Take Me Out to the Ball Game Part 2

One of the things that I wanted to do with my friends was a baseball game. Bridget and I went to one in Tokyo and when I was in Korea (more to come on that later) I went to one and honestly I feel like they are a must do if you ever come here. I used to go Nats games but I never really watched the game, to be honest the last few times I went (a few seasons ago) I basically hung out at the bar that overlooked the field but here you have no choice but to get into it!

When Bridget and I were in Tokyo we were (extremly) lucky to have the concierge at Conrad get our tickets for us. When they offered us the choice of getting our own tickets or having them get them it was a no brainer, we were living it up and being lazy! O how I miss you Conrad concierge! On base I am very fortunate to have Hiroe, she is wonderful and is our Information and Referral specialist. Hiroe is also one of my coworkers so at one of our morning meetings, which are inappropriately called 10 minutes together since the average meeting is about an hour, I asked her how to get tickets. In order to buy tickets for baseball games you have to buy them at a convenience store: Family Mart, 7-11, Lawsons but my 6 words of Japanese are not sufficient for this task. Hiroe wrote it out for me in Japanese and I walked into 7-11 and just handed the paper over and the lovely 7-11 employee just did everything for me and even somehow translated name when I said it to him. There are two types of tickets: reserved tickets and unreserved; the difference is with unreserved tickets you don't actually have a seat but you have to stand in line (maybe for a few hours) and when the gates open you might be lucky enough to get a seat. I was very very fortunate to get reserved seats in the right outfield because I was told it was sold out.

The game was awesome though the Hiroshima Carps lost! However, just like Tokyo the fans are totally 150% into the game. The difference here is that we were BAKING in the sun but when the sun finally went down it was so nice out.

It was so hot out and the Japanese wear these sweat towels on their heads or around their necks. I bought one for Andrea because she was definitely not fairing well in the sun, ummmmmm aren't I the pale one?!?! So Happy Birthday Andrea!

At the 7th inning each team fills up these balloons, does a routine with them, and then lets them go into the air and then people clear them off the field. I was unsure of when to actually do this so I told Alison to do it but it was too early and she let hers go when the other team did. I figured it out (too late) that you do it at the 7th inning right before your team goes up to bat. The winning team also did it again at the end of the game. There was a little girl (maybe around 7) sitting in front of us with her mom and brothers and she kept looking at me like I had 4 heads so I decided to be nice and give her our extra one (they come in a 4 pack). At first she shook her head and looked at her mom and her mom smiled and gigled and told her she could take it so she did and she had the biggest smile on her face. At one point she had 2 and kept playing with them, I really enjoyed watching her with it!

We couldn't figure out the reason why the Hiroshima Carp mascot looks just like the Philly Fanatic.

Japan is Located on the Sun

When Andrea and Alison were here (I usually refer to them as "The Girls" to Bridget) we only had a few days so we had to jam pack a lot it and it was also super hot. I have been saying all summer how hot it is here and everyone back on the East Coast tells me how hot it is there; however, I find Japan indescribable. During rainy season (June to August) it is in the mid 70's to low 80's; however, you know that AWFUL humid feeling right before it rains well it is like that all the time and it rains all the time but that feeling never goes away (and no sun!). Now it is slightly humid but when that sun is out it is H*O*T,,,HOT HOT HOT! Andrea said it perfectly when she said Japan was not the land of the rising sun but the land where the sun actually is (I told this to my Japanese travel people and they were laughing and said it was so right). One thing that the Japanese use to combat this sun and sweat are little mini wash cloths that are sweat cltohs. It took me forever to get on this bandwagon but I am so glad I did and I bought the girls some for their trip. When I first gave them their sweat cloths they looked at me like I had 4 heads but I definitely think they appreciated them!

On the first day of their trip, also the sunniest and hottest, we headed to Hiroshima. In addition to the Peace Park we also went to Hiroshima Castle and saw some beautiful views and more importantly, had a nice breeze at the top! The girls said that the Pepsi they bought up their was the best they ever had because it was so cold.

Of course since it is me there is always something interesting going on and now I am proud to announce that I will once again be on tv. When we were at the museum we spotted a Japanese television crew well this guy came over to me and Andrea and told us that he was a reporter in Hiroshima and was making a video for foreign tourists and would I mind giving some of my thoughts. I said yes and Andrea said no...........thanks buddy. Well he wanted me to go through the museum more and so I did and then they ended up following us around throughout the entire thing, seriously I think I am the video!!! He then asked me questions what I thought about the museum, what I liked etc. He also asked me where I was from and when I said Washington DC he said "So you might have heard that the US dropped the bomb how do you feel about that?" O boy!! So if you ever see a video for the museum see if you see me and at least this time I wasn't working out!

All by the Peace Park there were these old men just sitting there with vests on and were clicking their counters when people walked by..........so very random.



Oragimi peace birds, I saw that you can leave them there and register them. they are behind the Children's Memorial.



Hiroshima Castle: also called Carp Castle. It was the home of the daimyō (feudal lord) of the Hiroshima han. Originally constructed in the 1590s, the castle was destroyed in the atomic bombing in 1945. It was rebuilt in 1958, a replica of the original which now serves as a museum of Hiroshima's history prior to World War II.

From Destruction Comes Peace

Awhile back I went to Hiroshima and because of my laziness and all of my adventures I didn't get to blog about it yet. However, that worked out well because today is the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 am Hiroshima was changed forever when it was hit by the atomic bomb. Even though there was all of this destruction Hiroshima it is an extremely peaceful place. I arrived at Peace Park after walking thru a busy arcade of restaurants and stores and the feeling that I was immediately hit with was one of being serene. The Peace Park is gorgeous and with all the beauty you have to remember what actually happened there. Also, the museum is not anti-American at all but instead talks about what happened when it was bombed and the need to stop nuclear bombs in the future. It really is an understatement to say that this is an extremely peaceful and serene place.

Since this is me, I of course have a story about one of my silly antics. When I went to Hiroshima I was given a map that had the Starbucks highlighted on it. So on my way to the park I stopped to look at the map to see where it was. So there I am in the middle of the arcade about 1000 meters from the park looking for a Starbucks and I must have looked so confused looking at the map that an American came up to me to see if I needed help. I was too embarrassed to tell him that just feet away from the destruction of the bomb I was looking for Starbucks so I told him I was fine.

Also, when I was in Hiroshima I was approached by three different groups of college students from Hiroshima University. They interviewed me on my favorite food, sports teams, and what I thought about Hiroshima. They also took pictures with me so I am all over some class projects!

The Children's Memorial:




Views of and around the Peace Park:














The Bell