Scotland will play hosts Japan in the pool stage of the Rugby World Cup.

At the draw in Kyoto on Wednesday, the Scots, who were placed in the second group of seeds, were drawn in Pool A alongside the Brave Blossoms, who they also faced in the 2015 tournament in England.

Scotland also face Ireland in the pool stage in the 2019 championship, plus two qualifiers.

The top qualifier from Europe will be placed in Scotland pool, plus the winner of a play-off between teams from Europe and Oceania.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend said the excitement was now building for the tournament, with a great deal of interest on Scotland due to being drawn against the host nation.

Reflecting on the Pool A draw, Townsend said: "Ireland have been one of the most competitive and most-improved sides over the past few years and a lot of that is to do with their quality of players and the influence of head coach Joe Schmidt.

"They are one of the best teams in the world. Whichever side we drew from the top band was always going to be very tough.

"Japan obviously made a memorable impact at the World Cup two years ago, beating South Africa, and will have tremendous support going into the tournament.

"They'll be targeting getting out of the pool and I'm sure that we'll see them play close to their best in every game.

"We know how dangerous they can be, having played them in the World Cup and on tour last year.

"The majority of our players who will feature in the next World Cup have already had that first contact with them and the style of rugby they aspire to play. It's likely they're going to continue to improve over the next few years.

"Playing the hosts makes it a bigger challenge but one we will relish."

In the other pools, holders New Zealand will face South Africa and Italy, England take on France and Argentina and Australia are drawn alongside Wales and Georgia.

The Rugby World Cup takes place from September to November in 2019 across 12 different stadiums in Japan, with the final to be held at International Stadium Yokohama on November 2.