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Okay, and finally... This weekend, I participated in the Salty Dog Triathlon here in Yokosuka. It was fun - except for the swim. For whatever reason, I still have these strange, mild hyper-ventilating panic attacks about midway through the swim. Paging Dr. Phil!
The race consisted of a 400 meter swim, 15K bike and 5K run. The weather cooperated - cool and overcast - so it went pretty well once I was out of Tokyo Bay. However, I think I ingested way too much saltwater for my own good!
Several weeks ago, J. had a haircut appointment in Yokohama on Saturday afternoon (which I begged off from... I know, shocker...), but I met her late that afternoon up there in hopes that we could catch the BayStars vs. Chunichi Dragons baseball game.
I'd heard from many people that attending a Japanese baseball game was a "must" for any sports fan visiting here. Let me tell you, its not a "must" just for visitors. The game, alone, would be worth getting on a flight and traveling across the Pacific!
I used to be a pretty big baseball fan. However, in the last 5-10 years - don't know if it was the fact that the Cubs would crush my spirit every year, the work stoppages or just the outright greed and stupidity of both players and management that turned me off - but somewhere, I lost all interest. And let's face it, sitting through a game can be downright boring. However, if American baseball games were HALF as much fun and entertaining as a Japanese baseball game, I'd probably buy season tickets.
The fans are incredible. Yokohama's team, the BayStars, is about as deep in last place as one can get. They have the worst record in the league. Yet, on this Saturday night, with only 1 week left in the season and absolutely nothing to play for, their supporters were out in force, cheering and chanting and singing as if lives depended on it. Just an unbelievable atmosphere. Its all very organized by 5-6 guys in white gloves and kimonos who stand on risers in front and lead the cheers. Despite having the worst seats in the stadium (but in the middle of the home cheering section), we found ourselves getting completely wrapped up in the game and the cheers. We even did our best "hillbilly Japanese" to sing along with them (it involved a lot of mumbling about "something... something... Yokohama!... something... something...BayStars!!").
Yokohama hit the game-winning HR in the bottom of the 8th inning to pull out a come-from-behind win. Needless to say, pandemonium reigned from that point on...
Japanese baseball fun fact: The fans cheer LOUDLY and non-stop while their team is batting. But as soon as the third out is made, they sit down and don't. say. a. word. (or head to the beer stand...) Then, when the opposing team makes their third out, they rise with a full-throated roar and don't stop until Out #3 again.
Again, a "past due" posting... In late August, I went to Tokyo for the afternoon and toured around the Ueno Park area. A beautiful park and one of those "I want to come back here" places. That list is filling quicker than I expected. Ueno Park is in the northeast part of the city and is a beautiful (and large) inner-city park amongst the high-density office and residential towers of Tokyo. Also, much like the National Mall in DC, it is home to many of the national museums - Tokyo National Museum, National Science Museum, Tokyo Museum of Art, Tokyo Zoo, etc. I only had time to visit the Tokyo National Museum - and then only the ground floor of that one. They had a great exhibit of Buddhist artifacts and showed how historians and anthropologist were able to use these artifacts to trace Buddhism's spread from India through China and Korea and ultimately to Japan. Ueno Park was also an 'oasis' for residents of Tokyo during the Great Fire of 1927 (? - don't quote me on the year) and also a tent city during the bombings of WWII. Since nearly all buildings at that time were wood structures, fire swept through the homes and businesses quickly due to the high density - and the only open space in which to retreat was the park where people lived for months, if not years.
Okay, hot off the presses... I'll be following up with some new and exciting postings about my exciting life (not really). Just finally got around to uploading photos that have been on my camera for a month or more. Stay tuned...
Saturday, I hit the fourth decade mark of life on this here Planet Earth. To celebrate this momentous occasion, J. had arranged a big Mexican fiesta at El Torito restaurant in Yokohama. Yes - there is Mexican food in Japan. Not much, but like a drug addict, if you REALLY need it, you can find it with a little effort.
So, we went up late Saturday afternoon and met a group of friends for tasty tacos, quesadillas, flautas and some mighty fine "Cadillac Margaritas"... El Torito is located on the 28th floor of the Yokohama Sky building so there are fantastic views of the Yokohama and Tokyo skylines while enjoying some good chips and salsa.
After dinner, we stumbled into Cafe Marceau, a small bar, for a post-dinner drink. About 9PM, the lights went down and it felt as if we'd be transported to the set of the Tom Cruise movie, "Cocktail," because the bartenders began to sling bottles around, twirl them upside down and pour drinks from behind their ears. Cheesy, but entertaining. Photos below.
