Summer Training Camp in Tsumagoi

I'm back from Tsumagoi! It was a long week of hard practices and everyone was quite tired by the end but it was a good week.

From Hiratsuka (where I live), it took about 6 hours by bus to Tsumagoi, located in the Gunma Prefecture. They hold the camp every year during the summer because it's so much cooler up in the mountains which makes training much more tolerable than in Tokyo where the humidity is insane.

Some people had told me the air would be thinner but I didn't feel a difference really. Either my respiratory system is in good shape or there just wasn't much of a difference.

Arriving in Tsumagoi

For the first half of the week, it was just Tokai University. We ran and practiced some footsweeps. Then, during the second half, athletes from Asahi University, Ritsumeikan University and Biwako Seikei Sports University came to practice with us.

There were a lot more athletes than this but a lot of them
left for a competition only a few days after their arrival

This was our daily schedule: Wake up around 6:45, stretching exercises at 7:10, breakfast at 7:30, judo practice from 9:00-12:00, shower, lunch at 12:30, nap, second judo practice from 3:00-5:00, running from 5:15-5:45, second shower, supper at 6:30 and then to bed.

It was a hard week. But going through it together (with the Tokai girls), and encouraging each other during the practices : Faito! Faito! (which means "Fight! Keep going!") was also a great experience. Like my dad says, it's also a unique experience for a foreigner in Japan to have. Normally, foreigners don't attend these training camps because foreigners are usually only in Japan for a short time. But I've been here for almost a year now and they've come to see me as part of the team so there was no hesitation when they invited me to participate in the training camp.

We stayed at the Tokai University Tsumagoi Kogen Training Center

Written in Japanese : Tokai University Tsumagoi Kogen Kenkyu Center

Eating supper

Tsumagoi is reknown for its cabbage: there were fields of cabbage everywhere!

A little friend I found by the side of the road

Celebrating the end of the camp: Picture taken right after the last running practice

Summer training camp

After a nice long break from judo, practice restarted on Thursday. And I'm already exhausted! In the mornings we practiced for 3 hours! And then another hour in the afternoon. My body is aching everywhere: my neck, my back, my thighs, my legs, ...you get the picture. You can see me dragging myself up the stairs after practice. When I come back to the residence to eat lunch after practice, the others are just waking up. lol.

And it's not over! Tomorrow, I'm going to Tsumagoi (in the Gunma prefecture, located directly west of the Tochigi prefecture) along with the Tokai judo girls for a week-long training camp. We'll be running and practicing judo everyday. One good thing is that since it's a mountainous area, it'll be a lot cooler than here. It's unbelievably hot when we practice at the dojo in Tokai during the summer.

However, because it's a mountainous area, the air will also be less dense, making it harder to breathe. But since I'll be climbing Mt. Fuji in about two weeks, it'll be good practice : )

I won't have access to a computer during the whole week so I'll update as soon as I get back.

Coming back to Canada Countdown

Some of you might have already noticed the new addition to my blog: a countdown timer. If you look at the right side of the screen, under the heading "Countdown", you should see a black rectangle with numbers on it. That's the amount of time left before I take the plane at 17:40 on October 5th. The number of days/hours/minutes/seconds may vary depending on what time zone your computer is set at. You can also place your cursor on the rectangle and a different message will pop up. Pretty neat, right? : )

Now, it wasn't easy to install it on my blog. It took me 1h30 just to figure it out. I tried many different websites that create a countdown widget that can be used in blogs. I just got error messages telling me that the html was incorrect. But I was taking the html codes right from the websites. I've played a bit with HTML coding and website design so I understand a few things but I didn't know what was wrong with the codes. So I tried another website. And another. And searched countless times on Google: "how to add a countdown widget to Blogger", "countdown widget that works on Blogger", etc. And finally, after trying many different things, I succeeded!

