Posts from — October 2008

Slightly old news…but just too busy to post lately, so here’s our story from last weekend:

Fantastic weekend in our old stomping grounds. I was there in July but Jeff had not visited Victoria for 5 years!

The tournament went even better than expected. We were Pumpkin Pi (our league team is Pi and we went to Victoria’s Halloween tournament, Pumpkin Pull).

Travis hooked us up with some sweet jerseys, and we added the logo. You know you are a dork when you notice they were ironed on backwards.

(might have to zoom in to see the logo, but photo courtesy of Jana)

We made it to the finals! Played 5 games the first day, losing only one game to a very poor spirited team from Vancouver called Caddyshack (had another close call as we were warming up and won our first game in Universe Point). The level on Saturday was surprisingly low with only 2 good games. We even bagelled a team. I thought the competition would be better from what a remember. However, it was many years ago since we played in Pumpkin Pull and we might have been way worse than so it would have seemed like the teams were better then, even if they weren’t.

Out of 22 teams this year, we finished second!!! I had hoped to be top 8 (really didn’t want to compete in the ninals again)…so I was pleasantly surprised!

We had a first game bye so Jeff and I brought Terri and Travis for a trip down memory lane. Did a drive around UVic to see all the new buildings and then went for a drive along Beach Drive (I will own a house on Beach Drive one day, just wait for it) and played in some tidal pools at Cattle Point. We spotted a dead jellyfish and hauled it out of the water. It was huge and so cool looking. Looked just like a big clump of jello.

Went back and played the quarter final in a really fun game against a Seattle team. Game 2 was a rematch (semifinal) against the jerks. Everyone from the whole tournament hated playing against them over the weekend so we had a ton of fans during that game. We received lots of high fives from fans when we won. One particular fan had asked me where we were from on the first day and I said “we’re just a league team from Calgary”. Upon beating that team and heading to the finals he replied “not bad for just a league team”.

Pi heads to the finals against a young athletic squad from Vancouver, NBA Jammers. Got down by a few, was 9-4 at one point, got our crap together tying it up 11-11 and ended up losing 13-11. I think that’s the happiest I’ve ever been after losing.

Our team was so much fun. A terrific group of people. Thanks to everyone who went. Lots of laughs mixed in with a little fireball, some hack and some disc.

Maybe next year we can play in the final and win…..

Oompa-Loompa-Doompa-Dee-Do we have friends going to UPA and coming from Loops. (a little too random perhaps?)

Just a quick note to say good luck to GOB and HFA at UPA’s. Heather is playing Women’s on the Capitals (#44) and is listed as 5′ 10″ … also known as the only GSB on the team…. Weird. Greg (#32) is playing Masters on Throwback and is listed as 5′ 7″.

You can follow all the updates and scores at the UPA website.

The loops is because my parents and a good buddy Dylan (also from the Loops) will be in town this weekend for Halloween. 30days till I’m 30 on the 31st… scary! Anyway should be pretty fun weekend.

Please note that the picture below is neither Greg nor Heather but simply a result of searching for Heather Adams Frisbee in Google’s Image search.

Since getting back from Japan, many people have asked questions about our trip. I thought I’d share a few with you, in case you happen to be wondering any of the same things.

Q (before leaving, asked to me by 3 different people, after telling them I’m going to Japan) : Wow, how exciting. So, when do you leave for Hong Kong? I have friends that have been there.

A: Ummmm.(Speechless) Yeah…looking forward to going to JAPAN.

Q: What was your favorite place to visit in Japan? Least favorite?

A: Kyoto was my favorite city (might have been the great shopping!) and Mt. Fuji was my favorite site. I also immensely enjoyed the Imperial Gardens (Shugakuin) and the Golden Pavilion. Fukuoka was my least favorite, even though it had a disc golf course.

Q: Is it expensive there?

A: This is the most popular question I get asked. The answer is no. No more expensive than Canada. Meals were $8-30 for both of us (and no tipping necessary, even though they all worked so hard). $8 at a noodle house and around $30 for a nice hot-pot dinner with special chicken appetizer or a sushi dinner. Jeff liked to hand them random amounts of money and see if we got change….or they would stare at us awkwardly if sometimes we didn’t hand them enough. I’m glad it is an honest country since in Mexico I’m pretty sure there’d never be change.

Hotels were about $70-100 for a double (small room, 2 twins (beds, I mean, breakfast of rice balls). The most we ever paid for a hotel was $230…and it was nice!

Entrance to tourist traps was soooo cheap. Some free (some temples/shrines, the Toyko Observation tower, Imperial Gardens, Imperial Villa), but on average $2-3. Once we may have paid $7 to go on a ferris wheel or to get into a shrine.

Clothes were VERY expensive. I think people only work so hard so they aren’t walking around naked (although some women come very close to that…they must not have very much money)

Q: What surprised you the most about Japan?

