Day 11: Football (アメフト)

Welcome back, everyone. Today I got to go watch some sports. Since I’m here in Japan, I wanted to watch something culturally relevant. So what better way to bask myself in the Japanese way than…American football!  

Alright so maybe American football isn’t so traditional here, but it’s still interesting to see the Japanese play. Murray’s son, Josiah, goes to a university a little ways from here and they play American football, so we went to a see a game today. The rules are, of course, the same as anywhere, but it’s intriguing to see the small idiosyncrasies noticeable only here in Japan. The most noticeable thing is how low the all-around “energy” is compared to America. Of course crowds gasp and get excited if something unexpected happens, but there’s no constant roar like you’d hear in the States—And you certainly won’t find a rabid fan ripping his shirt off and dancing with his body paint on. Japan likes to maintain a quiet, reserved persona, and it’s even evident at sports events. The most noise was being made by the cheer-squad. Speaking of which—Check out this guy who leads the crowd in cheers. He’s awesome. 

In any case, our team slaughtered the opposition. I hear that they’re the best team in their league, so it makes sense.  

I got to ride the train system quite a bit today as well, which was beneficial. It’s something I can always learn more about, as it can basically get me anywhere in Japan—For a price of course. It can be a little overwhelming at first trying to read what you need to read and then go where you need to go, but I think I’m getting the hang of it. 

Tomorrow’s Sunday, I just remembered. Maybe I can try to give you guys an idea of what our service is like at Agape.  In the meantime, pictures.

Football!

The mountains around the field were breathtaking.

This is a popular shopping square in Myodani Station--The closest station to where I live.

Oh--And for those of you praying for the Bible study I was supposed to have today, I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, we had to cancel due to some complications. I assure you that these complications weren't "cop outs" by either party and we hope to reschedule--So I'll keep you all posted on that. Thanks for the prayer.

つづく。見ていますか?　この偽光。