Fast Feet

Went skating again. I love the feel of the wind hitting your face as you pick up speed!

Slide and Glide

Winter season without ice skating is like Christmas without a tree.

Growing up watching every national and international figure skating competition in the United States, I always wanted to be Kristi Yamaguchi and secretly thought that Victor Petrenko was kinda hot. And although I could never manage to throw myself into the air to do a jump or get all bendy and do a Biellmann spin, I've always loved skating and go to the rink every chance I get.

The skating rink at Seibu-en Amusement Park is open from 10am-4pm on weekdays and 10am-9pm on weekends. I'm seriously considering getting a season pass.

Time

Can you believe it's the last month of this year already?

Well, as usual, the first day of each month is CDP community's Theme Day. The theme for December is "Time."

I was at Koku Park again and I noticed a lot of runners on the track. The 21st Tokorozawa City Marathon is coming up in a few days and I guess everyone is in running mode. A lot of the runners had a fancy wrist watch, which I'm sure they use to time themselves, and kept on glancing at it while they ran.

The marathon starts from 6:45am on Sunday, December 5th. There is the 2km, 3km, 5km, and half marathon race. I will be on the sidelines (if I can get up that early) and rooting the runners on!

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Bright Splash of Color

One of my favorite things at a matsuri (festival) are the Yo-yo water balloons!

You have to try to pull the balloons up with a paper hook, something I've never been able to do. Usually after a couple of tries, they just end up giving me the balloon!

Rush Hour

Everyone is rushing home today...the Japan vs Paraguay game starts at 11pm!

Who would of thought Japan would make it this far? We were in such a sorry state before the world cup. But this just shows, you never know what will happen!

There was this funny article about many Japanese soccer fans were saying sorry to the head coach on twitter for all the things they said or thought before the tournament. I can tell you, I'm pretty sure none of them were nice.

As for me, they've come this far so I don't care who wins, just as long as they play a good soccer game. And here they come...!

Zakumi

Anybody a soccer fan?

Soccer is very popular in Japan, especially among younger children who grew up watching the J-League (Japan's Professional Soccer League). From what I hear, our team just barely made it to World Cup 2010 and not very many people are expecting them to make it to the second level. But the news is still all about the World Cup and many fans are rooting for Japan!


And at our local supermarket, I found Zakumi, the world cup 2010 mascot!

"The name ‘Zakumi' is a composition of ‘ZA' standing for South Africa and ‘kumi', which translates into ‘10' in various languages across Africa." (FIFA.com)


Japan's uniform is usually blue because we are an island surrounded by the sea. This towel seems to be really popular. There were only a few left.

Tomorrow is our first game against Cameroon.
Gambare, Nippon! (Good luck, Japan!)

Saitama Broncos

Tokorozawa Civic Gymnasium is home to the Saitama Broncos, one of the pro basketball teams in the Bj League.

Basektball is not very popular in Japan. Baseball and soccer are much more known. But the number of fans following the Bj League is definately on the rise.

There were a couple of young fans dancing along with the cheerleaders during halftime.

Home Team

Another baseball game this weekend! Go Tokorozawa High School!

Play Ball!!!

Tokorozawa Kita High School was playing against Seibo Gakuen at the baseball stadium in Koku Koen.

This stadium was renovated in 2006 and is used mostly for high school and little league games.

Ready to Slow Down

Here's a little girl who's had a bit too much excitement. She's ready for her nap.

So am I.
Happy Weekend!

Small Tuba Player

I know this photo is out of focus...but she was just SO ADORABLE, I had to post it.

This little girl was trying so hard to carry her large tuba, that was starting to slide down, while blowing her heart out. All the people watching were cheering her on with a big 'Ganbare!' shout. It was really sweet.

Step in Time

Here are the women of Ayame again. They are carrying something called a Dashi.

This is a ornamented float that people carry around during the festivals. Each district has their own traditional dashi, which members carry together and display with great pride.

Usually it's the men who carry the dashi on their shoulders, as it is quite heavy. But the group Ayame, coming from the kanji 'colorful' and 'women' (彩女), is an all-women association. So this is a photo of the energetic women carrying the dashi. They all shout in time to the rhythm of the drums while moving forward slowly in synchronized steps. With the audience participating by shouting out or whistling, it's really very festive.

Kamen Rider VS Spiderman

It wouldn't be a festival without an Omen (mask) stand.

Tokorozawa Festival

The annual Tokorozawa Festival was this week! So I'll be posting photos of the festival for a few days.

This was part of the opening ceremony in front of Daiei, a Taiko (Japanese drum) performance by the group Ayame. All the Taiko players synchronized their movements, so you could enjoy not only listening to the powerful sound, but also by watching them perform.

Let's Go Lions!

So the Seibu Lions weren't doing very well at the start of the season. May and June were the worst, they lost so many games. I was pretty sure they wouldn't be able to pick up the pace this season.

But now it's July...and the Lions are coming back with a roar in the second half of the season!

I'm pretty excited! And so is Tokorozawa. We've got posters and banners around the station rooting them on!

More Andon Lights

A few more photos of the Andon Lights from yesterday.

Some of them had really pretty pictures painted on it. They also had plastic bags covering it because it was raining a bit during the evening. But it didn't seem to affect the lights at all.

Andon Lights

I went by the Tokorozawa Andon Light Festival at the Ginza Chuo Plaza today. They were lit up all along the sidewalk and around the plaza.

Andon lights were originally used during the Edo era. They are paper lanterns made from washi, a type of Japanese paper, used as a signal device or a commercial sign, like there were tonight.

If you look closely you can see the name of shops around Tokorozawa on the side of the paper cover. All of them also had cute pictures painted on it.

Go Lions!

The season for baseball has begun!

As Tokorozawa is home to the Seibu Dome, we of course are rooting for the Saitama Seibu Lions!

Actually they were just 'Seibu Lions' until last year, when they changed the name to 'Saitama Seibu Lions.' Then they went on to win the Pacific League Championships and the Japan Series. They even won the Asia Series that year. So it seems like the new name brought on a spurt of good luck. Or it could've been the new manager...

Anyways, the shops around the station have a whole bunch of posters on the walls. We're hoping to win the championships 2 years in a row! Go Lions!

Bagus

Dropped by the Bagus in Tokorozawa the other night. You can play pool and darts here. Darts are more popular than pool these days, but personally I like pool better.

They also have two foosball tables near the entrance. I used to come here alot to play pool in college but I'd never really noticed the foosball tables until last night. If you're ever there, you HAVE to play it! It's really a lot of fun!


You get 4 balls for 100yen.