A: How slutty the women dress. My friend has a theory that they can get away with it since they don’t have huge T&A hanging out everywhere. Also, the amount of animé porn everywhere was shocking.

Q: How many times have you eaten at MacDonalds since you lived in Calgary?

A: Never

Q: How many times did you eat at MacDonalds in Japan?

A: Three

Q: Do you miss anything from Japan?

A: My bed, my kitty…oops sorry. From Japan, not Canada (I tend to get countries that are entirely different mixed up sometimes I do miss mandarin oranges. They were right from the source in Japan and delicious. I also miss having vending machines on every block that had cheap juice and beer and having at least one can of grapefruit juice a day. I also miss the coffee. Who knew that Japan has amazing coffee. Not sure where they get the beans but they make a fine cup of kohee. Lastly, I miss trying a different variety of ice cream each day.

Q: Wow, sounds like you ate a lot of ice cream as you were there for 3 weeks. Do you think you gained weight, lost weight or stayed about the same?

A: I finally figured out why their culture is so slender. Meals are tiny and most food is an acquired taste (ie. not so good).

Q: But didn’t you eat a lot of sushi while you were there?

A: Someone has been lying to me my entire life. Sushi didn’t seem to be any more readily available there then here in Calgary (and we definitely are further from the ocean). The sushi restaurants were among the more expensive as well. I did notice a huge difference in the tuna there, but the salmon is just as good at my favorite sushi place in Calgary (Yamato). I had way less sushi than I thought I would.

Q: What was the grossest thing you ate?

A: Raw chicken, hand’s down. A close second was a bento box we shared on the train. It was an entire box of mystery compartments. The only foods I recognized were broad beans and rice and tofu…so I thought. Turned out the tofu was actually carpet tasting white stuff soaked in an oozing sweet juice. I’m glad Jeff didn’t believe me when I told him it wasn’t tofu so it forced him to experience it also.

Q: Did you take many photos? Why can’t I see them on your Picasa site?

A: We took about 1000 pictures, but we are still sorting through them. Knowing us, check back sometime in the New Year.

Q: Would you recommend traveling to Japan?

A: Hi (yes).

or cat leg? Not sure which is doing a better job at keeping me awake. They seem to be working as a team. The cat leg (cold paws walking across my face) wakes me up, and then the jet lag keeps me awake.

I had our team wind-up for Bronco this weekend. Jeff ended up flying to Vancouver for Justin’s stag so couldn’t make the party. So, Willow and I had a sleepover at Jill and Mark’s house. It gave Willow a chance to hang out with Bob and me a chance to sample all of the different boozes from the different countries. The theme of the party was “a trip around the world”. We started in Mexico, then to Italy, Spain and we ended up in Canada. This entailed coronas, margaritas, wine, and ice wine. Overall a really fun night. Thought I’d post the blog this time as Jeff doesn’t have much to say….”what happens on a stag, stays at a stag” (until the videos turn up on youtube).

Time to go read my book…it’s definitely not going to read itself.

Traveling is fantastic, but it’s always so nice to come home. It’s been a LONG trip back. Now we’re just trying to keep occupied to get back on Calgary time and not go to bed while it’s still light out.

Sadly it’s our last night in Japan. We’ve had so much fun and I really don’t want to leave. Every day seems better than the one before.

In Osaka we went to a baseball game. Osaka/Kobe Buffaloes against Nippon Ham. It was pretty exciting (as far as baseball goes), although the home team lost 7-2. The highlight was the 7th inning. At the top of the 7th the entire crowd erupted into frantically digging through their bags. They all pulled out balloons and started blowing them up. We had NO idea what was going on. As you can see by the photo below the balloons were mainly blue and pink and were quite phallic looking….

They spent the top of the 7th blowing them up (with the odd one popping) and released them into the air to slowly deflat as the bottom of the 7th began and the home team went to bat. They called them victory jets, but unfortunately it did not help the Buffaloes to victory. A guy sitting in front of us noticed our confusion and lack of balloons and was nice enough to give Jeff and I each our own balloon to release. This is a prime example of how friendly the people here are!

Photos from the game:

I’m shocked we even found our seats as this is what our tickets looked like:

Our first day in Tokyo was spent exploring Roppangi Hills (the Beverly Hills of Japan) and Shibuya. Shibuya was the largest culture shock so far. SO MANY PEOPLE. My contacts almost fell out from dryness from staring so much and trying to take everything in. This one intersection (referred to as Centre Gai) is said to be the busiest in the world. You couldn’t have more people cross during a green light if you tried. So neat to be a part of that. So busy, yet so safe! The intersection is also loaded with plasma screens on the buildings. We did a bit of shopping and people watching yesterday.

