Japan

I left for Japan straight after class on Friday. I went to go play in Dream Cup, a huge ultimate tournament in Fuji City, Japan. This is the first time they've allowed foreigners to play. They paid for Sockeye and Fury to fly out and participate. My team, in the women's division, came from all over Asia. The weather held up for us and it ended up being sunny and dry the whole weekend, despite forecasts of rain. There was slight wind, but not as bad as I've played in before.

A few downsides to the tourney...

1. Immediate bracket play. This was the first time my team had played together so we used our first game to get to know each other. Unfortunately, this meant we were stomped. I think we could have beaten them on Sunday given another chance.
   
2. Only 2 games per day. I think some teams may have played 3 games, but for paying for a flight ($370 USD), a bus to Fuji City ($32 each way), a required hotel ($78 per night), and a tournament fee ($70), I was hoping for at least 4 games on Saturday. There were certainly enough teams for it, but not enough field space.
3. A small downside was lack of field food. I'm accustomed to fruit and bagels. The only thing they provided was a bowl of soup on Saturday and some small packaged red bean buns (2 per person). However, with a 5 hour bye between our two games on Saturday, I wasn't really that hungry.

It wasn't all down. Some upsides...

1. We got a sweatshirt out of the deal (with typical Asian typo and all).
   
2. We got a free shuttle from the hotel to the fields in the mornings.
   
3. The hotel included a Japanese style breakfast that was quite filling.
4. We got to watch world class players - Fury vs Japanese women all stars and Buzz Bullets vs Sockeye.
5. A constant view of Mt Fuji. Absolutely gorgeous. I was reminded of home (Mt Rainier) the whole time.

After the tourney, we went back to Tokyo, where I stayed with some other players in a fancy apartment hotel in what seemed like Koreatown. We got in late, and due to a mistake on my part, I left really early (I thought the clock said 9 am, but it was probably 7 am when I left). I made my way to Asakusa station to get to Nikko. I got the World Heritage Pass, but in after thought I think the All Nikko Pass would have been better (the one including the bus fare to Lake Chuzenji). I stopped at the visitor center to figure out where the hostel was.

Daiyagawa Youth Hostel (大谷川ユースホステル)

Walk about 10 minutes uphill on the main street to the tourist information center. Take the first right and follow the road up the river for a few minutes. It's a bit tucked away and directly at the Daiyagawa river. Check in is from 4-8 pm. Showers are from 5-9pm. Breakfast is filling and at 7:30 am. There are plenty of blankets provided, plus a space heater, so you don't have to worry about getting cold. They'll also give you hot tea or coffee to warm up. Oh, and the toilet seat is heated! Possibly the best hostel bathroom I've ever been in, just for that luxury.

I dropped my bag off and went to explore the temples. I most enjoyed the Toshogu Shrine and the Rinnoji Temple (which I saw the next morning). Afterwards I took the bus up to Lake Chuzenji. It's still winter and the trees are all barren, and snow is still on the ground. It wasn't the most beautiful season to be there, so I would recommend going back in any other season (for warmth and the beauty of leaved trees). I also checked out Kegon Falls. You can see them from a deck viewpoint, but have to pay extra for an elevator that I assume takes you down to the base.

On my way back to the bus stop, I saw a bunch of monkeys running around. Three adults and one baby. Super cute. That is until I got too inquisitive with my video camera and one decided to attack me. I ran away before it got me, but it got my heart pumping at about 300 bpm. They're cute until they're angry.



For dinner, I stopped at Hippari Dako, which is on the main street. It's a small establishment with just three tables. When I went in, there was an English speaking tour group there. I got the 3rd empty table to myself. Luckily, another couple came in and shared the table with me. A couple of MBA students from PA, on a 150 person school tour of Japan. They took off a couple extra days to have some time to see a bit more by themselves.

The next morning I caught the train back into Tokyo (I would have spent more time at the Lake, maybe hiking around, but it was too cold). I spent some time at Asakusa and Ueno, checking out more temples, parks, and street food. I also enjoyed some sushi at a rotating bar. Yum.



One thing surprisingly different about Japan from Taiwan is how little English is used. Very few signs have English, relative to Taipei and not as many people seem to speak it. It felt a lot harder to get around - possibly because the subway map is like a jumbled mess of pixie sticks. It helped immensely that I could recognize some Chinese characters.