one month after the 1973 tournament, ninomiya was chosen, along with five others, to go to live and train at the three kyokushin dojo in new york city. two of the american fighters that trained with them there were william oliver and willie williams. the other five members of the group returned to japan after two months, but ninomiya stayed in new york to teach and train. because of visa problems, he was unable to compete in the 1974 all-japan tournament.