This picture is from a press conference that we attended at Chiba Marine Stadium on Thursday. It was the day that the team announced who Hoshino, the national team's head coach, had chosen to represent Japan at the Beijing Olympics next month.
Seated at the table, from left to right are, Nishioka (ss), Satozaki (c) and Naruse (p). They were asked some boring questions by the lady from NHK, and then they did some posing in front of the hinomaru flag. Chiba will sorely miss those three in August, but every team is taking a hit during the olympics.
This photo isn't very clear, but it's a snapshot of a slice of pizza that I didn't eat the other day.
If you look closely, there's marshmallow and chocolate syrup on there.
I didn't go anywhere near it. Dave ate it.
This was one of the offerings on the lunch buffet at Shakey's in Takadanobaba.
Labels:
food,
oddities,
out and about
Stephen took me to the national stadium in Tokyo to see my first J-League game last night. It was actually quite good, to be honest with you.
He said that the crowd was a bit odd because the game wasn't being played at their home stadium (Ajinomoto Stadium), but I was impressed with how rambunctious they were.
Even though the defense was a bit shocking, the footy was mostly alright.
I would definitely be happy to go and see another game.
FC Tokyo and Gamba Osaka drew 1-1. FC Tokyo's goal came by way of Waseda University alum, Tokunaga, and was one of the best goals I've ever seen live.
Labels:
friends,
out and about,
sports
Kelly's band of teachers at Waseda University got absorbed by my band of teachers which means that she was able to cop an invite to the annual summer piss-up that is held at/near the end of the spring Tutorial English/Chinese semester.
This is a photo of her floating towards the after-party at the Cantina near Takadanobaba station.
That's Okuma Hall in the background.
Labels:
out and about,
parties,
work
I don't normally get all excited about hamburgers, but I'm so tired of McDonald's and Lotteria that little things like this make me happy.
A new Burger King outlet recently opened near Seibu-Shinjuku station. That's two in Shinjuku (by my count--I'm probably wrong though), and this new outlet, despite marking the border between the train station and the seediest part of the ward (Kabuki-cho), is 100% non-smoking. Well, except for those two tables out front of course.
This place used to be a Lotteria--located only about a hundred meters from the south exit of Seibu-Shinjuku station (go down the stairs, cross over to McDonald's and turn left).
I haven't been in there yet, but I will venture inside soon.
McDonald's still gets my 100 yen every morning when I buy coffee though.
Labels:
business,
consumerism,
food
2007 was the 10th year in a row in which the number of people who committed suicide broke the 30,000 mark.
The National Police Agency reported 33,093 suicides last year.
Most reports cite unspecified social pressures driving people to take their own lives. Very little seems to be discussed in terms of what can be done to help relieve said pressures. For years, the economy has been blamed for these unfortunate deaths. However, now that the economy is relatively stable (compared to the late 90's), it's obvious that the economy doesn't deserve the bulk of the blame.
Akita prefecture has been training its health professionals to recognize the signs of depression (isn't that a course in med school anyway?) since 2001. However, that northern prefecture of Japan has consistently had one of the highest suicide rates in the country.
Last year Akita had the second highest rate (suicides per 100,000 population) at 37.2 while Yamanashi, a prefecture nestled between Mt. Fuji and Western Tokyo, had a suicide rate of 39.
While the extra awareness on the part of doctors and nurses doesn't seem to be doing much, maybe the best way to reach people suffering from depression is to actually grab them.
Emergency technicians in the southern city of Fukuoka managed to stop a 38-year-old woman from jumping off the 12th floor of an office building in Hata-ku.
Their plan of attack was simple. They talked calmly to her until she took her eyes off them and then they lunged and grabbed her by the belt. Daring and crazy up on that ledge? Yes. Effective? You bet.
Now let's just hope she gets the help she really needs lest she climb back out there and try the same thing again.
[photo courtesy of Mainichi Newspaper]
Labels:
health,
life in Japan,
society