For those who want to know how I did it (and for the other people like me searching the web to find an answer to their problem), here it is:

1) First, you need to create your widget. There are a lot of websites out there that will make them for you or have better designs but the one that worked for me was http://mycountdown.org
2) Select a countdown from the left-hand menu. They're all pretty much the same. Once you select one, you can customize it: choose the background color, font color, time and date, text, etc.
3) Then, you copy the code.
4) In Blogger, go to "Layout", then select "Add a Gadget". Under the tablet "Basics", you should find "HTML/JavaScript". Select it.
5) Paste the text you just copied into the text box. Make sure that "Rich text" is written on the top right side of the text box. If you click on it, it changes to "Edit HTML". If you think like me, you would think that that's where the code should go. But no, for some reason, it alters the code completely if you place it under "Edit HTML".
6) Then save your changes and hopefully, you should see the countdown widget appear on your page. If it didn't, go over the steps and just keep trying. There is a way. It just might take you an 1h30 to find it ; )

Kimono and yukata!

Yesterday, my great-aunt Shizuko had organized for me to take a picture wearing a kimono. She had everything all prepared. One of her close neighbors had worked as a kimono specialist and agreed to lent us a kimono (buying one is waaay too expensive). Shizuko'd also found a photo studio that would take my picture.

Let me tell you, wearing a kimono is very complicated. There are so many layers and different sashes and belts. Both the kimono specialist and my aunt helped me get into the kimono.

First, there are thin undergarments to absorb sweat because the kimono is thick and it gets pretty hot under all those layers. Then there is sort of satin robe. Then the kimono which is pretty heavy. Then come the many sashes and belts. The kimono specialist would pull tightly on the sashes to help keep everything in place. When it was done, I couldn't breathe properly. I'd start to breathe but have to stop about halfway because there was no more room for the chest to expand. Then I had to insert my feet into tight sandals. I had to be careful when I walked because the kimono doesn't allow much space for movement. And I certainly didn't want to trip over the hem and rip the kimono. So I took tiny steps.

Unfortunately the pictures aren't ready yet so I can't upload them right now. They'll be ready in about 2 weeks. I can't wait to see them : )

Then, after getting out of all those layers and back into normal (breathable) clothes, we walked back to the kimono specialist's house. I had mentioned to my great-aunt that it would be great if I could buy a yukata (a lighter and simpler version of the kimono) to bring back home with me. And my great-aunt mentioned this to the kimono specialist who immediately told us she had some at home that weren't being used. Back when she was teaching, she would bring yukatas as a display or to be tried on by students but now there were hanging in her house collecting dust. So she brought a few yukatas for me to choose from and I immediately knew which one I wanted. A nice pink color with beautiful flowers. Pretty isn't it? : ) Now I just have to remember how to wear it properly.

The kimono specialist, Koizumi (left) and my great-aunt Shizuko (right)

London Olympics 2012: a disappointing result

This past week, I watched more tv than I do in a whole year. From 5 o'clock to about 10 o'clock I was pretty much glued to the tv, following the live broadcast of the judo competition. I was very hopeful for the Japanese team. I was especially excited to watch Haruka Tachimoto (4th year at Tokai) and Riki Nakaya (a graduate from Tokai) compete in their first Olympics.

Note: Picture taken from Google images. I do not own this picture.

Unfortunately, the team did not do as well as expected. They only won 7 medals. Out of those 7 medals, only one gold (Matsumoto -57kg), 3 silver (Nakaya -73kg, Sugimoto +78kg, Hiraoka -66kg) and 3 bronze (Ebinuma -66kg, Nishiyama -90kg, Ueno -63kg). And many of the athletes lost in the second round, a big upset.

If it were Canada, 7 medals would be amazing. Just winning one medal is an amazing feat. But for Japan, it's not good enough. For Japan, as repeated many times by the Japanese judo athletes in interviews, there is only gold. Nothing else counts.

I'm not sure exactly what was missing or what went wrong. Is it simply that the other athletes were better? I don't think so. Was it the mental preparation? It's more likely a number of factors and they will surely be examined intensively by the Japanese judo coaches and managers in the months to come.

Pandas! and much more!

On August 2nd, my great-aunt Shizuko and I went to the Ueno Zoo for a second time. The first time we went was coincidentally the zoo's birthday and the entry was free so there was probably double the amount of people there normally is. And when we arrived, the lineup to see the pandas was so long that we were told it would take about 2-3 hours. So we decided to visit the zoo another day (one where the entry wasn't free) and arrive early so that we could be among the first in line to see the pandas.

