TsukuBlog

Do you play petanque?

Well, to be honest, I had no idea what “petanque” was until I read about an upcoming international competition in Suwa City, Nagano this weekend!:
11th Petanque Junior World Championship in Suwa (French/Japanese)

If you are interested in forming a team and compete in petanque and other boule games, all you need to do is get 5 or more people together and apply for JPBU license. The details are on JPBU’s “JPBU License” page.

日本ペタンク・ブール連合 - JPBU
Japan Petanque Boules Union (Japanese/English/French)
F.I.P.J.P. - Fédération Internationale de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal (French/English)

Petanque Clubs in Japan (for the complete list, please visit JPBU site)
Tokyo Area
Himalaya Sugi no shita Petanque Club (English)
Aoyama Petanque (English)
Nagano
Federation Nagano de Petanque (Japanese)

I would love to hear from someone who actually plays this sport!

A mixed group of foreigners and Japanese are getting together in Katsuragi Park at 1:00 pm on March 4th (weather permitting) to play Flag Football. They’ve done it before, they’ll do it again, and it’s lots of fun. If you’re free, please join them. There’s no tackling involved, and no prior experience needed. It’s simplified American Football, but instead of tackling the person with the ball you just need to grab one of the flags hanging on either side of their waist. Bring an extra pair of long socks (to serve as flags) if you want to play. Here are pictures from last time. If you have any questions email Marc at marc.reevenewson[AT]gmail.com. Feel free to bring friends.

Katsuragi park is in Kasuga, north-west of the intersection of Kita Odori and Nishi Odori. From the intersection of Kita and Nishi go west one set of lights (to the 7-11) and turn right (so you’re going north), take your second left and you’ll see the park on your right.

1964 was a pivotal year in post-war Japanese history. With the inauguration of the first SHINKANSEN bullet train, the introduction of the first color TVs, and most importantly, the hosting of the Olympic Games, it was a year which now symbolizes Japan’s economic recovery and marks its return to the forefront of the international scene after a two decade period of frenzied rebuilding following the total devastation of WWII. 

In 1966, the Japanese government designated October 10th as Taiiku no Hi (Sports Day) to commemorate the Games. If you are wondering why October was selected as a day to remember the Summer Olympics, you are not alone. The fact is, however, that in 1966, the Opening Ceremonies were held on the 10th of October! The wise decision to hold the Tokyo Summer Games in Autumn was made in deference to Japans cruelly humid summer weather (why wasn’t the same change made for Beijing?).

Since the year 2000, as part of the HAPPY MONDAY MOVEMENT (having national holidays on Monday to make a 3-day weekend), Taiiku No Hi has been moved to the second Monday of October, giving us a nice break in what is probably Japan’s best season weather-wise. 

Over the Sports Day weekend you are likely to hear signal fireworks (aizu no hanabi) announcing that school and university sports festivals (UNDO KAI) are being held. For the Japanese, these events are MAJOR markers of the passage of years. It is common for grandparents to come from afar to be present, and in Tsukuba, parents often go out in the middle of the night to stake out a good place to put down their plastic sheet for the next morning’s festivities. You can get a glimpse of what goes on at an UNDOKAI on YouTube.

If you turned on the TV this morning, you might have seen some of Japan’s Olympic medalists giving workshops for schoolchildren and also scenes of little Aiko (the daughter of the Crown Prince and Princess) running (victoriously, of course) in her first Sports Festival.

Many Tsukubans set aside time every year during the second weekend in October to attend Tsukuba University’s three day Culture Festival. All of those who do have their own favorite attractions. For me, there is the music, especially the jazz cafe and the Andean Folk Music Troupe. This year, with the blessing of truly glorious weather, not a soul could have left disappointed. With a wide range of cheap and delicious foods, live music in all genres, arcade games, scientific displays, and technological exhibitions all served up with youthful enthusiasm, for me the GAKUEN-SAI is the true TSUKUBA FESTIVAL (Tsukuba Matsuri).

