Category: Japan

A Night at the Stadium: Japanese Professional Baseball

billkralovec
Seventh Inning Stretch

As many of my readers know, my family and I are leaving Japan next month to move to Uzbekistan. I am taking the next 40-some days to enjoy the things I like most about Japan.

I led our school’s “Junior Sabers” baseball club and club supporters to the Kyocera Osaka Dome to watch the Orix Buffaloes host the Seibu Lions of Saitama, Tokyo last night. I appreciate baseball and am trying to instill this in the students and my children. It was a raucous night, with the Lions defeating the Buffaloes, 7-5 in 10 innings. The game entertained us with home runs, spectacular plays in the field, plenty of baserunners and the outcome was in doubt until the very end. The game provided many “teachable moments” for the students regarding the rules and strategies of baseball. It is truly satisfying to teach young people and give them new experiences. Even better, my daughter Ocean is on the team and my son Owen is assisting me in the coaching. I think I accomplished my goal of inspiring the students to enjoy baseball more.

Ocean and Dad

I would like to thank the Orix Buffaloes for their hospitality. They gave us a good deal on tickets, we received a gift packet upon arrival and we had excellent seats on the first line for 1,100 yen ($10). Attending a professional baseball game in Japan is an engaging experience and much different atmosphere to that of the USA. Japanese fans are soccer-like in their passion at the stadium. A highlight is the release of balloons during the seventh inning stretch. This is a tradition in many stadiums in the league. Japanese baseball is considered “4A” meaning better than the top level of minor league baseball but below the Major League Baseball. Ocean’s favorite player was DH Stefen Romero for the Buffaloes. He hit a homerun and also had a couple other hits. He is your typical foreign player here. Romero was the minor league player of the year for the Seattle Mariners, but couldn’t make the MLB roster for the Mariners. He played briefly for one season before being traded to the Orioles. Romero has been very good for the Buffaloes are two years ago, signed a 3-year contract for 2.5 million dollars a year. Not bad for someone who had a “cup of coffee” in the MLB. The other type of foreigner is like former Detroit Tiger Phil Coke. He helped the Tigers win the American League Pennant in 2012 and pitched well in the World Series. After several seasons bouncing from team-to-team in the MLB, he ended up pitching for Orix in 2016.

Panorama View of the Game (note Ocean on both sides of the picture!)

The Orix Buffaloes are famous for being the initial club of Ichiro Suzuki. He led them to the Japan Series title in 1996 when they were the “Blue Wave” The Buffaloes formed with the merger of Kobe’s Orix Blue Wave and Osaka’s Kintetsu Buffaloes in 2004. They are perennially losers and Orix, a financial group from Tokyo, is not a good owner for a baseball club. The Buffaloes are once again in last place in the Pacific League this year.

Ocean and Owen Outside the Osaka Dome

I’ve had many enjoyable moments with my children attending a couple games every year of the Orix Buffaloes or Hanshin Tigers, the two Kansai teams. I did not get to experience a championship in my 5 years here sadly, but will continue to follow the teams, especially the Tigers and hopefully, they will finally win another title, being shut out since 1985.

The OIS Junior Sabers Baseball Club in the Dome! Go Orix!

Technology, Ecology & Art: Garbage Incineration in Japan

billkralovec
Our group in the Hundertwasser Lobby

Yesterday our family visited the Maishima Incineration Plant located near the port of Osaka. Japan is the world leader in burning garbage to produce electricity. Land is precious in this crowded island nation, and landfills are not a good option.

The plant deals with garbage in three ways. Most waste is burned at extremely hot temperatures. The heat is converted to electricity through steam and turbines. Most of the electricity goes to power the plant itself, but the excess electricity is sold back to the municipal electrical grid. The leftover ash is used in land reclamation projects or converted to bricks to pave roads and sidewalks. Japan and in many other countries in Asia, artificial islands are quite common near the coasts of cities. In fact, the main international airport, Kansai International Airport (KIX) is an artificial island.

Large items, such as furniture, bicycles, etc. goes through a different process. The recyclable metals, iron and aluminum are converted to pellets and sent to recycling plants. The leftovers are either crushed into small blocks or burned. The 15 cm – 40 cm blocks are used with ash in land reclamation projects.

Mom and Owen

Incineration plants started in the 1990s and were found to emit toxins into the environment. Today, much of the plants are devoted to cleaning by-products before they are released.

Incineration plants are common in Japan. The Maishima plant is one of six in the Osaka metropolitan area. It handles around 900 tonnes of waste per day. The guide estimated that Osaka disposes approximately 36,000 tonnes per day. With a growing world population living at a higher standard of living than ever before, protecting the planet is an increased concern of mine. I am worried about climate change and the quality of life on earth being lessened by our wasteful lifestyles. I agree it is good to burn garbage instead of just burying it, but it would be better to reduce the amount of waste generated in our lives.

