96th Koshien Spring Invitational

baseball was such a huge part of my childhood. moving to japan, i knew that i wanted to reconnect and tap into the ballpark culture at some point. luckily koshien, the host stadium for both the high school summer championship and spring invitational, is only a 20 minute train away.

i got a bit emotional watching and being back in the stadium. prior to last month, i hadn’t thrown or been near a baseball field since graduating high school. the sport carries a lot of memories for me. vivid ones that when i reflect on them, mean more now than they did at the time.

i’m not sure when or if i’ll ever be able to unpack and dissect all that the sport meant to me and my family. i know that a lot of attitudes and perspectives about my adult life are rooted in my experiences through baseball. needless to say, i’m thankful. i’m glad to be in japan where i can be around the sport and its culture again, in a way that i still remember from what seems like lifetimes ago.

 
 
 
 

tokyo for a weekend.

spent two nights in tokyo to reunite with colleagues and a student from shanghai. last time i was there i was feeling pretty shitty so i didn’t really feel like i got the most out of my visit. weather was wet and rainy throughout my stay and cherry blossoms are late this year because of the cooler weather that typically doesn’t extend this deep into the year. regardless, walked around the naka-meguro area after visiting the wacko maria store, which i’ve been meaning to check out but never had the time.

i’ve been to tokyo a few times and feel guilty visiting the same spots and areas time and time again. this trip, although short, was nice considering that i visited some new places. picked up some coffee and fuglen which was a popular spot but got there earlier enough to avoid the really big crowds. had to chase down a foreign guy because i caught him in the act of trying to switch out my umbrella with his. i sat by the window specifically for this reason. lol, scrub didn’t get confrontational but i definitely debated. visited the kapital store for the first time and grabbed a couple of short sleeve button ups. very cool place and hope to visit the kyoto and kojima shops down the line.

 
 

kyoto in march.

one night in kyoto to visit raimu and his new club, whizz. still pretty cold in mid-march. flurries throughout the weekend. wandered a bit and did a little cafe hopping before heading back to kobe.

tea house: yugen

coffee: common and kurasu