#samurai baseball

[takezero12]

2019オールスターのファン投票で梅ちゃんとルーキー近本が選ばれた！！Pジョンソンも！！大山と西も惜しかったな。

オールスターめっちゃ観に行きたいけど日本シリーズより倍率高いから無理やろねー。

これで監督が矢野やったらホンマにガッツ出まくりやで！！

しかし亀山もさることながら藪…あんなにイケメンだった藪…どうしたん？笑

なんしかオールスター楽しみで仕方ない！

[takezero12]

ファン投票 中間発表 | マイナビオールスターゲーム2019

ファン投票 中間発表 | マイナビオールスターゲーム2019

今年のオールスターほんまに楽しみやー！！

阪神勢めっちゃ人気あるやん！！！

梅ちゃん、ジョンソン、西、青柳、大山…ほぼ全員揃うやん！！

つか近本の人気！！！

そりゃそうか！結果出してるもんなー。

最優秀新人賞も盗塁王もかっさらってくれー！

おーい。

秋山拓巳。

早く戻ってこい！！！

甲子園が待ってるぞ。

[takezero12]

今日の試合は最高やった！

ほんまにええ試合やった！

いてまえ打線が復活やな！

ありがとう！阪神タイガース！

ありがとう！ありがとう！

めっちゃすっきゃねん阪神！！

[takezero12]

横浜DeNAベイスターズ (@baystars_official) • Instagram photos and videos

78.4k Followers, 32 Following, 469 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from 横浜DeNAベイスターズ (@baystars_official)

横浜いちいちカッコいい…

ライジングテーマもカッコええ…

ハマっ子お洒落かよ！！！

こちとら阪神はわっしょいわっしょいじゃい！！！

[takezero12]

大船渡・佐々木U18高校日本代表１次候補入り有力 - 高校野球 : 日刊スポーツ

U18高校日本代表第1次候補選手に、大船渡（岩手）の最速157キロ右腕・佐々木朗希投手（3年）の選出が有

高校野球 投手 四天王

岩手 大船渡

佐々木朗希

センバツ出場してはいないが彼は本物の怪物

[takezero12]

阪神タイガース球団の皆様

阪神タイガースファンの皆様

プロ野球ファンの皆様

2018年もありがとうございました！

来年も宜しくお願いします！

阪神の球団裏方の方々、選手、コーチ陣、監督、来年2019年はホンマに優勝を目指して頑張って下さい！

ほんまファン一丸となって応援してるんで！

お願いします！

絶対勝つぞ！タイガース！

[arickert93]

Year 3: Winter Updates

Holy crap, it sure has been a while! I have been writing for GaijinPot, but have definitely been neglecting my personal blog and thought I would reach out from the void to let the three people who occasionally read this know that I am alive. Update from the previous blog: I am out to a bunch of other teachers now, and nobody has reacted whatsoever, or has followed up my coming out with any direct questions. At least I still have a job (knock on wood). Anyway, here’s some shit I did recently!

1. I went to a baseball game!

Baseball is a toss-up for me. On the one-hand, I still cringe when I think back to my five-year-old little league that I was FORCED to do by my dad. I resented him so much for it that I literally lied down in the outfield, hoping a ball would fall on me and kill me. My family still loves to remind me of this even to this day in fond jest of how freaking weird I was and am.

That said, when a coworker invited me and my new Australian co-ALT to a baseball game in Tokyo, partially because he wanted someone to talk to other than the friend he normally went with, I said yes! I had plans years ago during my first trip to Japan to see a game in Kobe, but it was cancelled due to rain. At the time, I was relieved because I really didn’t want to go, but I have changed since them. Honestly, anything that gets me out of the house is fine at this point.

Sorry for the bad light! 

We went to the Tokyo Dome near Suidobashi station. It was an Asia League game between Japan and Taipei, and was a surprisingly entertaining game! Our coworker actually paid for our tickets (what a guy!) and even through in the two free baseball Jerseys that were included with his purchase! We strolled around in our baseball garb and treated ourselves to some chicken teriyaki, Japanese beer, and takoyaki (fried octopus dumplings). Japan performed really well and, with a little help from our friend alcohol, we were actually able to get excited and care about who was hitting balls and scoring points!

Outside, there was actually a theme park (with roller coasters and everything) and lovely Christmas lights. By this point, though, I was already drunk and my phone sucks, so I wasn’t really able to take a good photo.

2. I visited a fox village!

Some friends spontaneously invited me to a trip to the Zao Fox Village in Miyagi Prefecture. We took the shinkansen, had lots of beer and wine, stayed in a super fancy ryokan with lovely outdoor baths, and woke up bright and early the next morning to visit what was essentially a fox zoo.

Most of the foxes are kept in the main yard where guests can also enter.

It was pretty cool, albeit a bit sad. If you research Zao Fox Village, a few other people also talk about how it doesn’t feel like the most humane joint in the world. The number of foxes is actually far too high for the space they are given, with  many of them sporting injuries from food fights or turf brawls. Foxes are not pack animals, as many of you know. 

If I had my way, I would cut the number of foxes down to a third. I think it would still be just as impressive. I also hope that the business accepts injured foxes for rehabilitation. If not, they should.

Afterwards, we went to Shiroishi, which was a tiny town and nearby shinkansen station. We visited a castle (aptly named Shiroi Castle) and walked around a bit. 

I stupidly didn’t actually take a picture of the castle itself. You can look it up! Isn’t this window pretty though? The steps to the top floor were crazy steep, so be grateful. I almost died.

3. I ran a 10k!

I also did this my first year (and probably wrote about it to be honest) but Bek and I, being avid runners, decided to join our students in their 10k last Sunday. In Japan, high schools are expected to participate in a nearby marathon as part of a school event. The distance they are made to run, but for our school it was a 5k for girls and a 10k for boys.

Lots of people, including Bek and I, would raise their eyebrows upon hearing this. Why in God’s name would girls be expected to run such a dramatically shorter distance? Bek, more determined than ever, charged through the run despite having a sore ankle. Our final time was around 54 minutes, which was 4 minutes less than my previous time two years ago! Not terrible!

I have to shout out to Bek as the MVP of this entire post, actually. She is such an active personality, and has taught me so much since I met her! We sure have gone on a number of adventures together, and I’ve only known her for a few months! She definitely reminds me that the best part of working abroad is the people you meet, and the memories you make. I hope all of you also make some pleasant memories this Christmas season! Until next time!