Shion Araya
Shion Araya (新谷組恩, b. February 23, 2001, Sapporo, Hokkaido) picked up a yo-yo in 2010 during Japan’s “Hyper Yo-Yo” boom and climbed the domestic ranks through Hokkaido and North Japan regional contests before joining Hong Kong’s C3yoyodesign team in October 2013. After a runner-up finish at the 2015 World Yo-Yo Contest in Tokyo, Araya broke through to win back-to-back World 1A titles in 2016 (Cleveland, Ohio) and 2017 (Reykjavik, Iceland), also taking the Asia-Pacific Yo-Yo Championships both of those years and the Japan National Yo-Yo Contest crown in 2017 and 2018. His style is built around high-speed, tightly-linked tricks and horizontal play. He has remained a fixture at the top of Japanese competition since, adding further Japan National titles and podiums through 2024, and continues to release signature yo-yos with C3yoyodesign — from the Radius line through the 2022 Socius to the 2025 Mico.