One More Sport Down in the Land of the Rising Sun
Things to note . . . found a bike, tokyo next weekend, AIESEC in Nagoya, boxing and yet another broken piece of me
I managed to make it to train two times this week. Not really anything too exciting thus far in the land of boxing: I have to learn a completely new way of throwing a hook and upper, but my straight is good. But it feels good to be training again. Something I find entertaining: pre-workout weight 76 kg, post-workout weight 72 kg . . . that's 10 lbs worth of sweat. As for the new broken piece of me . . . I managed (likely though going to hard while shadow boxing) to pull my right pectoral muscle on Friday, and it is right up at the top of the list of most painfull and most annoying muscles to injure. Just take a minute to think about how difficult it is to not use your chest muscles (ie not using, not stretching and not putting any pressure on) . . . makes sleeping a bit difficult. I guess I'll have to take a few days off. I also noticed that I have been exceptionally sore, and it's soreness that doesn't seem to pass. Then I thought about it, and I get pretty much zero potassium in my diet here (my usual liter of OJ per day at home is no longer cost effecient), so I figured I'd grab some bananas. The issue there is that I usually get my weeks grocery shopping done at the value drug store, and they don't sell bananas. I have to go to the super market (an even farther walk) in order to get bananas, and I refuse to do my regular shopping there (everything costs 50-100 yen more there). Pain in the ass as it may be, I guess I'll just have to make a banana trip once or twice a week . . . Also after my workout on Friday I stayed for a bit outside the train station to watch some of the bands who were playing (there are always musicians outside this particular station). One of them was good enough for me to drop a few duckets on their cd. Mostly for some entertaining music but also because the band's name was Capsule Wagon Squeegee.
So having the foresight to know a bike would be extremely useful (and knowing how absurdly expensive they are . . . even at the recycle shop a crappy one was about $100), since I arrived I have been watching a few abandoned bikes to see how abandoned they really were. Good possibility number one sits right outside my front steps. It has two flat tires, a rusted chain and has not moved an inch since I arrived (two and a half weeks). Knowing that some people around here ride on flats, and that some people are simply so anal that they will park in the exact same spot every day, I conducted a small experiement. I moved said bike from its usual spot one week ago, and concequently it continued to be immobile. Possibility number two similarly had two flats and a rusted chain, but also had two more prevailent signs of immobility. The bike had been sitting in this one spot long enough that ivy type vines had grown, wrapped themselves around the wheels and spokes and been arouond long enough to die (while still connected to the ground). This pretty clearly tells me that the bike hasn't been moved in what is logically at least a year. There was also a massive and intricate spider web between the bike and its surroundings (detailing no motion at all for at least a few days, or weeks). Well, option number two had a derailuer and option one didn't, so I went for number two. This is where I decided to take a trip.
Durring the week I had located AIESEC at the Nagoya City University, and it is conveniently located in the vicinity of my boxing gym. So I headed that way. En route I stopped at one of the cycle shops I had found the last time I walked to the gym. I thought enough ahead to check the size of the tires on what was to be my new bike. Knowing the nature of the beast I wanted to buy a couple tubes for the future (also not forgoing the possibility that both tubes were already busted). After a bit of searching the shop owner came to the conclusion that he didn't have tubes of the right size (the bike has moutain tires on it rather than road tires which are the norm). He did however say that if he could find some they would run me 2000 yen each (twice the price of a "normal" tube). I gave up on that idea for the moment, and asked if he had a pump. He did, and I bought it for 1000 yen (need my own pump because no one else in my appartment building, save for the ghost bike, rides a bike . . . they all drive or walk). Onward I walked, and about fifteen minutes after helping another cyclist find the shop I had just come from, I came to another cycle shop. I asked the grandma shop owner if she had any mountain bike tubes, and with some luck she did. They were $15 a piece . . . not great but not the worst it could be. . . I also grabbed a bike lock (it too was $15, but she gave me the lot for $40). So, with supplies in tow, I continued on. After the 4-5 mile walk to my gym, I headed east towards the university. Along the way I stopped at another recycle shop, but this was not the wonderful thift store that the other one was. This was more of an old things are trendy shop where you can buy an old pair of addidas or origional air jordans for a few hundred dollars. I arrived at the uni and headed towards the student center (where the internet had told me AIESEC was located at this uni) . . . alas it was not to be found. I then asked about a dozen different people if they knew about AIESEC. Interestingly enough everyone I asked knew about AIESEC, but no one knew where their office was. One guy knew one of the AIESECers, but when he tried to call there was no answer. It was hot out so I grabbed some water from a water fountain nearby, and I doused my head and carried on. I walked through the touristy part of the city for about 3 minutes, and, after having my fill, hopped on a train home. Next I took a trip to the bath house to wash off the day's heat and filth, cooked up some dinner and passed out (oh yeah, I also grabbed my abandoned bike).
