Team competition in Amagasaki

This weekend, I went to Amagasaki with the other judo athletes. By bus, it took us about 5 and a half hours. Roads and highways in Japan are not straight like in the Canadian prairies, so it makes for a rather bumpy ride. So I maybe managed to get two hours of sleep at most.
The competition (both Saturday and Sunday) was a team competition. It was very interesting for me because in Canada, apart from the small team competition in which I participated at the Canada Winter Games, we never have team competitions. Team competitions have a bit more strategy involved. For example, you have two athletes per each weight category. Depending on the opposing team's player, you can choose which athlete you think has a better chance of winning. And in team competition, you are allowed to have a draw. Normally, a match can only end once a winner has been declared. But in team competition, hikiwake (a draw) only means that no points are accorded to either team. And it gets quite heated sometimes. Because sometimes, both teams will have the same number of wins and all the presure is on the last fighter of the team.

How did Tokai do? The women's team made it into the 3rd round, just coming short of the finals. They beat two universities but then lost to the same team they lost to last year, which put them in third place. The men's team won first place, defeating four universities to do so. They were spectacular. I have to admit, the men were are lot more interesting to watch. Their throws are more powerful and unlike the women's matches, their fights will almost always end with a perfect throw. Womens have more of a tendency to drag out the match and win by points. And, the men usually take bigger risks during a match which is what makes it more exciting to watch.

The athletes warming up

Teams all lined up: almost look like stacks of dominoes : p

A few pictures of the judo girls (all doing the signature Japanese pose lol)


Yuki and Kimiko

 

Miyu and Yutaka



Eri (left) and Ayaka

The womens team (facing front)

If you ever want to see what nice cauliflower ears look like, come to a judo tournament in Japan. There are some of the nicest ones here. Here's a picture for those who aren't familiar with what it is.

This is a milder case of cauliflower ear (Note: I do not own this picture)

 Both the women and men have it here. I've seen some in Canada but definitely not as many as in Japan. So it's pretty easy to determine who does judo, or was a judo player when they were younger.

 After the tournament on Saturday, I went to Kimiko's home to stay for the night. Before arriving to her house, we took the train to Motomachi station, which I was told is one of the most popular stations in Kobe. We walked around the station. There are so many little shops and restaurants. You could spend the day there, just walking from one boutique to the next, tasting something here and there. We also visited the China town.

Kimiko, Eri, and me

After that, we went together with Kimiko's family to an onsen. An onsen is a public bath. Very popular here in Japan and everyone who's Japanese has visited  an onsen at one point in their life. You have to remove all clothing. Then you have to shower and wash yourself. Only after can you enter the bath, which is like a hot tub really. So I can now say that I went to an onsen. And I'm sure I'll go again many times during my stay. Great for relaxing tight muscles and aching body parts.

Later, we went to one of their friends' house where we shared a meal outside. Kind of like a barbecue, except instead of hamburger patties and hotdogs, we had soba noodles and grilled meat.

The next day, after the tournament ended, we took the bus back home. I arrived at midnight. At 11 o'clock, the north gates are closed so I had to ride all the way to the south gate to be able to enter the campus. Then the dorm's doors also close at 11 o'clock so I had to open the kitchen window, throw my bags inside and jump in (a well known trick here). I felt like a burglar lol. Anyhow, all that that counts is that I made it inside. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to enter and have to spend the night outside.

Now I have the rest of the week off from school. And judo only restarts Tuesday evening. So I can rest a bit.... not really lol. Today I'm off to retrieve a box of clothes and books that my mother sent not long after my departure. It finally arrived in Japan at my host family's house so I'm going to get it today. I'll be taking the train alone for the first time so wish me good luck! ; )