Tokyo Gas
Before their 2011 Emperor's Cup win, FC Tokyo reached the semifinals of the competition three times: in 1997 (as Tokyo Gas), 2008, and 2010. Their 2011 win was remarkable in that the club was a second division team during the season. They became the first J2 champions, and third second-tier champions overall (after NKK SC in 1981 and Júbilo Iwata in 1982), to accomplish the feat.