Control Room

On a small level, I have been tracking the waste generation of our family. We recycle glass, metal and paper through the excellent Minoh city recycling program. I’ve started to compost our vegetable matter at school. This has reduced our waste significantly. However, a big problem is packaging. The amount of plastic used to protect, transport and display products is crazy. As a consumer, it is impossible to escape!

View of facade from rooftop garden

What make the Maishima unique is the architecture of the plant. City officials commissions the Austrian/New Zealand artist and architect, Friednesreich Hundertwasser to improve the facade of the plant. Hundertwasser was a fascinating artist and a man ahead of his time. His mother was Jewish and father German, and he escaped death by hidingbill his maternal origins. He became quite a famous architect and applied artist after World War II. Hundertwasser detested straight lines and the grey monotony of city buildings. He was also one of the first architects to incorporate nature in his buildings and believed that planting trees in cities, helped well-being. We visited his famous apartment block in Vienna years ago. Hundertwasser was married to a Japanese women in the 1960s which may be the connection to Japan.

Compared to most of the boring, industrial design of buildings in Japan, I am happy that they invested in making it beautiful. It was uplifting to walk around the roof top garden and it has become of tourist destination and raised awareness of sustainability. Hundertwasser thought the project brought “technology, ecology and art in harmony” and I have to agree!

Yokohama Chinatown

billkralovec
Kantebiyo Temple (Chinatown, Yokohama)

When Japan opened to foreigners in 1859, it started with ports and Yokohama was one of the first ports to open. Many Chinese immigrants came at that time to work in the port and many settled nearby. It is the largest “Chinatown” in Japan and one of the largest in Asia, with over 250 Chinese restaurants and between 3,000 – 4,000 Chinese residents. It used to be much bigger, but the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 which killed 100,000 people and made almost 2 million homeless, caused many of the Chinese to pack up and go back to China instead of trying to rebuild. The Port of Yokohama is the third largest port in Japan after Tokyo and Kobe. None of the Japan ports compare in size to Busan, Korea, Singapore and several Chinese ports.

Akira and I in the bustling streets of 横浜中華街, 

I am in Yokohama for a basketball tournament and am staying in Motomachi, which is adjacent to Chinatown. My friend Akira and I went for a nice Chinese dinner and sento (hot bath). We walked around the narrow streets and took in the sights, including the extravagant Kantebiyo Temple. It is dedicated to the Chinese god of prosperity and good business. That is appropriate for a port town. It is nice to have some Chinese food for a change. We had a nice evening.

Owen and teammates wait to board the Nozomi shinkansen to Shin Yokohama

Cycling with Oliver

billkralovec

43701009240_53c36dcb7f_c
Attempting a selfie as we ride through Japan countryside

I’ve been trying to get out into nature every Sunday to recharge my batteries. Two weekends ago, I rode with Oliver on a loop outside of the town of Kameoka in the Kyoto prefecture. We drove 30 minutes to the town of Toyono and did a 25-kilometer loop along forested rolling hills and rice paddies. An absolutely heavenly afternoon for me, and despite his complaints through much of the ride, in the end, Oliver enjoyed it too!

There are so many great cycling routes in Japan. Drivers are very safe and much of the countryside is depopulating rapidly which makes for really good cycling. I love riding and hope to do as much as I can over the next 8 months I am here.

Oliver and I found a really nice spot for lunch. In between rice fields, a small shinto shrine was nestled between hills. The large sugi trees which are a characteristic of any temple or shrine provided shade and a quiet place to eat and talk.

There were some decent slopes and Oliver complained going up them, but towards the end of the loop back to our car, we had a very long descent through the forest that he loved. We saw many downed trees from the recent typhoon that came through here last month. Oliver doesn’t like cycling too much, but he was nice to humor me and come along.

A perfect afternoon that I wish could have lasted forever!

44792751914_d1952c7916_c

Halloween 2018

billkralovec

Halloween is widely celebrated in Japan. One sees all sorts of Halloween-related products for sale and people dress up. The modern customs of trick-or-treating and costumes are one of the gifts America has given to the world. Everyone enjoys dressing up, focusing on being scared and walking around collecting candy.

31947217368_84bbe64702_b
Oliver was a big hit in the neighborhood

Our neighborhood, Onohara, annually organizes a Halloween festival. There are booths run by high school students at the school and families volunteer to open their homes to trick-or-treating, which is not regularly practiced here. Japanese culture is super organized and so families had to sign up their children in August. Participants are given tickets and a map to where the homes are located. It costs money to join and the neighborhood association gives candy to the homes. We supplemented our candy supply with American candy from Costco. We decorated the steps and entryway to our house and played Halloween-themed music. Many of the neighborhood children did not know trick-or-treating etiquette and had limited English so we did our best to explain to them how it works. The international school students, especially the elementary students loved seeing “Ms. Nadia” passing out candy. So many of the children were very cute and it was pleasurable to see their excitement.

31766354268_6ddd1a83c7_c
Elina, Ocean, Alona and Mako pose as a smack of jellyfish (the technical term for a group of jellyfish)

Oliver dressed up as a dinosaur. We bought a blow-up costume that was hilarious and a hit with everyone. We didn’t manage to save any of the photos, however, due to storage issues on our phones. I hope to get one.