As I have written before, one noticeable thing for many graduates of foreign universities is the lack of any political or INTELLECTUAL presence in the Tsukuba University festival. In recent years, however, environmental awareness has started to be felt with several booths selling organic produce or showing data from research on GREENER LIVING. Still walking the length of the campus this weekend, I felt pessimistic about recent calls to lower the voting age in Japan to 18.

For LOTS OF INTERESTING DETAILS ON THE TOKYO OLYMPICS SEE THIS PAGE and THIS ONE. (You should read more about this event!)

If you want to experience the fun of watching a baseball game but you don’t want to go all the way to Tokyo to do so, you can watch some teams from the Japanese Baseball Association play right here in Tsukuba.

The “Ibaraki Golden Golds” are an amateur baseball team managed by Kinichi Hagimoto. The team is playing a series of games in Tsukuba over the next few months.

Saturday, May 17 from 1:30pm
Saturday, June 21 from 1:30pm
Saturday, July 26 from 1:30pm
Wednesday, August 20 from 6pm
Saturday, September 27 from 1:30pm
Saturday, October 25 from 1:30pm

The games all take place at the Sakura Baseball Diamond, which is just beside the Sakura Branch of the City Hall (where you do alien registration). Tickets are 500 yen, 1300 yen, or 1800 yen. You can get a 300 yen discount on the 1300 yen and 1800 yen tickets if you buy them ahead of time.

It’s a summer ritual here that I immediately took to. Watching the Koshien (甲子園) High School Baseball Tournament which takes place in sweltering Osaka. In my hometown New York, I had always closely followed The Boys of Summer, and by that I mean Major League Baseball. Since my first summer in Japan, however, more than watching the professionals, I have joined the millions of Japanese who, with beer or barley tea in one hand and a hand-held fan in the other, spend the dog days of August cheering on the Bozu of Summer (bozu, 坊主, is a term used to refer to a young boy), the high school baseball players who have made it into the Koshien Finals. There are 49 teams (representing each prefecture, with 2 teams from both Tokyo and Hokkaido) in all who battle it out in single elimination. If you are not a baseball fan, now is probably the time to become one, because no matter what, if you turn on the TV during the next couple of weeks that is about all you are going to see. In fact, I have a game on in front of me right now, and it’s so exciting that I can hardly type!

Koshien is a perfect way to show hometown spirit, and many of your friends who live in Tsukuba now are probably rooting for their home prefecture team. Native Ibarakians and others who have grown to love the Land of Hitachi (Hitachi no Kuni) have always had a lot to cheer about since this prefecture has often fielded very strong teams. The most famous of these is Joso High School which is located just near Tsukuba City. Once again (for the 3rd straight year) their manager Yukio Kiuchi, who is now 77 years old, has taken them to Osaka for the finals after an incredible extra-inning win in Mito on July 27th. This is a very impressive feat considering the hundreds of schools in the prefecture. Maybe attribute this success to what has been dubbed KIUCHI MAGIC.

Holy cow! This game that I’m watching! The Tokushima team has just come from behind to win! Incredible! Pandemonium! Unbridled joy! Tears (looks more like sobbing) of defeat! Slouching, bent over players. Dirty, sweaty uniforms. Wait! This is the part I love best. The winning team belting out their school song, singing with their bodies and souls making it known to the world that they are making an effort!! They go into their victory sprint. And now, the losing team is scooping up some soil from the infield, a memento of their fleeting moment on the Big Stage. Certainly the game will be replayed in their heads over and over again, probably for their whole lives, with thoughts of how it would have been if things had gone the other way.

Sorry for the digression. Let me get back to my main point. High school baseball fans in Ibaraki have been looking forward to watching Joso play and maybe even win the tournament and some people I know even went down to watch today’s game. Unfortunately, things did not go as expected and our local boys were blown away in their first game, by a Tokyo team (even more frustrating). Thus, Kiuchi’s bozu, as with all losing teams, could be seen after the game, scooping up the Sacred Soil of Koshien. So much for Kiuchi Magic. But… wait till next year!

Don’t be surprised then if you see more than the usual depressed, sulking Ibarakians this week. They were hoping to see their team do better.

And of course there are other ways of looking at this High School baseball madness. I, myself often cringe when I hear about the boys’ PURE SPIRIT. Like everyone else they are in it for the glory (and the girls?).

