Let’s ruck and roll: Japan wakes up to the arrival of rugby giants

The stakes are high for the first Asian host of the Rugby World Cup, both on and off the pitchThe Rugby World Cup megastore in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district is doing a brisk business in official merchandise. Wallabies and All Blacks T-shirts have sold out, a shop assistant says, glancing down at two sets of empty shelves. Spotting the flag emblazoned on a miniature rugby ball in the Guardian’s basket, she quickly adds: “The England shirts are selling really well, too.”The warm and sustained blast of omotenashi hospitality directed at visiting teams and their supporters this week in Japan has almos…