Sports festival photo's during the rain....

Sports Festival photo's...before the rain!

Class and School Flags



Warm-up....performed to ...Ich Ni San Shi...over a loud speaker

Tied legged race with a soft ending...

The Club march-past and parade..

Sports Festival...

This is no ordinary summer sports day...this is a well practiced (for six days solid) well drilled group activity involving activities unseen on any sports field I have ever been on (Big Rope, Tug of War, Tied legged races, Pole racing...), with timing and precision any army would be proud of.

This years version was unfortunately interrupted by rain so that we were unable to witness the boys Samurai like war game.....where the idea is to snatch the cap off the head of the opposing warrior before he does it to you! (thankfully we were able to witness this unique event a few days later) but regardless of this it was still an interesting and action packed day.

Many parents were in attendance...and it was quite a sight to see all the video cameras lined up...capturing the action in unison. The parents had their chance to participate in the PTA Tug of War challenge which pitted the various local districts against each other. This was a personal highlight of the day as I helped Asano to the title of Champions! ....mmm this game is all about teamwork and a battle of wills...as well as getting the right end so one can dig in a little!
The other highlight of the day for me was running 50 metres...against girls less than 1/2 my age...and holding my own!! and not tearing a hamstring!! of course the girls i was up against had already run a 50 metres by the time I was passed the baton...but this is minor detail! (please refer to the..1/2 my age fact.. detail as written above....and please also note that I had just completed an epic tug-of-war struggle!).

Everyone seemed to enjoy the day...there was plenty of smiling and oooohs and aaaaghs! and some fierce rivalry between classes and sports teams. The whole day is a triumph of the group over the individual and all about participation regardless of ability. Whilst it still seems amazing to me that the students actually enjoy this event because of all the formality and practice involved beforehand and during the day....I realise that there is much tradition involved, it is a reflection of Japanese society at large and I am looking at it through western eyes. Of course, who wouldn't mind a week off classes and the chance to take ones shirt off and display ones bravery and fighting prowess in front of all the girls?

ThreatDown...Nihon style....a personal view.

This is the result of many hours of thought and careful consideration...and some very un-scientific reasoning...

10 - Cockroaches - They grow to the size of matchbox cars...can fly...and can scare you to death!

9 - Food - Can so much raw food really be all that healthy? Not to mention the weird
vegetables...the endangered species...the fascination with the deadly
poisonous...the ton of carbs...

8 - Public Announcements - One day one of these is going to be seriously important...and i will
be blissfully unaware that a 200 metre wave is bearing down on
me till it is a tad too late...mmm maybe this is a good reason to try
and learn more Nihongo?
(for those of you unaware of Japanese life...every block or so has
a very loud speaker that screams greetings and things at you and
music at certain times of the day...7 am 12pm 5pm etc etc).

7 - Five day Annual Holidays (and that includes the weekend)

This results in a condition I call...Holidaying oneself to death!
as a result of trying to cram into a few days what most
Westerners would do in two or three weeks (often including
International flights)...& then going straight back to work
afterwards totally exhausted...doing a 10 hour day and falling
asleep at the wheel or in front of a train...maybe even leaving the
kerosene heater on....all with disastrous consequences. Living to
work is a bad problem...thankfully I do not have this problem!

6 - Oba Chans (Grandmothers..in Japan these people RULE!)

....in their wheelchairs on narrow roads coming straight at you! actually even
just wandering along down the middle of the road! Drivers beware!!
Jostling to get a seat on a train...they will stop at Nothing! In the
Supermarket...pretty much anywhere...Don't mess with the Oba Chans!

5 - LDP Leadership (the ruling party in japan who have been in charge for decades).

Koizumi and His cronies paying homeage to war criminals...These boys
really know how to win friends and influence people!!

4 - Earthquakes - Living on top of a major faultline has its negatives....mmm come to think of
it...what are the positives? Well could be worse...I could live in Tokyo which
is built on top of 3 fault lines! and is overdue!

3 - America - With friends like GWB...who needs enemies!!!

2 - North Korea - Any country ruled by a tyrranical megalamaniacal madman...with possible
weapons of mass destruction is gotta be a threat...right???

1 - Giant Anacondas - I've seen the movie...these things will kill you! mmm well...actually I have
seen 3 snakes and that freaked me enough.....anyway Japan doesn't have
any bears...does it???