Yutaro Oda says meeting up with some of Celtic's Japanese stars for dinner was a huge boost for him when he arrived at Hearts.
The forward was recruited by Robbie Neilson last month on a three-and-a-half-year deal to bolster attacking options at Tynecastle. Oda was the latest of an influx of stars from the Far East to come to Scotland, first sparked by Celtic's recruitment of the likes of top stars Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate. Ange Postecoglou's men then added Yuki Kobayashi and Tomoki Iwata this winter.
And those two stars, alongside midfielder Hatate, met up with the 21-year-old in the capital to ease his transition in to life in Gorgie. Oda was well versed in defender Kobayashi having both been in the youth set up for many years at J-League side Vissel Kobe. But the dinner encouraged the attacker to keep focus.
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He told the Edinburgh Evening News: “[Yuki] Kobayashi played with me since we were in junior high school so I know him.
“They all came to Edinburgh and we went to a Japanese restaurant. They are senior to me so they taught me a lot of things about Scotland. I feel people are speaking English so fast. I can’t understand. The Scottish accent is so strong but first of all I have to understand what English is.”
He added: “I think Hearts is a team that can help me improve and develop my ability more. What I am thinking now is just to get results here, to get goals and assists. If I can do this, I hope to be called up for the Olympic international team, and then maybe the senior Japan team.
"This is what I want and I am looking forward to it. It is not decided yet that Hearts will qualify, but playing in European competitions is very exciting for me. I am also waiting for this.
“Of course I knew Hearts before I signed because [Ryotaro] Meshino was here. That’s why I knew about the club. There are so many Japanese players playing in Scotland, especially in Glasgow, so I knew about the club and the league.”
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