Take me out to the ball game

I saw my first professional ball game last night. It was a showdown between the Swallows and the Tigers. Now, with names like that, who do you think won? The Swallows or the Tigers? Yes, sad to say, the mighty Swallows lost to the Tigers, 7- 9. Irregardless, it was great fun to see fans cut loose and get a little crazy. Between umbrella dances, cheering and jeering, cute, young girls walking around with mini-kegs on their backs while cute, young men sold cold, bottled beer, there was never a dull moment. Oh, Sake was also available, which of course, helped the crowd get a little more loose and lewd. Yeah, baby! I loved it!


Here is a shot of the foreign fan club for the Swallows. Pictured left to right is Carolyn, Hye Young, Thatcher, Chris and myself.

Chris is the young man responsible for introducing us to Japanese baseball. He is a die-hard fan (please note that he is sporting a Swallows baseball cap) who has come so many games that the vendors know him. Now, for the ladies on the left; don't let their loveliness fool you, they are crazy baseball fans too.

Personally, I have to say I've never been a big baseball fan, nor a fan of any sports team, for that matter. However, if I stayed in Tokyo long enough, I could easily become a fan/groupie! GO SWALLOWS, GO!

Tokyo

They call it the concrete jungle and it seems to be aptly named; afterall the city is hot, humid, and teeming with wild life. And unbelievably so, this small town gal is loving. I've never felt so safe and have been able to get around so easily in such a big city. Nor have I ever met so many helpful people.

Picture this: a co-worker and I rolled into town at 6:00 am on July 5th. Bleary eyed-we rolled our luggage and draged our carcasses out of the bus station... we needed to find the subway station, but where? As we looked at the subway maps and scratched our heads in confusion, a nearby security guard reprimanded 3 hoodilums for skateboarding in the streets.

Upon asking the guard to help us find the red line, one of the so-called "hoodilums" literally came leaping over to us and said "How can I help you?" When he found out where we wanted to go, he tucked his skateboard under his arm and he and his friends led us to the red line, showed us how to pay and sent us on our merry way. This was my first interaction in the big city and I knew right away that I'd like it here.

My neck of the woods

The illustrious EEC building. This happens to be my home away from home.


Outside my apartment, there's a lovely little park and a bikpath along the river. The building in this shot is the library on KIT campus. The library is where I teach my classes.


Welcome to Tamura Residence aka "The KIT dormitory." There are at least 6 English teachers living in this building, but it is right next to the school, so who could blame me for wanting to live so close?

Home sweet home. I was lucky to be able to move into a furnished apartment. With that said, I am making small changes so that it feels more like my place.

Bamboo Groves

Just a mere 15 minute bikeride from the city, one can arrive in the mountains and enjoy walking through the bamboo groves. It's wonderful having the groves so close; sometimes one has to get out of the concrete!

These mild-mannered deer run wild in the grove and from what I understand, many Japanese have never seen one; it was a lucky day.

We began our walk with pleasure.

It was my first time in a bamboo grove, so naturally, I was excited.

This is a bamboo shoot and the brown "skin," if you will, is surprisingly soft. As the bamboo gets taller, the soft fuzz peels away and reveals a startling green.

Hot Mama "Charis" Cherries

The "Hot Mama Cherries" are referring to our bikes. Picture Julie Andrews with a slew of the Von Trapp children on thier single-geared bikes singing "Do Re Mi". That was us, complete with singing, on Sunday the 11th. We decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and ride to the ocean (1.5-2 hours) for a kite festival.








Ahhh, we made it.

The festival itself was really neat. There were international kite flying troups who performed to the beat of music; that is, 6 kites were choreographed to move simultaneously to the chosen piece.

Good Eats

If you know me at all, you probably know that one thing I make sure to do well is to eat well. At first, I thought that I would be hard-pressed to find anything that I liked... was I ever WRONG.

Left: Set lunch





Left: Flaming Squid. A good snack with drinks.









Left: Green Tea "Macha" and dessert

Kenroku-en Garden

Kenrokuen is one of Japan's most famous gardens. It is considered to have the 6 qualities of perfection: antiquity, artifice, seclusion, spaciousness, abundant water and spectacular panoramic views.
Ancient fountains, waterfalls, ponds, winding paths, cherry trees, teahouses and bridges make this garden lovely. However, the cherry blossom festival, complete with paper lanterns and throngs of reverant locals (and tourists), make the garden all the more gorgeous.