Another aspect to think about is the PROFESSIONALIZATION of the game in a similar way to what has happened in college sports in the US. Thus many teams, including Joso recruit players using certain incentives.  Many students DO NOT get the high school education they should be getting, and will be stuck after graduation. So the coaches, administration, etc., come out ahead, but what happens to the boys who have spent their school years playing ball and not preparing for exams?

Anyway, they sure WANT to play, and they do it well! That’s what makes it so much fun to watch.

For Koshien games just turn on your TV and flick through the channels.

February 2: Cello Recital, Nova Hall
February 3: Volleyball Tournament, Capio Arena, FREE
February 3: Zero First Concert, Capio Hall, FREE
February 8: Shamisen Concert, Nova Hall
February 8: Ballads in Wood, Capio Hall
February 9: Gymnastics Festival, Capio Arena, FREE
February 9: Symposium Mt. Tsukuba Renaissance, Capio Hall, FREE
February 10: Folklore (South American Music) Concert, Nova Hall, FREE
February 10: Wind and Percussion Ensemble Concert, Capio Hall, FREE
February 11: Ensemble Verde, Nova Hall
February 15: Energy Symposium, Capio Hall, FREE
February 16: Guitar, Mandolin Recital, Nova Hall, FREE
February 17: Trombone Club Recital, Nova Hall, FREE
February 22: Ballads in Wood, Capio Hall
February 23: Tunisian Night, Capio Hall
February 23, 24: Street Dance Program, Nova Hall, FREE
February 28: Rakugo, Nova Hall

The Tsukuba Cultural Foundation used to send out an English version of the Nova Hall and Capio schedules every month. I don’t know why they stopped doing that, as it was a wonderful service to the community. Anyway, I found the schedules in the City Hall newsletter (Japanese version) and thought that I would give you a minimal translation so you could get an idea of what is happening this month.

March 1: Street Dance Recital, Nova Hall, FREE
March 1: Challenge Art Festival, Tsukuba Capio Hall, FREE
March 2: Ibaraki Piano Concert 2008, Nova Hall
March 2: Piano Recital, Tsukuba Capio Hall, FREE
March 4: Aragaki Tsutomu Concert, Nova Hall
March 8: Kikuchi Music School Recital, Tsukuba Capio Hall, FREE
March 9: Boris Berezovsky Piano Recital, Nova Hall
March 9: Coleman Violin Recital, Tsukuba Capio Hall, FREE
March 11, 12: University of Tsukuba Drama Circle Performance “Sayonara”, Tsukuba Capio Hall
March 15: Ballet, Contemporary Dance Recital, Nova Hall, FREE
March 15: Tsukuba Noh, Kyogen “Shikisai”
March 16: University of Tsukuba Wind and String Ensemble Concert, Nova Hall
March 16: Tsukuba Dance Group Recital, Tsukuba Capio Hall, FREE
March 20: Tsukuba Gakuen Music School Recital, Tsukuba Capio Hall, FREE
March 22: Takezono High School Wind Orchestra Concert, Nova Hall, FREE
March 22, 23: V-Challenge League Men’s Volleyball, Tsukuba Capio Arena, FREE
March 23: Suzuki Method Piano Recital, Nova Hall, FREE
March 29: Charity Concert, Nova Hall
March 30: Suzuki Method Violin Recital, Nova Hall, FREE

Please have a look at the source document for times and prices.

Does anyone want to volunteer to do this sort of thing every month? (Or is there any chance that the Tsukuba Cultural Foundation will start doing it again?)

The annual Tsukuba Marathon will be held on Sunday, November 30, 2008. If you want to run in one of the races (full marathon or 10km) this year, you should apply as soon as possible. The official deadline is October 14 (or 19th if you register by internet), but the registrations will close as soon as the space limits are reached. They will accept around 10,000 people for the full marathon and about 3000 people for the 10km race. Both races will probably be full by the end of September.

So, if you want to run in either of these races, please register immediately.

