Sports

[Dogen Z]

Why are there topics for comfort women, whaling, wai wai, and juvenile crime but no topics for sports or fashion?

Anyway, here's TENNIS

Teenager Kei Nishikori from Japan made a big splash at the U.S. Open this year by advancing to the round of 16 after defeating the no. 5 player in the world. He shows some characteristics move of Michael Chang covering the court quickly and easily and also has some of the flair of Agassi not being afraid of going to the net and hitting winning shots off the ground. I'm sure we'll here more about him in the future. Here's a vid of his game at the Open.

[youtube]_NFfSwKu9pw&feature=related[/youtube]

 

[Dogen Z]

Skiing

Nishikori currently is in another tournament (in Japan, Oct 2008) and will possibly have a rematch with David Ferrer (the guy he beat at the U.S. Open). Good luck, Kei!

However, this post is about another sport--skiing in Japan. Here's a video:

 

[Dogen Z]

Sumo

Neither Nishikori nor Ferrer made it to the semifinals of the Japan Open so there was no rematch. : (

On to sumo . Recently, a former Russian sumo wrestler has claimed that his bouts were rigged. If he can back up his claim in a pending lawsuit against the sumo federation, it will be a real scandal.

Of course, rumors about sumo being rigged has been around for years, especially after the highly suspicious deaths of 2 sumo wrestlers at nearly the same time. In their book, Freakonomics, Levitt and Dubner go to some length showing how sumo match outcomes over a number of years are statistically extraordinary and extremely suspicious.

 

[Dogen Z]

Formula 1 Racing

The F1 automobile Japan Grand Prix race will take place this Sunday, Oct. 12th at Toyota's Fuji International Speedway with Mt. Fuji in the background. If you're looking for something to do, go to Gotemba and watch it. (Then you can check out the Outlet Mall.)

Hamilton Lewis, the McClaren Team defending champ will be there and have a kind of grudge match against the Brazilian Pro Race driver who lost in Singapore.

Sounds like a great event.

 

[Dogen Z]

Japan Grand Prix 2008

The race is over and neither Hamilton nor his Brazilian rival, Massa, won. Actually, they collided with each other and were both penalized. Accident? Deliberate? Who knows? ☝ Anyway, spectators had a good time.

This is what the course is like:



This was what the event was like:

 

[Dogen Z]

Cycling

A safer sport than F1 racing is cycling.
Here's a vid of cycling in Tokyo.

Is it safer?☝ You decide.

 

[Dogen Z]

kendo

Japanese sports includes, of course, martial arts and the World Karate Championship to be held at Budokan in Tokyo is coming up very soon. However, I couldn't find a vid clip on karate that I liked. OTOH, I found this very good clip on kendo.




(For some reason, this clip can't be embedded. Sorry)

 

[Dogen Z]

skating

Figure skating is a kind of sport--an artistic sport. Besides having to have special physical skills you need to be graceful and expressive. One of the recent stars in figure skating who has all these traits is teenager Asada Mao.

Here's one of her performances. BTW, she is a gold medalist.

 

[Dogen Z]

Snow!

We've heard bad news recently about the loss of sponsorship to some sports because of the severe recession. Volleyball, ice hockey, even F1 racing have been jeapordized. It's a bad time for a lot of sports. I hope the athletes can somehow hang in there.

We've also had a late start to skiing this year due to lack of snow. But finally, the snow is here! Skiers/snowboarders will be able to have a fine New Year's holiday on the slopes.

I don't know who the couple in this video are but it's a fine vid. I hope they don't mind me posting it here.

[youtube]v9zNVg3t8yw&feature=related[/youtube]

 

[Dogen Z]

Winter workout

If there's no snow or ice around; or if you're not into skiing, snowboarding, or skating, what to do in the cold winter climate?

Well, you don't want to be outdoor, although there are some who go golfing (more a game than a sport, imo, but 17 y.o. Ryo Ishakawa who won 100M yen as a pro golfer is pretty cool) and there are some who go surfing in Hokkaido with double layer wetsuits (check youtube). If you're sensible, you might head to the gym for weekly workouts. Here's a list of sports clubs around Tokyo to help keep you in shape.

List of fitness clubs in Tokyo - PLAZA HOMES

Most gyms have facilities similar to deluxe sentos (public baths) to relax after your workout. That alone might be worth membership.

 

[maushan3]

Nice and dedicated thread.

There is indeed a sports section on the Chit-Chat section.

Mauricio

 

[Dogen Z]

Hang Gliding from Mt. Fuji

Nice and dedicated thread.
There is indeed a sports section on the Chit-Chat section.

The last time I checked, the sports discussion in Chit-Chat was about chances of players, etc. of teams in soccer or baseball.

This is a more general thread about sports in Japan, so it's not chit-chat. But thanks for the compliment.

Tokoro de, here's a sport that might interest you once the snow and ice melts--Hang Gliding. I have to confess that I'd be a little frightened to try it
This girl, though, seems to have enjoyed it.

 

[Amigo]

THIS VIDEO IS DEDICATED TO THE TWO BEST TENNIS PLAYERS IN HISTORY.

¡FEDERER, YOU ALREADY WILL BE ALWAYS A CHAMPION!

AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS 2009


[youtube]Wch0GI2Co1Y&feature=related[/youtube]

 

[Dogen Z]

Batsu!

