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 In Osaka, which happens to be Oda's hometown, these three men will be skating a competition within a competition, with each looking to prove he is the most deserving of Japan's lone men's Olympic berth for the 2006 Winter Games.

Traditionally, Japanese federation officials take into account more than the results of their Christmastime nationals when deciding who gets the nod for the big shows. Whereas countries like Canada choose their Olympic and World teams according to national championship results, Oda, Honda and Takahashi don't have the luxury of building toward that event. The trio must skate to impress every single time out of the gate.

So talented are the Japanese men that pundits consider Japan a contender for an Olympic medal, no matter which one actually makes the trip to Italy.

Right off the top this season, Takahashi, the 2002 World Junior champion, scored a convincing 218.54-point win at Smart Ones Skate America. Until heavy-hitters Evgeny Plushenko and Stephane Lambiel upped the ante at Cup of Russia last weekend posting 241.80 and 225.55, respectively, Takahashi's score had been the highest recorded this season by 3.06 points.

A week later Oda, the 2005 World Junior champion, edged twice World bronze medalist Honda, 193.08 to 191.80, for the third spot on the Skate Canada podium.

Ironically, the men are in this unfortunate situation because Takahashi came undone at the 2005 World Championships after Honda crashed in the qualifying round and was forced out of the competition by a badly injured ankle. That meant Takahashi, then considered Japan's only entry in the event, had to finish 10th or better to keep the country's two spots at the 2006 Olympics and Worlds. He ranked 15th, leaving just one berth for three very worthy competitors.      

Nobunari Oda Photo by Paul Harvath

Honda, 24, with a decade of elite level competition under his belt, is once again looking like a contender after ankle injuries thwarted his ambitions for two frustrating seasons.

He believes his federation will name one man to the Olympic team and another will go to the World Championships. After taking fourth in Salt Lake City in 2002, Honda is gunning for the Olympic assignment. At Skate Canada, he announced this would be his last competitive season, and he wants to go out with a bang.

The veteran says the rise of Takahashi and Oda has nothing to do with his decision. Honda feels that at the end of this season, he will have nothing left in his competitive tank.

For seven years, Honda has trained with Doug Leigh in Barrie, Ont., and intends to make his home in Canada when he graduates to a pro career. Now, his countryman Oda, 18, has also taken up residence there, coached by Lee Barkell.

"Training in Canada is very good for me, and the competition is excellent," said Oda, who also trains alongside Jeff Buttle whenever the World silver medalist is home.

Takahashi, 19, who executed a quad toe at Skate America, albeit two-footed, trains both in Osaka and the U.S., where he works with Nikoli Morozov.

Honda's crowd-pleasing programs - "Romeo and Juliet" for the short program and "Tosca" for the finale - were also choreographed by Morozov this season.

Oda and Honda frequently train on the same sessions but, according to Barkell, both keep very focused on their own job.

"It's going to be a battle," Barkell chuckled, as he imagined the last-chance-to-impress showdown at the Japanese nationals.

While Honda did not win a medal in St. John's, his prize was renewed confidence after two seasons of doubt. His win at the Campbell's Classic in St. Paul a few weeks earlier had also been a real ego boost.

"I was surprised," he said about finishing behind Oda in St.John's."But, I was happy. I put two (strong) programs together - short and long. I was the only one who did that."

Honda, one of the charter members of the quad squad, did not attempt the four revolution jump at Skate Canada but promised it would reappear mid-season. Oda, meanwhile, is attempting to master a quadruple. Although he can stay on his feet when he lands the jump, it is not fully rotated and would be counted only as a triple in the new scoring system. Until it's clean, Barkell said, there will be no quad attempt in Oda's programs.   

Instead, the strategy is to capitalize on Oda's many other strengths including his consistency, musicality, spins and performance ability.

At Skate Canada, Oda had the distinction of posting the highest technical score (71.74) in the free skate, thanks to seven triples, including a triple Axel-triple toe-double loop combo, strong spins and David Wilson's innovative choreography.

If both he and Takahashi finish on the podium this weekend in Osaka, they could find themselves facing off again at the Grand Prix Final in Tokyo in mid-December, a week before their nationals. Honda would likely need to win NHK to qualify for the inal.

Takeshi Honda Photo by Paul Harvath

At Skate Canada, Oda said he had not really given the Olympics much thought but, instead, was focusing on being as prepared as possible for each competition.

"He is a very, very hard worker," Barkell said. "He's very calm. We don't have to push him. He pushes himself."

Last year when Oda trained for the first time in Canada he was terribly homesick. The fact that he spoke almost no English didn't help. Despite that, he won the World Junior title in Kitchener, Ontario, just a few hours drive from his training site.

Now that Oda's English skills have improved, he has made a number of skating friends and feels a lot more comfortable. He describes Canada's "big, wide nature" as "relaxing" and has developed a craving for all things maple like maple-flavoured cereal and pancakes with maple syrup.

Oda's new "Barber of Seville" short program is more mature and sophisticated but still contains comedic touches like those that proved so successful in last year's computer game-themed short. The free skate is a holdover from last season. It was so well-received that Barkell felt staying with something familiar would help keep Oda in "a comfort zone".

That strategy paid big dividends at Skate Canada where Oda soared from seventh after the short to third overall. He ranked second in the free skate.

Despite the attention he has attracted of late, Oda said he does not receive fan letters. Honda and Takahashi are the skating stars in Japan, he said.

That may be, but Oda's star is definitely on the rise.