It was just a few months ago that the idea of hosting the North American Kendama Open in 2025 was dead in the water. But a passionate community rallied alongside Sweets Kendamas and made the impossible happen, and so for the 13th year in a row, players gathered from around the world to participate in NAKO.

This is the part I hate to admit: I was unable to attend this year. But you best believe the livestream was on, the snacks were tasty, and I was in good company to view the festivities from afar. That being said, here are three takeaways from NAKO 2025.

1. Nonoka Kyodo is the best player in the world.

We could have a lengthy debate about who the “best” kendama player is, but the answer, like many things regarding kendama, is subjective. Still, if I ask myself that question today, my honest answer is Nonoka Kyodo. Nonoka shocked the kendama world by pulling the ‘ol hat trick at NAKO, taking first in not one, but three competitive divisions: Girls Open, Open, and Freestyle.

Girls Open is always stacked, but Kyodo didn’t give up a point until the semi finals. After losing a close match to Nowa Yamada, she was relegated to the redemption bracket. Here, she clawed her way back to meet Nowa yet again, this time in the finals. After winning two matches to secure her victory, she was on to the Open division.

There was no redemption bracket in Open this year. One and done matches over the course of three days, with increasingly difficult levels of tricks and competition. She defeated former EKC champion Adrian Vilau in the semi finals only then to be greeted by the reigning world champion Ryoga Kawamoto. The finals came down to the wire with Kyodo taking the match 5-4, establishing herself as the first female player to ever take home the NAKO Open crown.

Finally, Freestyle. Her runs were practically flawless, and the few errors were more than compensated by the sheer difficulty of her makes. Obviously, besting the freestyle demon Yasu is the ultimate cherry on top of her dominate performance throughout the competition, but I found the revenge match against Adrian Vilau in the semis to be particularly satisfying.

I don’t know what your definition of “best” is, but mine speaks for herself.

2. Kendama becomes more involved with Challonge.

Organizers have been using Challonge for years, but recently Sweets Kendamas has been making a bigger push into that sphere. According to Cody Griswold,

3. They found a way.

Look, for the sake of transparency I’ll be the first to tell you that I wasn’t exactly advocating for NAKO to happen this year. I have my reasons, and I know I irked a few people with my views. But kendama players found a way. They came together and showed support for something that goes beyond the trophies and pictures. The timeline to make it happen was shorter than it ever had been, but aside from a few understandable hiccups along the way, the event sailed smoothly. Even the livestream was entertaining despite the absence of commentary. We’ll see how the industry goes after this major event, and with the holidays right around the corner, maybe NAKO was the spark that they needed to get some much-needed sales. Whatever the case, the event was a complete success, thanks not only to Sweets Kendamas, but by every participant near and far.

More competition results here.