mechanical bulls, school buses, unordered chips and salsa — a general consensus has formed: No one is having a better week in Texas than the Japanese.

One Japanese fan posted on X on what was billed as day seven of their World Cup trip, raving about the bread at Texas Roadhouse.

Translation: This place hasn’t landed in Japan yet!! It’s a super popular steak casual dining spot in America. Steak is the star, but the bread that came out first was mind-blowingly delicious. Whoa, this is insane. It was so good I got it to go

Another marveled at unordered chips and salsa.

Translation: I didn’t order this, but it was here from the start. Is stuff like this paid? Like the otoshi you get in Japan?

Elsewhere, Japanese supporters have been spotted riding mechanical bulls, wandering Walmart, and generally approaching every aspect of Texan culture with the same earnest, slightly anthropological fascination that has made so much of this World Cup content so watchable.

A Fox News crew caught a group of Japanese supporters in North Texas and asked for their impressions of the Lone Star State. Verdict: “Texas is good, everything is big.”

The most charming moments, though, have come from the reverse-direction cultural exchange. In a Texas sports bar, Japanese fans taught locals the word oishii. Dutch fans hoisted a Japanese supporter clutching a Pikachu plushie above a sea of orange jerseys. A Syrian-American comedian went viral for walking a group of Japanese visitors through their first In-N-Out order (double double, animal style).  

The World Cup is usually narrated through competition, national identity, the pursuit of a trophy — a zero-sum frame. What’s happening here is the opposite: For one algorithmically blessed stretch, the internet’s attention has settled not on who wins, but on people finding each other endlessly fascinating.

And yes, Japanese supporters are still cleaning up the stadiums after matches. They brought the trash bags. They always do. The difference is that this year, they have also become the unlikely protagonists of the tournament’s most beloved side story.

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Updated On June 16, 2026