Ocean and three of her friends used umbrellas, lights and colored streamers to dress as jellyfish, which is very appropriate for seafood-loving Japan. They were massively popular with other trick-or-treaters and posed for many photos.

45588310952_f2048d3260_c
Ocean is trying to get out of our front gate

We finished the night with a dinner party at a friend’s house. The weather was perfect and it was a delightful evening.

Autumn Cycling with Owen

billkralovec

 

43514738000_290704a132_c
Harvesting Rice

Sunday afternoon Owen and I went for a bike ride up in the forested hills north of our suburb of Minoh. I just love cycling and going with my son combined with the scenery, it made for such a pleasurable afternoon. Many of the farmers we passed were harvesting rice, one of the many signs of autumn. Most of the rice fields near us our small and farmers use a harvester that looks like a riding lawnmower. You can smell the rice grains as you are riding by the fields.

 

31456098078_0e4af3a18b_c
Owen rides through the sugi forest

We drove 30 minutes up to the village of Ooiwa and parked at a temple parking lot. We rode 10 kilometers north and turned around. There was a good mix of forests, fields, deep valleys and rolling hills. I want to ride all the way to Kameoka, a city just outside of Kyoto, which is about 40 kilometers away.

31456098658_78a3e1c966_c
Ripe persimmons (kaki) 

 

Sports Day is a National Holiday in Japan

billkralovec

(Oliver runs a leg in the relay race at our school.)

I love sports and being active so thoroughly enjoy the unique Japanese national holiday, Sports Day (undoo kai – field day). The government started field day in 1966 being inspired by hosting the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. They wanted to promote an active lifestyle and chose mid-October when the weather is mostly sunny and cool. It is traditional on this day for schools to host relay races, tug-of-war, and other sports. Students and parents eagerly await the day and it is the biggest crowd of parents we get at any school event, except for perhaps the International Fair.

45150735862_09c978caa1_c
Oliver uses his mass to excel in the tug-of-war

The Japanese students take this very seriously and have extensive practices for the day. Our school does a range of events including ultimate frisbee, dodgeball and even a dance performance. The different grade levels for teams and winning the overall competition is big deal.

43387023080_fdf12310be_c
Owen’s team came second in ultimate frisbee! (Owen is with his friend Josh)

The elementary school students also participate but in non-competitive games. Ocean liked the swimming portion of the day but was not so excited about the field events.

45150731582_cd1f36a775_z

It was an absolutely gorgeous day with bright blue sunny skies, although it got a little hot in the afternoon. It was our last Sports Day in Japan and I tried to get the most of the day.

45150741612_ebe79f7b41_c
Sunset over Minoh – view from the top of Oasis parking garage

 

Hiking with Ocean

billkralovec

Ocean and I had a delightful afternoon hike around the Minogawa Reservoir yesterday. With the boys out of the house with friends and Nadia still not feeling well, it gave me the perfect conditions for an afternoon with my daughter.

44433317694_efdf1b3e32_z
Ocean is not happy about hiking with Dad, but the sandwich was good! 

I had to drag her out, but by the end of the walk, I think she was enjoying it. The hike took about 90 minutes and it was not too strenuous. The weather in October in Osaka is ideal for being outside. It is so nice to have such a large wilderness area on our doorstep. Walking and talking while being surrounded by tall trees and lovely ferns is so very peaceful and recharges my batteries and clears my mind.

30216552277_df73993f77_c
A nice trail goes around the Minogawa Reservoir

I now know where to consistently find Japanese macaques in the park. Once again, they were near the reservoir.

 

Azuba & Roppongi: Upscale Tokyo

billkralovec

31221200658_891a1e2797_z
Grand Hyatt Tokyo 

Every time I visit Tokyo I see something new. Of course, it is the largest metropolitan area in the world so it would make sense that there is a lot to explore. The Japan Council of International Schools meets in different schools every year in Tokyo and it gives me a chance to see different areas.

This week I spent the night in one of the richest and most exclusive residential and shopping districts in the city, Azuba and Roppongi. I was really curious to see the area because the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) is always holding events there. There are many embassies and foreign residences in these suburbs. I arrived late on Monday evening after taking the shinkansen after school. It was an absolutely perfect night for a walk, with a fresh early autumn air and a clear night.

31221206528_7380fdd0aa_c
Japanese Garden juxtaposed with the Roppongi Hills Shopping Complex

I was staying in a small business hotel in Azabu and walked over to the Grand Hyatt Tokyo Roppongi Hills. There are hundreds of designer boutiques, high-end shopping stores, restaurants, etc. The mall is beautifully designed with gardens, nice views to the city, etc.

31221205038_3568efd359_z
Asahi TV studios are also in the complex

I have been to Tokyo many times and the city still fascinates me. I didn’t have a lot of time to see the area because of work, but I did get to feel the swanky luxury of one of the most exclusive areas in the city.