05/25 - Sunday is a Rugby Day

Ancient tradition,

plus the best sport in the World,

makes a good day out




Fall back thirty years

where forty-fives flood the walls

music bouncing laughs


I went to a live sporting event for the second day in a row today. In my books, that's a weekend well-spent. To start the day off I met Tim in front of our building and we headed to Shibuya to meet two Japanese friends of his, Yu and Seiya. They were really cool guys, and we all went to Yoyogi Park to check out the Laos Festival. At the Laos Festival there was a stage with a woman singing some songs, who was replaced by a chubby guy not long after we arrived. The chubby guy kicked off his set with that big Bruno Mars hit song, before playing singing some more Laos-specific tunes. We all shuffled through the crow and grabbed a Beerlao Lager from the Beerlao tent to help survive the baking heat. Then we all grabbed some food. The three other fellas all got Laotian food, so I felt pretty bad that I opted for a Turkish Kebab Sandwich, considering it was the Laos Festival. The feeling rapidly faded away when I bit into the delicious kebab though. After we ate we found a spot on the ground a short walk from all the festival tents and just kicked it for a while. Next to us was a large group of people on a big blue tarp. They were all Japanese and covered in tattoos and looked pretty rough. I don't know if they were yakuza or just wanted to look like tough guys, but they were definitely the most menacing looking crew I've seen in Japan.

After sitting in the sun for a bit and applying some sunscreen to the bemusement of many people around the festival, it was time to head through Harajuku to the stadium to meet the rest of the group going to the rugby game. On our way out of the park, I had to double check to confirm, but the same chubby singer was belting out the same Bruno Mars song to close his set that he had sang to open it. Interesting set list.

On the way to the stadium Clayton, who you may remember from my post about coincidences (http://bashoandfukuro.blogspot.jp/search?updated-max=2014-05-24T19:28:00-07:00&max-results=7&start=8&by-date=false), spotted us among a large crowd. Fancy that!

At the stadium we found the rest of our group, including both of the Masas, my old student Misao, her coworker/friend, and fellow teacher Lauren. We headed to Kokurtisu-Kyōgijō, which is the National Stadium. Today's game was a really cool game to go to, because it was the last actual game at the stadium before they knock it down to build a new stadium which will be used for the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Apparently most people think the new stadium looks a bit like a spaceship, but I think it also resembles some sort of futuristic toilet, which is sort of fitting for Japan. Check out a picture here.

Inside the stadium I went to the merchandise tent to buy a shirt. I tried on an M, then there was some confusion before eventually the guy found an L for me to try. It was still a bit small, but the next size was a 3L, which I figured must be like a double XL. Seiya was helping translate for me and told me to try it anyways. It fit well, so I guess even though the shirt was made by Canterbury it was very Japanese sizing. I haven't seen this anywhere else. After paying for the shirt I was already waiting I turned to walk away but the guy who sold it to me grabbed me and started to pull off the tag. He only managed to rip off the cardboard part and not the plastic ring attaching it to the shirt, so this older lady started pulling at my backpack. I couldn't see her very well but she pushed me down so I would be low enough for her to remove the tag. When I finally turned around I realized she didn't even work there, she just felt the need to help.

Another souvenir was on offer inside the stadium, as they were giving out free small towels. Novelty towels are hugely popular here, as people carry them around everywhere. They were really cool. They had a picture of the stadium on them and said "Sayanora". Unfortunately my friends told me they were only for people under 20. We went and got seats and watched them light the Olympic Cauldron in the stadium from the 1964 Summer games. Really cool to see. The anthem singer also drew big cheers and excitement, as apparently she is a very famous singer in Japan.

Many of our group remarked at how many white players there were on both the Japan and Hong Kong teams as they took the field for kickoff. Japan got out to a huge lead and played an awesome first half, but the Hong Kong flyhalf won me over by kicking a nice drop goal.

We switched sides for the second half, knowing all the action would be at the end Japan was attacking. While walking over, I realized a bunch of old men were carrying around the free towels, so we went over and got some. Also on the way, a super drunk Japanese man came and asked me if I liked Japanese rugby, because of my shirt. I told him I did, but that I am from Canada. He yelled "I LOVE CANADA RUGBY!" and continued to give me the longest strangest handshake of my life.

The second half featured little drama as Japan poured on the points. After the game we all headed down the road to find an izakaya. The one we decided on was a prime choice. It was an eighties themed izakaya, with forty-five records covering every inch of the walls. There was even a record (pictured below) called "Letter from Canada". They played loud eighties Japanese music, which is much more similar to western 80s pop than the current J-pop is to current western pop. They even played a Japanese version of the YMCA. At which point Masa Haji asked "Is this song about gay people?" The prices were really reasonable and the food and drink was really good. Definitely want to go back. We even ate bee larva. Super strange! None of the Japanese people had even tried it before.