Last Training Session
It's a Bank Holiday so plenty of time to catch up on the weekend's footy training in Niigata City.
On my journey up I was surprised at how differently the snow had affected different parts of the ken. Tokamachi has had it light the last couple of days, but snow is still around. There was a little snow flurry in Kawaguchi and Ojiya which made driving a little difficult. This eased off at Nagaoka and past Nagaoka, there was very little snow at all. By the time I got to the Big Swan training pitches, there was no snow to be seen.
There was something omoshiroi (interesting) at the training pitches; a two person TV crew. As part of our promotion for Saitama, Joe and Pete had convinced the local BSN news team to come to see one of our training sessions. So, armed with a microphone and a camera, the two-person crew recorded our three hour training session; bit of passing practice, bit of holding the ball practice, shot and PK practice and finally a little match. They also conducted some interviews with the players and even managed to collar me at one point. They asked where I came from (Hull), who my favourite team was (Hull City), what position I played (right sideback), who did I want to play like in the tournament (Ashley Cole, with a right foot) and what was my goal at the tournament (to win of course). I answered all these questions whilst proudly wearing my City shirt! The boys at home will be so proud! We also tried to do a "Pheonix from the Flames" of the John Smiths "'Ave it" advert. It wasn't quite perfect, but feckin' funny.
Afterwards we had onsen and then headed out for some beers round Niigata City. First stop was an interesting 1950's themed Japanese bar. It had post-war movie posters and lots of Astro Boy tin toys dotted around the place. I want to go back there. Then on to Shame for a few more drinks and to meet up with ALTs I havent seen since before Christmas.
On Sunday I woke up on Holly's floor. Ben stayed over too so after a cup of tea we both headed out to find my car and go to the Big Swan for our final training session. It had snowed in Niigata over night and most people were quite excited about it. I was a bit unimpressed since only about an inch or so had fallen; that's nowt compared to what I have outside my doorstep!
Joe trained us pretty hard; lots of running, lots of shuttle runs, lots of b@stard star jumps. We had a little game in the snow at the end. Afterwards, we went to onsen, talked footy and then I drove back to Tokamachi
The drive back was snowier than the drive up. I had a call on the way back from Aimee inviting me round to her's for dinner with Annie. Aimee had made ?? which is a really nice japanese style stew. It was delicious. Just as I was about to go home, Aimee had a call from Debs. She was having trouble with her car in the snow and needed some help digging it out. Amiee and Annie had been drinking and I was leaving anyways so I volunteered to help out.
The parking area for Debbie's flat was full of snow. She managed to get most of a path clear, but managed to get her car stuck. A bit more clearing and plenty of power from teh car and it was free. Now on to Tokamachi station to help Erik dig his car out.
Erik had just got back from his Christmas holidays in America. He'd parked his car at the station and when he left there was no snow. Around two or three feet of snow had fallen since, so he was having a bit of trouble, especially without any tools. Debs and I arrived with a couple of shovels. The three of us managed to clear the driver's side and behind the car so Erik could get in and pull the car out. It worked! And it left a funny imprint in teh snow where front of teh car had been. A bit more clearing from the roof of the car and Erik was ready to go home.
When I got back to my flat I found that the snow had built up in front of my garage and I couldn't put my car away straight away. I was fed up with clearing snow and I was tired so I parked my car infront of the flat. I obstructed my neighbours garage a little, but I guessed that because it was midnight and his car wasn't in the garage, we was probably away for the weekend and my car would be fine until the morning. And if there was a problem, we could come and knock on my door. I was tired and all I wanted to do was sleep.
So I went to bed. I was woken today by a call from my supervisor. She had gone to Tsunan, past my flat, and noticed where my car was. She rang me to tell me that I should clear the snow and move my car because it was a problem. I told her I got back from Niigata late last night, that it was too late to clear the snow so I would do it when I woke up. She said "OK" and apologised for waking me. I went back to sleep.
I next woke to the sound of the garage opening. Was my neighbour back? I got up and dressed and went outside. It was a couple of guys clear the snow from around my flat so I started to help them. After a couple of hours, we had all the snow around my flat and on the roof cleared and my car in the garage. The guys gave me a couple of beers to say thanks for my help, so I'll save them for after the tournament.
It really reminded me how much snow there was in Tokamachi and how so much of it can cause a problem. And this is just the start. The snow is expected to last until mid-March, and even then it'll take time for it to melt. I need to find a way to start liking it before the novelty wears off.
