Japan Figure Skating Championships 2025. As if a door had opened…

Kaori Sakamoto: first step, first practice at Japan Figure Skating Championships 2025 – for the very last time.

Last first step on practice ice at Nationals, we could have also captioned the photo.

A movement, a feeling, almost a ritual, that holds so much meaning within.

And one that replicates for Wakaba Higuchi, for Mai Mihara and for every other skater who says farewell to competitive skating after this season, after this edition of the Nationals.

What follows is the practice session on December 18th 2025 at Japan Figure Skating Championships through photos: some of the men, some of the women, a preview of what was to come once competition started.

You’ll see them very serious, preoccupied, their eyes turned inward, but also smiling, laughing, taking it all in.

As if a door had opened, for a short while, to their inside work, their efforts, to what makes their skating really special.