In addition to mental exercises, rock, paper, scissors contests and plain old hard work, Japan have been literally chilling out in preparation to face South Africa in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals, hooker Shota Horie revealed Thursday.

"After the fourth match (against Scotland) I wasn't moving so smoothly, so I went into this capsule thing where the temperature was minus 90 C to aid with my recovery," Horie said.

(Shota Horie at a press conference in Tokyo on Oct. 17, 2019.)

Cryotherapy -- the local or general use of low temperatures in medical therapy, particularly when dealing with tissue lesions -- has been used in the past by a number of rugby sides.

But sitting in the confined space in such low temperatures was a novel experience for Horie.

"It was a surprise and pretty tough, but it was so good I went twice," the 33-year-old Osaka native said of his time in the capsule.

The cold capsule treatment comes in addition to games developed by mental coach David Galbraith -- aimed at getting players to think while simultaneously exerting themselves physically.

The players have also enjoyed competitions of rock, paper, scissors, or "janken" in Japanese, often involving the loser being hit on the head with a plastic hammer provided by Horie.

"The opponents are chosen by lottery," said Horie in response to a question about a video of him hitting head coach Jamie Joseph on the head with the hammer after choosing scissors to beat the Kiwi's paper.

Horie said the key to not being hit was similar to the one the team played on the field. "Fend them off with skill," he said.

As for the mental games, Horie said the Brave Blossoms would need to use their brains to determine where to distribute the ball when they take on the Springboks on Sunday at Tokyo Stadium (Ajinomoto Stadium).

"They (South Africa) are strong in every aspect so we have plans for each area of the game," he said.

The plans have been drawn up by Joseph and his coaching crew.

"We always focus on our game and what we can do better," said defense coach Scott Hansen. "However, when you are looking at South Africa, you definitely acknowledge what's coming."

"We understand they have a big forward pack that will focus on their maul and scrum, and so they should, as they are brilliant. We understand they will use the ball in the air to influence the game. They have a beautiful kicking game and a great kick chase. We understand it is coming."

"But what we told the players this morning is this is what they (South Africa) do and these are the things we need to do and this is how we can influence it. So we are always going to try and focus on what we can do well and how we can influence the game."

The game is Japan's first-ever in the knockout stage of the World Cup, though you would not know it from the relaxed atmosphere among the players.

"The games are helping us stay relaxed," said No. 8 Kazuki Himeno, one of the outstanding players of the tournament. "But we are focused on where we want to be."

That focus has simply involved looking at the next game rather than looking too far ahead, right from the start of the tournament, according to Horie.

"Nothing has changed," he said. "It's just a question of maintaining the balance of staying calm, being aggressive and not getting too excited or overwhelmed."

One thing is for sure, though, the team does not lack confidence.

Asked if Japan's performance at the tournament had blown away the concept of separate Tier-1 and Tier-2 nations, Himeno replied, "Yes it's true."

"We are playing good rugby and playing with confidence. We have smashed that notion."

South Africa will be trying to prove him wrong and disappoint a nation on Sunday.