# Tokyo Great Bears

Tokyo Great Bears (Japanese: 東京グレートベアーズ) is the Japanese male volleyball club in V.League Division 1, the highest volleyball league in Japan. Established in May 2022 by Nature Lab Co., Ltd. and would start competing in 2022–23 season.

## 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.

## History

In 2021, it was announced that FC Tokyo volleyball team would suspend the operations after the 2021–22 V. League season. 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.
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.
All players are offered professional contracts.
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.

## Team
### Current roster

Team roster – season 2023/2024 :
| No. | Player Name | Date of birth | Position |
| 1 | Hidetomo Hoshino | (1990-09-29) September 29, 1990 (age 34) | Outside hitter |
| 2 | Kentaro Tamaya | (1992-01-30) January 30, 1992 (age 32) | Setter |
| 3 | Fukatsu Akihiro | (1987-07-23) July 23, 1987 (age 37) | Setter |
| 6 | Hideyuki Kuriyama [ja] | (1993-07-15) July 15, 1993 (age 31) | Middle Blocker |
| 8 | Masahiro Yanagida | (1992-07-06) July 6, 1992 (age 32) | Outside hitter |
| 9 | Takahiro Tozaki | (1995-06-14) June 14, 1995 (age 29) | Outside hitter |
| 10 | Taichirō Koga (c) | (1989-10-04) October 4, 1989 (age 35) | Libero |
| 11 | Daigo Yamada | (1998-04-11) April 11, 1998 (age 26) | Middle blocker |
| 12 | Hirotaka Odashima | (1991-07-22) July 22, 1991 (age 33) | Middle Blocker |
| 13 | Hayata Yanagimachi | (1996-06-17) June 17, 1996 (age 28) | Opposite Spiker |
| 14 | Shin Tehara | (1993-04-14) April 14, 1993 (age 31) | Setter |
| 15 | Yuki Imahashi | (2000-12-25) December 25, 2000 (age 24) | Setter |
| 16 | Takumi Kameyama | (2001-02-27) February 27, 2001 (age 23) | Outside Hitter |
| 17 | Shingo Kasari | (1997-01-29) January 29, 1997 (age 28) | Outside hitter |
| 18 | Tetsuya Muto | (1997-11-05) November 5, 1997 (age 27) | Middle Blocker |
| 20 | Rafael Araújo | (1991-06-13) June 13, 1991 (age 33) | Opposite hitter |
| 28 | Kandai Goto | (2003-01-25) January 25, 2003 (age 22) | Libero |
| Head coach: Kasper Vuorinen ||||

### Former Roster

Team roster – season 2022/2023 :
| No. | Player Name | Date of birth | Position |
| 1 | Hidetomo Hoshino | (1990-09-29) September 29, 1990 (age 34) | Outside hitter |
| 2 | Kentaro Tamaya | (1992-01-30) January 30, 1992 (age 32) | Setter |
| 3 | Shohei Nose | (1993-07-20) July 20, 1993 (age 31) | Libero |
| 4 | Yuma Nagamoto [ja] | (1991-12-22) December 22, 1991 (age 33) | Opposite Spiker |
| 5 | Wataru Taniguchi | (1996-11-05)November 5, 1996 | Outside Hitter |
| 6 | Zhang Binglong | (1994-09-11) September 11, 1994 (age 30) | Outside hitter |
| 7 | Kouhei Yanagisawa | (1993-05-24) May 24, 1993 (age 31) | Outside hitter |
| 8 | Hideyuki Kuriyama [ja] | (1993-07-15) July 15, 1993 (age 31) | Middle Blocker |
| 9 | Takahiro Tozaki | (1995-06-14) June 14, 1995 (age 29) | Outside hitter |
| 10 | Taichirō Koga (c) | (1989-10-04) October 4, 1989 (age 35) | Libero |
| 11 | Daigo Yamada | (1998-04-11) April 11, 1998 (age 26) | Middle blocker |
| 12 | Hirotaka Odashima | (1991-07-22) July 22, 1991 (age 33) | Middle Blocker |
| 13 | Hayata Yanagimachi | (1996-06-17) June 17, 1996 (age 28) | Opposite Spiker |
| 14 | Shin Tehara | (1993-04-14) April 14, 1993 (age 31) | Setter |
| 15 | Yuki Imahashi In | (2000-12-25) December 25, 2000 (age 24) | Setter |
| 16 | Takumi Kameyama In | (2001-02-27) February 27, 2001 (age 23) | Outside Hitter |
| 17 | Shingo Kasari | (1997-01-29) January 29, 1997 (age 28) | Outside hitter |
| 18 | Tetsuya Muto | (1997-11-05) November 5, 1997 (age 27) | Middle Blocker |
| 20 | Rafael Araújo | (1991-06-13) June 13, 1991 (age 33) | Opposite hitter |
| 21 | Ryosuke Hirata | (1995-05-18) May 18, 1995 (age 29) | Middle Blocker |
| 26 | Ayato Kuroda | (1996-01-30) January 30, 1996 (age 28) | Outside Hitter |
| Head coach : Koichiro Shimbo ||||

## Head coach history

| Name | Years |
| Koichiro Shimbo | 2022-2023 |
| Kasper Vuorinen | 2023-Present |

## Notable players

Rafael Araújo (2022)

## Results
### League result

Champion Runner-up
| League | League | Position | Teams | Matches | Win | Lose |
| V.League Division 1 | 2022–23 season | 8th | 10 | 36 | 10 | 26 |