Today we went to Shinjuku to and stopped in Harajuku to do some more people watching and find some Harajuku girls. We spotted a few dandy outfits, but unfortunately weren’t able to discreetly take any pictures. Also, Saturday is the day to go for the best spectators, but it was Tuesday today.

We also went up the Tokyo Metropolitan Government offices. You can go up to the 45th floor for a 360 degree view of the Tokyo area (Shinjuku) for free. We also had lunch at the cafe up there for a very reasonable price!

Here’s a picture of the busy intersection:

p.s. Happy voting day in Canada – don’t forget to vote (we did before we left!)

p.p.s. Huge congrats to both Heather and Greg who were successful at Regionals this past weekend and will be heading to UPA’s in Florida at the end of the month!!!!

We just got into Osaka tonight at 5pm and man is it busy!   I wish I would have taken some pictures because the mass of people is incredible.  I’m sure Tokyo is better (worse?) but it was kinda what we expected traveling to Japan but have yet to see.

Anyway, a tip for anyone traveling to Osaka (or probably Japan in general) on a long weekend… Make a reservation at a hotel.  Seriously.

We got off the train at 5pm.  Walked around and asked a few places…  We got two prices… one was for 63,000 Yen ($630) in a smoking room and the other was 36,000 ($360).  So we headed to a travel agent (who apparently was closing at 6pm) …  She helped us ’sorta’ …. found us a room for one night… but alas, we’re here for two and don’t want to change rooms again.

So I take a look on a map and say… there’s like 18 hundred hotels in this area lets go there…

Enter our new friends.  We’re looking at a map suddenly we hear. “Can we help you?” …  “we’re looking to go to Shinbaiashi”  … “Oh, we’ll take you to the station.”  …. “No, don’t trouble yourself’s, just point” …. and off we went…  they LITERALLY walked us to the subway station (about 10 minutes) asking us tons of questions about Canada, what we do, olympics, etc…   They even asked the attendant how many stops till we get to the place we were going…  So cute and helpful!

We arrive walk at said location, walk around and everything is full. Travel agent…  full.  She basically said, *cough* Good luck *cough*.

Back to the area we started in and go to the hotel the travel agent recommended for 1 night…  what’dya know… 2 nights…

Anyway, quite the adventure.  We basically hit up the two busiest areas in all of Osaka carrying our big backpacks of 50 pounds each (or something like that).  Taking subways, walking around, etc…  Anyway, it  really took the edge off of seeing Hiroshima.  Such a sad and crazy sight to see.  In school you read and hear all about it but to see it the area (and the rebuilding) and go to the museum (which broke the bank at a whole ($0.50)) is something else.

This is the train we took to get to Osaka.  Pretty cool looking!  Oh and tomorrow we’re off to a Baseball game… how cool is that?

Last night we went back to Canal City to see their Halloween display at night and grab a bite to eat. All of a sudden a fountain show started outside the Hyatt Hotel. I love fountain shows so I was pumped! It was just like the Bellagio fountains (done to music), but on a much smaller scale.

Today we went to Uminonakamichi Seaside Park mainly for some disc golf, but enjoyed many activities while there. The disc golf course was fantastic. They had a “long hole course” and a “short hole course”. We played both. The long course was 18 baskets around 60-100m long. We had to modify a few holes as people were enjoying themselves in the park and had no idea that they were napping or taking photos on a disc golf course. We also had to skip the water hole (#8) as we each only brought 1 disc and buying a new one anywhere in Japan does not seem to be an option. You can rent “flying discs” from the main lawn shop there for $2.10, but they were crappy pieces of flimsy plastic that wouldn’t have gone very far. They are what you would expect to see people tossing around in a park and not using for disc golf. However, right beside one of the holes (instead of playing them) were a group of young guys tossing a disc around and using a leopard. I’m not sure that they knew that their disc was probably better suited for disc golf….or what disc golf was…but they were sure good at throwing it. If I had a frisbee with me it would have been sweet to trade my frisbee for their leopard and then I could have played the water hole.

The front 9 was very crowded with kids playing soccer, baseball or just hanging out and seemed dangerous. The back 9 was slightly further away and much more enjoyable. However, since it is further away and gets less traffic the spiders and spider webs on it were much worse. And they grow big spiders here in Japan!

Here are some pictures of us playing and the course:

Here is one of the wholes on the short course (only 9 holes):

While at the Seaside park we also took in the zoo. We saw kangaroos, guinee pigs, bunnies, flamingos and lots of monkeys and other strange animals that I don’t know what they were:

These animals as well the kangaroos were in a petting zoo (we think, but couldn’t read the signs so we didnt’ risk it). Here is one of the signs. Not sure what it says, but it looks like the animals have a tummy ache:

The Park was quite eerie as it had a ton to do there, but there was very few people around and by 1pm it was practically abandoned. The very few people there were kids on a school trip and they left early. We were quite a hit with the kids. We believe we were part of a dare. 3 girls came up to us, said hello, asked us where we were from and then said “you can do it” and then walked away. We were the freaks and were stared at constantly and should have been one of the zoo exhibits.