Tsukuba Marathon Office
Tel: 03-5166-0287
Fax: 03-6221-8809
http://www.tsukuba-marathon.com

From Rick Weisburd:

My friend Tetsu Miyazaki runs Utrek International Exchange Center, a non-profit organization that fosters cultural exchange and international understanding through a variety of activities. For example they send Japanese kids to homestays abroad and welcome foreign kids for homestays here in Japan. One of their annual activities is the Snowbird Ski School, held in late March in Nagano). This year will be the 32nd time the Snowbird Ski School has been offered.

Snowbird Ski School is held in two sessions. Both are package deals including transportation from Shinjuku, accommodation and meals in the onsen hotel, and instruction. This year the first session is at Kumanoyu 22 to 25 March for 63,800 yen; the second session is at Happo One (Hakuba) 26 to 29 March for 59,800 yen. Four-day lift tickets at either ski area cost 12,000 yen. Equipment rentals are available for 8700 yen for 4 days. The chartered bus departs for Kumanoyu at 8 AM on 22 March from Shinjuku station and the return trip will be on the evening of 25 March. The ride to Hakuba is on an express train from Shinjuku at 9:15 on 26 March. Miyazaki san always assembles an enthusiastic and interesting group for both the on-slope and apres ski activities.

The mountains of the Japan Alps in Nagano get lots of snow; there should be plenty of the white stuff there well into the spring. There are always many skillful instructors on the team, including fluent English speakers. All instructors are certified by the Ski Association of Japan or their own national ski organizations. The years my family joined, we had superb lessons from Hugh and Dolly Armstrong, the
parents of an Olympic gold medalist. My only regret from those trips was that I had no more chances those seasons to practice my much improved skiing techniques. This ski camp is appropriate for everyone
who wants to ski, ranging from those who have never tried through to experts, elementary school student through to senior citizens. Kumanoyu is one of the few resorts in Japan that does not permit
snowboarders, but they are allowed at Happo One.

If you want join either of these terrific trips, please contact Snowbird Ski School (New State Manor-1130, Yoyogi 2-23-1, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0053; Tel 03 3370-5335; Fax 03 3370-5365; Email
info[AT]utrek.org) for applications and more details. Reservations and payments must be received no later than 17 March.

Tokyo has its Giants, Osaka its Tigers. Hiroshima has its Carp and Seibu its Lions. And Tsukuba? Well… we have the Golden Golds, of course (though we share them with the rest of Ibaraki)! The hugely famous and influential TV comedian Kin-Chan (Kinichi Hagimoto) a native of this prefecture and long time baseball fan put together this team as part of the Japan Amateur Baseball Association in response to the ever increasing popularity in these parts of J-league soccer, fueled greatly by the success of the Kashima Antlers.

Once a month his team, which includes both the near professional and the former professional as well a popular (extremely kawaii, of course) female infielder, play at the Sakura City Office’s Baseball Field. This happens on the 3rd Saturday of every month of the baseball season.

Even if you were not aware of their schedule, you would surely know that they were playing if you happened to be anywhere around the Sakura Office on a game day. Traffic is log-jammed on the narrow and winding road which runs past the Hanamuro intersection and a troop of men who are no longer youngsters, in ill-fitting uniforms are out in force trying to direct the traffic. You might also be able to hear, playful banter blaring through loudspeakers, even if you are as far away as Tsukuba Center.

This is because Kin-Chan stands by the dugout, wearing a yellow helmet, holding a microphone and talking throughout the entire game!

Though I live within 10 minutes walking distance of the field, I had never actually been to one of the Golden Golds games. I had sometimes chuckled at Kin-chan’s comments which I could easily hear
from inside my house (even with the windows closed) and had many a time been aggravated by all the cars filled with fans blocking my driveway.

That all changed last Saturday. I was enjoying the perfect spring weather on a morning walk with my dog and noticed a large crowd lining up outside the baseball field (this was about 10am!). A few yatai
(food stalls) had also been set up, selling typical festival style foods (okonamiyaki, tako-yaki and yaki-soba) as well as unusual foods for yatai — onigiri (rice balls) and wagashi (Japanese sweets)! There were also several stalls selling Kin-chan and Golden Golds goods. There was also a kind of (country-bumpkin) media presence.