Which we did on Thursday. And lucky for us, the pandas were just in the middle of eating the breakfast so we were able to see them. However, as you'll see from my photos, we were a bit far and the glass reflected the light so the photos pretty blurry.

RiRi, the male panda

ShinShin: the female panda

We also took a picture with the pandas... well, not the real ones.

Then we went on to see a few other animals. I've always liked animals. When we were young, my brother and me read a lot about animals and even started creating a magazine series that talked about animals, their daily routines, their habitat, etc. I don't think we even finished one magazine in the series but I've always been fascinated by animals. At the zoo, I was like a kid who visits the zoo for the first time. I was running here and there, snapping pictures, and shouting excitedly: "Look! There he is! Over there!". I think I made my aunt walk a lot more than she intended. But I did manage to snap some pretty good pictures.

The lions, resting but breathing heavily (it was quite hot that day)

(The ink of red is the reflection of someone's clothes on the glass)

Pretty neat, right?

A polar bear! I talked about polar bears in my Japanese speech so I was excited to see one at the zoo.

Standing up to catch food

Coming up after a short swim

I really had a lot of fun. Of course, it wasn't my first time visiting a zoo but it almost felt like it. When you go as a child, you don't know that much. You're simply excited to see these animals that are about 5 times your size. But when you visit the zoo as an adult, it's much more interesting. For one, you have a bit more knowledge. For example, we did quite a few class projects on animals in school. And since I talked about polar bears in my speech, I had to do a little research and I know that about 60% of the world's polar bears live in Northern Canada. And then, even though you've grown up, some animals are still about 2-3 times your size. Animals like the tiger and lion are such majestic creatures.

If you're ever looking for a good place for a date or looking for something to do, go to the zoo! : ) As adults, we don't really think about going to the zoo because we've seen it all as kids. But as adults, I think there's much more we can appreciate and enjoy.

Trip to Nikko

On Sunday (July 29), I met up with my uncle and his family at Musashi-Urawa station. From there, we drove to Nikko to meet my grandmother. Nikko is located in the western part of the Tochigi Prefecture.

First we went to see Kegon Falls, one of Japan's three highest waterfalls, measuring almost 100 meters. Unfortunately, it is also infamous for suicides.

From left: Me, my grandmother, my aunt Noriko, twins Hayato (back) and Mayu (front)

Next we took a boat ride around Lake Chuzenji.

The port from where we took the boat

Note: I don't know this boy. I simply framed my picture
around him.

It seems a few of us were tired: My cousin Mayu and my uncle Shoji taking a short nap

My grandmother

Then we visited Yunodaira Marsh, a natural hot spring which provides most of the town's hot water. The sulfur from the hot water spring smells pretty much like rotten eggs so I didn't particularly enjoy the smell.

Natural hot spring

We took a short break to dip our feet into a little foot bath. We walked a lot during the day so it was nice to wet our feet in warm water.

My cousin Mayu and my grandmother

Finally, we checked into the hotel. In Japanese hotels, there is often a public bath for people to wash themselves and relax. There are showers in each room but almost everyone uses the public bath instead. Once you've been in one, you'll understand why.

After we showered, we were given yukatas to wear. A yukata is worn in summer and is the lighter and much simpler version of the kimono.

For supper, we ate kaiseki ryori, a traditional Japanese meal brought in courses. About 7 or 8 courses but each course only has a few items and in very small quantity so it doesn't feel like that much. In January, when I went to Kyoto, I ate osechi ryori which is also a traditional Japanese meal brought in courses but only served during the New Year's holidays. At that time, I tasted everything (my Mom always encourages us to at least try) but there were a lot of things that really were quite awful. This time however, I tasted everything and I enjoyed probably about 70-80% of the meal. There were only a few items that I really disliked. And there were even items I wanted to eat more of. So I view that as an accomplishment. : )

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The next day, after a traditional Japanese breakfast, we set out to visit the Toshogu Shrine.

Famous carving of the three wise monkeys: Mizaru (sees no evil),
Kikazaru (hears no evil), Iwazaru (speaks no evil)

The architecture of Japanese temples and shrines is really incredible.

And that was it for our trip to Nikko. Had a lot of fun and enjoyed spending time with my relatives. Thank you Shoji, Noriko, Mayu and Hayato!