I’m not sure why no one was at this park when it had so much to do and the population in this country is so high. There was Marine world, Wonderland (a little amusement park where we took in the ferris wheel), tons of gardens, the zoo, disc golf and mini golf, wild bird pond, a playground, a water park, and much more. And entrance to the park was only $4.00 each!

Here’s Jeff on one of the nice water walkways:

Jeff’s down for a nap again, but was a trouper today being sick. Sounds like he’s walking up so I better run so we can head off to dinner somewhere. With all this carb loading we are doing (noodles served on rice and bread stuffed with potato paste), we should be amazing at Pumpkin Pull!

Decided on a slight change of plans today and took the train past Hiroshima to Fukuoka. Having done that, we are on the most western tip of Japan’s main island of Honshu.

The have a large seaside park here with everything you can imagine, including a disc golf course! So, we’ll be spending all day at the park tomorrow — providing Jeff can last as unfortunately he has come down with a cold! Shocking that it’s him, as I’m normally the one that always gets sick on holiday. He’s probably sick from a lack of fruits and vegetables. To date the only thing we’ve had that fits into that category is green onions (on everything) and juice.

Here are some random pictures of our trip:

A parking spot in Japan. This system ensures you pay before exiting

Kyoto is definitely my favorite city in Japan so far. So much to see and do. And getting around is sooo easy. Calgary could take a tip or two from Japan.

Last night we seeking a Japanese restaurant recommended to us by the lady at the front desk of our hotel. None of the streets were labelled in this area (as is the trend in most areas) and we were given a map in Japanese, so it’s not super surprising that we didn’t find it. We did find a super amazing area of Kyoto as a results so I was happy for the excursion.

It is a street full of tons of shopping! It’s interesting to see the trends that are popular here, and try to understand them.

1) Plastic figurines. Mario, warriors, hello kitty, you name it. Stores and stores of them. I don’t get it. This includes little gadgets that you attach to your cell phone. These seem to have more of a purpose than the rest of the figurines, but I still don’t fully understand the craze.

2) Manga. Anime magazines and books. We even went to a Manga museum. It is incredibly popular, and some of the anima porn is insane. Don’t get how little cartoon women taking their tops off is appealing, but to each their own.

3) Video arcades with the claw to grab a prize to win.Floors and floors of different claw games. I even saw one game where you could win an entire cheesecake. So bizarre.

4) Pachinko…their form of gambling. Jeff and I lost $5 before I even knew what went on. Picture a small room, full of machines and people and smoke, with really loud machines and steel balls bashing around. So loud and hazy. People had buckets and buckets of these balls. I had about 20 and lost them instantly. I think I need a pachinko lesson to fully understand the draw.

5) Ladies fashions. If I dressed in Canada like half the women do here, I might get approached on the street and asked “how much?” yet somehow, they pull it off. Some of the clothes in the shops here are awesome but if I wore them back home they might not be so awesome. They are super into leggings, plaid shirts, leg warmers, hats (fur, toques, etc), scarves, SHORT shorts and SHORT skirts, and boots and high heels are a must! Doesn’t even matter if you are biking. Men’s fashion is much more simple: suits. Every day, all the time.
Good times had today touring around. Slightly disappointed by the Kyoto Imperial Palace tour. Expected a nice intimate group like yesterday at the garden but instead we were in a large tour group of 130. We did visit the Golden Pavilion however and it was amazing. A golden temple on the water. I’ve seen way too many temples to even count on this trip, but that was my favorite.

The zen garden (at the Ryoanji Temple) we went to was also really neat. A gardener back in 1500s designed a rock garden. It is rectangular and only contains fifteen rocks and white gravel. They say “it is up to each visitor to find out for himself what this unique garden signifies. The longer you gaze at it, the more varied your imagination becomes.” Jeff impressed me with his imagination while we sat there being zen-like.
Went for conveyor belt sushi today. Jeff tried a bunch of crazy things but the most interesting was the roll with chunks of fish and a raw egg. The salmon and tuna was amazing (think I had salmon belly, but it was among the best salmon nagiri I’ve ever had) and we ate till we were stuffed for $20! Every time you finished a plate you fired it down a hole in your table and a computer would keep track. If you wanted something special, you ordered on your computer and it would come on the conveyor to grab. No one there spoke english but in the end we figured it out (or at least we think we did).

Time to say “jane” to Kyoto (pronounced like Janet in french, which is some slang I picked up from a young girl that means “see you later”.) Off to Hiroshima tomorrow. Hate to leave Kyoto as it’s super awesome, but I’m sure our upcoming adventures will be just as good.