That was Saturday . . . Sunday I did some shopping (got some bananas), and in the afternoon/evening I played on the company baseball team. That was entertaining. The team's name is the Idlers, and we played a double-header. Strange thing about baseball in Japan is that there are two types of basball: koushiki (hardball) and nanshiki (softball). The hardball version is the standard baseball that we all know. The softball version has the same rules (minus most of the safety equipment), but the ball is more like a tennis ball than a baseball (solid rubber like a bouncy ball, but only a bit heavier than a tennis ball). The lack of weight (and the fact that I haven't played baseball in over a decade) lead to me throwing out my elbow. Our team had enough people on it to have two complete teams, so we had a total swich of players between the first and second games. The other team was not so large. I played in the second game, and lucky me for the second game they brough in the kid who pitches on his university team. To add to it he's a submarine style pitcher, and they also brought in a good catcher. We were up one to nothing in the first game, but they managed a 2 run "sayonara homerun" in the bottom of the last inning. The second game we didn't fair so well. Our starting pitcher was a first time pitcher (he walked 10 in one and a half innings). The rest of the game went about the same way. I walked my first time up and stole second (but got called out stealing third), struck out my second time up and got hit by a pitch and stranded my third. We would alternate having one person from the batting team being the home plate (and only) ump, and one inning in the first game the guy for our side that was umping got hit square in the jaw by a foul . . . but since we were playing with rubber balls he was fine. I thought it was interesting that here they only play soft baseball up until high school, and even then both soft and hard options are available.
This comming weekend is a long weekend for me, so I've decided to take a trip to Tokyo. I'm planning on swinging by the AIESEC Japan office and probably to LC at Tokyo University. I did most of the sightseeing bits last time I came to Tokyo, so this time I'm just gonna do some AIESECing and some wandering. I remember Masato mentioned Ochanomizu for music stuff, so I think I'll swing by there too. If anyone's got any other ideas, send em my way before Friday.
Congrats to my brother and sister on their 21st on Sunday
I managed to make it to train two times this week. Not really anything too exciting thus far in the land of boxing: I have to learn a completely new way of throwing a hook and upper, but my straight is good. But it feels good to be training again. Something I find entertaining: pre-workout weight 76 kg, post-workout weight 72 kg . . . that's 10 lbs worth of sweat. As for the new broken piece of me . . . I managed (likely though going to hard while shadow boxing) to pull my right pectoral muscle on Friday, and it is right up at the top of the list of most painfull and most annoying muscles to injure. Just take a minute to think about how difficult it is to not use your chest muscles (ie not using, not stretching and not putting any pressure on) . . . makes sleeping a bit difficult. I guess I'll have to take a few days off. I also noticed that I have been exceptionally sore, and it's soreness that doesn't seem to pass. Then I thought about it, and I get pretty much zero potassium in my diet here (my usual liter of OJ per day at home is no longer cost effecient), so I figured I'd grab some bananas. The issue there is that I usually get my weeks grocery shopping done at the value drug store, and they don't sell bananas. I have to go to the super market (an even farther walk) in order to get bananas, and I refuse to do my regular shopping there (everything costs 50-100 yen more there). Pain in the ass as it may be, I guess I'll just have to make a banana trip once or twice a week . . . Also after my workout on Friday I stayed for a bit outside the train station to watch some of the bands who were playing (there are always musicians outside this particular station). One of them was good enough for me to drop a few duckets on their cd. Mostly for some entertaining music but also because the band's name was Capsule Wagon Squeegee.
So having the foresight to know a bike would be extremely useful (and knowing how absurdly expensive they are . . . even at the recycle shop a crappy one was about $100), since I arrived I have been watching a few abandoned bikes to see how abandoned they really were. Good possibility number one sits right outside my front steps. It has two flat tires, a rusted chain and has not moved an inch since I arrived (two and a half weeks). Knowing that some people around here ride on flats, and that some people are simply so anal that they will park in the exact same spot every day, I conducted a small experiement. I moved said bike from its usual spot one week ago, and concequently it continued to be immobile. Possibility number two similarly had two flats and a rusted chain, but also had two more prevailent signs of immobility. The bike had been sitting in this one spot long enough that ivy type vines had grown, wrapped themselves around the wheels and spokes and been arouond long enough to die (while still connected to the ground). This pretty clearly tells me that the bike hasn't been moved in what is logically at least a year. There was also a massive and intricate spider web between the bike and its surroundings (detailing no motion at all for at least a few days, or weeks). Well, option number two had a derailuer and option one didn't, so I went for number two. This is where I decided to take a trip.
