Baseballin'

Now, as a Brit, baseball doesn't rank too highly on my list of favourite sports. All those people standing around doing a whole lotta nothing. All those zeros on the score board. All that strategy. All that time - a game lasts hours! I like my sports fast-paced, relatively simple and exciting. In other words, I love footy.

However, I gave baseball a chance, and after watching my third live game, I'm a little hooked...

All those people standing around doing nothing are waiting for an opportunity. All those zeros on the scoreboard are compensated for by a bunch of stats. All that strategy keeps your mind ticking over with possibilities. All that time - a whole afternoon drinking beer and catching up with friends!

But really I just go for the music and the atmosphere. Each batter has there own song, which blares out across the stadium as they come out to bat (any player that chooses a Destiny's Child song is a favourite of mine!). And those hardcore fans partying-it-up are fun to watch when there's not too much happening on the pitch. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the cheerleaders! Always wanted to be a cheerleader...

Of course, understanding the rules helps. I'm getting there!

Beach Trippin' (British Lobster Part Deux)

Allow me to back-track a little, Pulp Fiction stylee, to how I came to be at the beach...

Desperate for a break from the rigors of daily routine, I took myself off for a wee beach trip - search net; book hotel; buy train ticket; bugger off!

Three hours from Tokyo by train is a little town called Shimoda, famed as the birthplace of diplomatic relations between Japan and the US (Perry brought 9 war ships to gently persuade Japan to sign the treaty at Ryosenji Temple in 1854 - flirting with history!). So, I land in Shimoda, ask a few dumb questions in bad Japanese at tourist information, and then head off on my one man adventure.

First stop is the cable car to the top of Nesugata mountain (a large hill, really) with a park boasting beautiful views of Shimoda Bay. Now, this was my shiny new digi-cam's first outing, so within 10 minutes I'd taken no less than 25 pictures. Perhaps I was a tad over-excited. In another 2 minutes I'd deleted half of them. Back down the mountain and off to find kurofune - the black ship - a dodgy, two-bit, tourist-trap copy of the boat that Perry sailed to Shimoda in. Got a wee bit lost, but no problem, I'm fluent in Japanese, you know. Ha. So I harrassed a Japanese couple into helping me find the way, and, bless 'em, they actually walked me there. Had a nice little chit-chat on the way, of course I had to fake a lot of "so des ka"s, "honto"s and "watashi mo"s ("is that so"s, "really"s and "me too"s) to try and convince them that I actually understood what they were saying!!! Anywho, boat was fun, bit choppy and chilly, mind.

After meandering around Shimoda a litle more, taking a couple of wrong turns and asking more directions, I evetually stumbled upon Perry Road, a pretty little canal street with lots of old wooden buildings and coffee shops (no Starbucks -hooray!). Here I met Sushi man. Sushi man has a little sushi shop just off Perry Road, the kind of shop us foreign folk have to be a little brave to go into - no picture menu and no English! But luckily I was feeling brave, so I went in. The place was empty, except for Mr. and Mrs. Sushi. Timidly, I sat down and asked for a little sushi, to which Sushi man replies, "What kind of sushi?". Erm.... "nan demo wa ii desu" ("anything's ok" - good save!). So I ate sushi. Very good sushi. Had a nice little chat with Sushi man, mostly the basics, where do you live, how long have you been in Japan, are you American (my favourite question!). Then we somehow come to the topic of Perry. Political history. Dangerous ground. Not to mention way beyond the realms of my Japanese vocabulary. America forced Japan to sign a trade agreement - I said it was a little bad, he said it was very good. End of discussion. Luckily there were some freaky lobster things milling around in the tank next to me, so I asked him what they were (another good save!).

So, after eating enough to feed a small army, and snapping a pic of Sushi man, I hauled ass back out into the heat.

Next stop; Shirahama.

Flip-flops in the rain.

Ain't that just a bitch?

British Lobster

i-Pod Mini: green. Digi-cam: silver. Japanese textbook: pink. Lonely Planet guide: blue. Me: red, red, red.

Spot the British tourist at the beach!

Shirahama; a beautiful white beach only 3 hours from the frantic pace of Tokyo but a whole world away. Lovely. Time for some serious sunbathing.

It was hot, but early in the day, a pretty strong breeze, pretty cloudy, so not too hot. Hence, one was not quite so careful as one should've been. After swimming in the sea, sleeping on the beach, swimming in the sea, reading on the beach, swimming in the sea, and studying on the beach, I'd turned quite a nice shade of red. But, of course, only on one side (it's easier to read laying on your stomach, you know?)! And of course I have a snowy-white arse and bow shape on my back where my bikini had been tied. Nice.

Lesson learned. For now...