End of an Era

I completed my term of employment with my former company on May 31st and am now only days from returning the the United States. The past month has been otherworldly. I pretty much worked my final three weeks with only two days off, and at the end I was completely run down and my body was starting to protest in various ways. This was, of course, in addition to myself trying to do too much socially, as I remain intent in experiencing as much as possible and visiting with everyone before I leave.


Yesterday was Tony's birthday, and a bunch of us went to a professional baseball game to celebrate. It was Tokyo's Yakult Swallows versus ... the Bison? Buffalo? Cannot remember, just recall large furry herbavore from the midwest somewhere that started with a "B." The stadium initially struck me as quite small, which is a feeling I am not accustomed to when it comes to arenas of entertainment here. The crowd was lively and lived up to the expectations I had concerning baseball fans in Japan. Since clapping is so passe, the majority of spectators wielded two hollow plastic tubes covered in the logos of their favorite team. These said sticks were then vigorously slapped together in harmony to chants of encouragement led by the insane cheerleaders. It was loud. And fun. We sat in the bleachers, the cheap seats, but nobody there was sitting this one out - everybody was taking part. The experience contrasted sharply with my (limited) experiences with baseball back home. I am not aware of the capacity of the Swallows' stadium, but it had to be a third of the standard American ballpark - kinda jives with something I read a while back where U.S. teams were reducing arena capacity to create a more intimate and fun experience. Well, it seems to work.


When your team hits a home run, what can be more appropriate than a victory cheer involving umbrellas? From nowhere, hundreds of translucent plastic umbrellas appeared and were furiously brandished in the air. Fans here are just made of different stuff, I wager. I tip my hat, sirs.

More to come soon, lots to do, lots to blog.