Now, Amigo, I'm sure you're quite intelligent so I shouldn't have to tell you this. The titles at the top of this webpage, Japan Reference and Japan Forum, means these threads should be Japan related, right?

I think Rafa is a great, charismatic tennis player and I'm happy that he won the Australian Open (beating Federer, no less). But, HE DIDN'T SHOW UP AT THE LAST PRO TOURNAMENT IN JAPAN. So his video shouldn't be on this thread. Comprende?

窶堙懌?堋?ﾂ、窶堙ｭ窶堋ｩ窶堙ｩ窶堙遺?堙ｧ窶堋｢窶堋｢ﾂ。ﾂ債｡窶忸窶堙遺?堙ｱ窶堋ｩ窶愿ｺ窶怒窶堙娯?堋ｱ窶堙?鞘?倪?堋｢窶堙??堋ｭ窶堋ｾ窶堋ｳ窶堋｢ﾂ。ﾂ 窶堋ｶ窶堙｡窶堋?窶堙仰。(BTW, let's stop writing in caps. It's considered rude. )ﾂ

 

[Amigo]

Firstly, thank you to consider that I'm intelligent. I considered you are too for creating this good thread, that's why I wanted to post here, but...
I've never heard that to write in capital letter is a rude thing.
Is the first time I hear that. So, to me, I wasn't rude. I'm just not a rude person. If you think it is rude, ok, I'll stop to do it. I considered caps as a way of emphasis, nothing more.
Precisely becase he didn't show up at the last pro tournament in Japan I wanted to show this in a sense of apologize or something like that.
I didn't mind to be impolite in any cases. But if you think so, the only thing I can do is to say I'm sorry.

Btw, how may I get it removed from here?

Thank you.

 

[Dogen Z]

Btw, how may I get it removed from here?

Don't worry about it. Just focus more on Japan the next time.

 

[Amigo]

Don't worry about it. Just focus more on Japan the next time.

窶板ｹ窶ｰﾃｰﾂ！

Soccer

Great match between Osaka Gamba and one of the best soccer team in the world, Manchester United... 1st-half...

 

[Amigo]

Even when the score was 5-1 against Osaka Gamba they never gave up till the end and the score finished quite different...2nd-half...

It isn't easy to play a good match against Manchester United...

[youtube]hHbpboq8bfU&feature=related[/youtube]

 

[Dogen Z]

Soccer

Amigo pointed out that Japan is a strong soccer nation. In fact, soccer might be the 2nd most popular sport after baseball, while football, as I know it (yeah, USA!), lags far behind.

There's a kind of elegance to soccer because it's not as physical as American football. This finese is demonstrated in this music video.



BTW, the group in the video is called Dragon Ash and it's performing for free next week (Mar. 3rd) at Yoyogi Koen at about 3:40 pm.

 

[Dogen Z]

Sailing

Now that the weather's warmer, you may feel like doing some sailing.



Don't have a boat, or don't know how to sail?
Contact these guys, they may be able to help you.

http://sailco.com/english/engindex.html

 

[Dogen Z]

Sufing

Another marine sport, surfing, is BIG in Japan. If you need proof, go to Shonan on a summer weekend and you'll see a jillion surfers in the water even if the waves are just 1-foot tall. You probably can find better waves and cleaner water on the other side of Tokyo Bay in Chiba.

Here's a vid showing surfing in Chiba. The waves in vid were beginner size but you can plainly see that the surfing culture has become a part of Japan. The narrator sounds Aussie but he might be from NZ, and he's bilingual.

 

[Dogen Z]

Cycling

Another big sport in Japan is cycling as shown in an earlier post. As the weather keeps getting warmer and you feel the need to get out there and be economical (after initial expense) and environmentally friendly, you could try the increasingly popular sport of cycling.



[This Cannondale Synapse 3 retails for approx. ￥400K in Japan and it's not the top of the line. In the States you could get it for almost half that amount. So if you're coming to Japan for an extended period and want to do some cycling, you may want to bring a bike from the States.]

Some sites to get you started in cycling groups in Japan:

Cycle Tokyo Cycle Tokyo !
Japan Cycling Navigator Japan Cycling Navigator:Home
Tokyo Cycling Club Tokyo Cycling Club
Japan Cycling Association (Nihongo) JCA

 

[Dogen Z]

Tennis

For those interested in playing tennis in Tokyo, I've found the following useful links.
Dan Harris' website http://www.tokyotennis.com/homemain.htm
Krissman USPTA Tennis Tennis in Tokyo|Roppongi Hiroo|English Lesson|Adult & Youth Classes

For those in other Japanese cities, I can only suggest an inquiry at your local ward office, sorry.

 

[Dogen Z]

24-hour Nurburgring Endurance

Watch the Lexus LF-A prototype win best of class in this year's 24-hour Nurburgring Endurance in this video




[*NOTE - FYI , Asahi News reported that Toyota may have to forego sponsoring the F1 race and its Fuji International Speedway in 2010 because of unfavorable economic conditions. ]

 

[Dogen Z]

Sports Day

As in most other countries, Japan takes sports very seriously. So seriously in fact, there's a national holiday called heath and sports day (Taiku no Hi、体育の日）, which is coming up next week. During this holiday most schools hold sporting competitions involving the whole school and parents of the schools kids attend to cheer on the student competitors. It's usually a fun day for all.

Someone made this cute video that gives an idea of what this event is like.