Japan v. USA Swim Meet!

Last Saturday, I went with my roommate, Watanabe, to Osaka to see the Japan Itoman team race the USA NCSA All-American team. The meet was really great, and those kids were swimming DAMN fast. According to coaching legend, Bob Kizer, with whom I spoke, about 60% of the Japanese Olympic swim team comes from Itoman. The Americans swam really well, too. I was fortunate enough to chill and chat with Max and Jack, two awesome dudes from my old club, NTSC. They were both swimming really well, and each of them placed really well the meet. Watanabe was kind enough to buy some treats for the guys at a nearby convenience store, since the Americans didn't have any Japanese Yen yet. In fact, I acted as a sort of bank, when I swapped ¥4,000 for $40 (a damn good exchange rate for them), so they could buy some souvenirs before returning home.

Also, I was lucky enough to meet Misty Hyman! She won gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and she even let me snap a photo with her. It was really cool.

On our way home, we stopped at a big shopping district, and while Watanabe checked out a rather large bookstore, I visited the nearby videogame arcade. Oh boy, do these Japanese dominate all the games. The level of competitive play in your average Japanese arcade would astonish the American lay-gamer. Seriously, there are queues established with rope for the more popular games, and everybody wants to show off. It's ridiculous. Among many, many "new school" skill (guitar hero- and DDR-type) and fighting games, I managed to secure a spot on a rather shunted old Sega top-down space flight shooter (think 2008 Raiden). It was extremely difficult, though very enjoyable.

You bet your ass I got on the "Elagant Saloon 8000 Series" train.