Since I had nothing planned for the day I knew that I had to stay and watch the game. They offered 3 types of seating. The first base side was for Kin-Chan supporters. Those were the seats that everyone was lining up for and were selling for 1500 yen. The 3rd base side seats were for the opposing team’s supporters (on that day it was a team from Kanagawa Prefecture) and they were going for 1000 yen. Few people were in line for this side and later Kin-Chan actually got on his mic to encourage fans to sit there.

I went for the 3rd seating option, the outfield seats. It was not crowded at all and you could choose between sitting on the grass or enjoying the comfort of one of several log benches. This seemed to be the best choice for me and my dog, and besides, these seats were only 500 yen (dogs are free!).

It was a beautiful day and it was great to laze on the grass watching very skillful players pitch, hit and field. Kin-Chan gabbed on throughout and occasionally elicited a chuckle from the crowd. Since no runs had been scored into the 4th inning, he felt a little bad for the crowd and resorted to some cheesy gimmicks to keep them amused. Even after 2 consecutive home-runs (pretty impressive for a park with pro-baseball dimensions), a crazy baseball lover like me had had too much and decided there were better ways to spend the rest of my afternoon.

Still, it was an experience I would probably recommend all of you to check out, if the weather is fine and you have nothing much better to do. My dog certainly LOVED it! Every fly ball to right field she tried to claim as her own barking excitedly, to the amusement of my fellow bleacher bums.

The next time the Golden Golds play at Sakura City office is the 3rd Saturday of next and every month (of the baseball season).

There will be a tennis tournament for beginners on March 11. (If the event has to be postponed for some reason, it will be held on the 18th.) It will be at Ninomiya Park and Expo Memorial Park (Banpaku Kinen Koen) and will involve men’s and women’s doubles. People who live or work in Tsukuba, or who belong to a club in Tsukuba are eligible to join. Both members of the doubles team should not have ever participated in a formal tournament, and they should not have gone past a third game in a beginners’ tournament like this in the past five years. Thirty teams can sign up on a first come, first served basis. The fee is 600 yen per pair. Sign up by February 16 at the G&T Pro Shop (south of Jusco and Seibu). See the Tsukuba Gym Association website for more information (in Japanese).

If you can speak Japanese and at least one other language and you are looking for something to do between April 8th and 15th, read on:

This is Matt Topping, CIR for Ishigaki City in Okinawa, announcing the start of the Interpreter Volunteer Program for the 2008 Ishigaki World Cup Triathlon. The triathlon is a world-class competition with athletes from over 30 countries in attendance. We are looking for volunteers that have a strong command of Japanese as well as another language. Many of the international athletes can speak English, but it is highly likely that we will also need translation/interpretation in languages such as Chinese and Russian. Come down to subtropical Okinawa in April and participate in a great exchange opportunity.

The triathlon will be held April 13th, and the volunteer program April 8th-15th. For more information, please visit http://triathlonvolunteer.blogspot.com.

Sumire Sports Gym (寿美礼スポーツジム) is a gym in the south of Tsukuba that offers a training space for people who want to box. There is a one-time application fee of 12,000 yen and a monthly fee of 5000 yen to join. The gym is open from 5:30pm to 10pm Monday to Friday and from 5:30pm to 9pm on Saturdays and Sundays. They design a program for each individual person rather than training in groups. And, when we asked, they said that at least half of the participants were women!

Tel: 029-873-0411
Location: Takamihara 5-4-5

The University of Tsukuba’s women’s basketball team has qualified to play in the 57th Kanto Women’s Varsity Basketball League Championships. The championship games are being held in Tsukuba for the first time ever. The University of Tsukuba team is extremely strong this year. They have won three tournaments in a row, including the Kanto Tournament held in the spring, and they are hoping to make this the fourth. They are asking residents of Tsukuba to build up their community spirit and come to support them in their fight to win this tournament on a home court. The team colour is green, so they have asked people to show up to the games wearing something green so that we can show our opponents our “Tsukuba spirit”. Both games will be against Shoin University, another very strong team.

Sunday, October 7 from 5pm
Monday, October 8 from 4:20pm

At Tsukuba Capio Arena

Admission: free for high school students and under, free for university students with student ID, all others 1000 yen