On my journey up I was surprised at how differently the snow had affected different parts of the ken. Tokamachi has had it light the last couple of days, but snow is still around. There was a little snow flurry in Kawaguchi and Ojiya which made driving a little difficult. This eased off at Nagaoka and past Nagaoka, there was very little snow at all. By the time I got to the Big Swan training pitches, there was no snow to be seen.
There was something omoshiroi (interesting) at the training pitches; a two person TV crew. As part of our promotion for Saitama, Joe and Pete had convinced the local BSN news team to come to see one of our training sessions. So, armed with a microphone and a camera, the two-person crew recorded our three hour training session; bit of passing practice, bit of holding the ball practice, shot and PK practice and finally a little match. They also conducted some interviews with the players and even managed to collar me at one point. They asked where I came from (Hull), who my favourite team was (Hull City), what position I played (right sideback), who did I want to play like in the tournament (Ashley Cole, with a right foot) and what was my goal at the tournament (to win of course). I answered all these questions whilst proudly wearing my City shirt! The boys at home will be so proud! We also tried to do a "Pheonix from the Flames" of the John Smiths "'Ave it" advert. It wasn't quite perfect, but feckin' funny.
Afterwards we had onsen and then headed out for some beers round Niigata City. First stop was an interesting 1950's themed Japanese bar. It had post-war movie posters and lots of Astro Boy tin toys dotted around the place. I want to go back there. Then on to Shame for a few more drinks and to meet up with ALTs I havent seen since before Christmas.
On Sunday I woke up on Holly's floor. Ben stayed over too so after a cup of tea we both headed out to find my car and go to the Big Swan for our final training session. It had snowed in Niigata over night and most people were quite excited about it. I was a bit unimpressed since only about an inch or so had fallen; that's nowt compared to what I have outside my doorstep!
Joe trained us pretty hard; lots of running, lots of shuttle runs, lots of b@stard star jumps. We had a little game in the snow at the end. Afterwards, we went to onsen, talked footy and then I drove back to Tokamachi
The drive back was snowier than the drive up. I had a call on the way back from Aimee inviting me round to her's for dinner with Annie. Aimee had made ?? which is a really nice japanese style stew. It was delicious. Just as I was about to go home, Aimee had a call from Debs. She was having trouble with her car in the snow and needed some help digging it out. Amiee and Annie had been drinking and I was leaving anyways so I volunteered to help out.
The parking area for Debbie's flat was full of snow. She managed to get most of a path clear, but managed to get her car stuck. A bit more clearing and plenty of power from teh car and it was free. Now on to Tokamachi station to help Erik dig his car out.
Erik had just got back from his Christmas holidays in America. He'd parked his car at the station and when he left there was no snow. Around two or three feet of snow had fallen since, so he was having a bit of trouble, especially without any tools. Debs and I arrived with a couple of shovels. The three of us managed to clear the driver's side and behind the car so Erik could get in and pull the car out. It worked! And it left a funny imprint in teh snow where front of teh car had been. A bit more clearing from the roof of the car and Erik was ready to go home.
When I got back to my flat I found that the snow had built up in front of my garage and I couldn't put my car away straight away. I was fed up with clearing snow and I was tired so I parked my car infront of the flat. I obstructed my neighbours garage a little, but I guessed that because it was midnight and his car wasn't in the garage, we was probably away for the weekend and my car would be fine until the morning. And if there was a problem, we could come and knock on my door. I was tired and all I wanted to do was sleep.
So I went to bed. I was woken today by a call from my supervisor. She had gone to Tsunan, past my flat, and noticed where my car was. She rang me to tell me that I should clear the snow and move my car because it was a problem. I told her I got back from Niigata late last night, that it was too late to clear the snow so I would do it when I woke up. She said "OK" and apologised for waking me. I went back to sleep.
I next woke to the sound of the garage opening. Was my neighbour back? I got up and dressed and went outside. It was a couple of guys clear the snow from around my flat so I started to help them. After a couple of hours, we had all the snow around my flat and on the roof cleared and my car in the garage. The guys gave me a couple of beers to say thanks for my help, so I'll save them for after the tournament.
It really reminded me how much snow there was in Tokamachi and how so much of it can cause a problem. And this is just the start. The snow is expected to last until mid-March, and even then it'll take time for it to melt. I need to find a way to start liking it before the novelty wears off.
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