The Japan Ice Hockey League was an annual ice hockey league, for Japanese teams, which began in 1966 and ended in 2004, when it was replaced by the Asia League Ice Hockey. Even when baseball and soccer, have ruled the Japanese sporting scene for decades, there are spectator sports happening in Japan during the winter months, that's the case of ice hockey, sport who has a surprisingly long tradition there; dating back to the 1920s. Teams have been competing in the All-Japan Championships since 1930, making the tournament one of the oldest sporting competitions in the country.