Durring the week I had located AIESEC at the Nagoya City University, and it is conveniently located in the vicinity of my boxing gym. So I headed that way. En route I stopped at one of the cycle shops I had found the last time I walked to the gym. I thought enough ahead to check the size of the tires on what was to be my new bike. Knowing the nature of the beast I wanted to buy a couple tubes for the future (also not forgoing the possibility that both tubes were already busted). After a bit of searching the shop owner came to the conclusion that he didn't have tubes of the right size (the bike has moutain tires on it rather than road tires which are the norm). He did however say that if he could find some they would run me 2000 yen each (twice the price of a "normal" tube). I gave up on that idea for the moment, and asked if he had a pump. He did, and I bought it for 1000 yen (need my own pump because no one else in my appartment building, save for the ghost bike, rides a bike . . . they all drive or walk). Onward I walked, and about fifteen minutes after helping another cyclist find the shop I had just come from, I came to another cycle shop. I asked the grandma shop owner if she had any mountain bike tubes, and with some luck she did. They were $15 a piece . . . not great but not the worst it could be. . . I also grabbed a bike lock (it too was $15, but she gave me the lot for $40). So, with supplies in tow, I continued on. After the 4-5 mile walk to my gym, I headed east towards the university. Along the way I stopped at another recycle shop, but this was not the wonderful thift store that the other one was. This was more of an old things are trendy shop where you can buy an old pair of addidas or origional air jordans for a few hundred dollars. I arrived at the uni and headed towards the student center (where the internet had told me AIESEC was located at this uni) . . . alas it was not to be found. I then asked about a dozen different people if they knew about AIESEC. Interestingly enough everyone I asked knew about AIESEC, but no one knew where their office was. One guy knew one of the AIESECers, but when he tried to call there was no answer. It was hot out so I grabbed some water from a water fountain nearby, and I doused my head and carried on. I walked through the touristy part of the city for about 3 minutes, and, after having my fill, hopped on a train home. Next I took a trip to the bath house to wash off the day's heat and filth, cooked up some dinner and passed out (oh yeah, I also grabbed my abandoned bike).
That was Saturday . . . Sunday I did some shopping (got some bananas), and in the afternoon/evening I played on the company baseball team. That was entertaining. The team's name is the Idlers, and we played a double-header. Strange thing about baseball in Japan is that there are two types of basball: koushiki (hardball) and nanshiki (softball). The hardball version is the standard baseball that we all know. The softball version has the same rules (minus most of the safety equipment), but the ball is more like a tennis ball than a baseball (solid rubber like a bouncy ball, but only a bit heavier than a tennis ball). The lack of weight (and the fact that I haven't played baseball in over a decade) lead to me throwing out my elbow. Our team had enough people on it to have two complete teams, so we had a total swich of players between the first and second games. The other team was not so large. I played in the second game, and lucky me for the second game they brough in the kid who pitches on his university team. To add to it he's a submarine style pitcher, and they also brought in a good catcher. We were up one to nothing in the first game, but they managed a 2 run "sayonara homerun" in the bottom of the last inning. The second game we didn't fair so well. Our starting pitcher was a first time pitcher (he walked 10 in one and a half innings). The rest of the game went about the same way. I walked my first time up and stole second (but got called out stealing third), struck out my second time up and got hit by a pitch and stranded my third. We would alternate having one person from the batting team being the home plate (and only) ump, and one inning in the first game the guy for our side that was umping got hit square in the jaw by a foul . . . but since we were playing with rubber balls he was fine. I thought it was interesting that here they only play soft baseball up until high school, and even then both soft and hard options are available.
This comming weekend is a long weekend for me, so I've decided to take a trip to Tokyo. I'm planning on swinging by the AIESEC Japan office and probably to LC at Tokyo University. I did most of the sightseeing bits last time I came to Tokyo, so this time I'm just gonna do some AIESECing and some wandering. I remember Masato mentioned Ochanomizu for music stuff, so I think I'll swing by there too. If anyone's got any other ideas, send em my way before Friday.
Congrats to my brother and sister on their 21st on Sunday
posted by SleepyEyes at
12:50 AM
2 Comments:
Yes, drinking any kind of juice builds up to a huge amount of money very quickly esp with the small containers in Japan. The most common household drink during summer is mugi-cha...inexpensive cold tea that you can make at home. Maybe worth trying just to get in the spirit.
Ochanomizu is famous mainly among guitar players, so you should like it.
More food pictures! Japan is a veritable cornucopia of delicousness!
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