From Felisa - pottery and soccer

7-11. The convenience store. Slurpees? Sorry, but no. Lottery? Not today. Japanese style was different, yet incredibly similar. Refridgerators against the walls. Newspapers at the front. Atm? Check. Bottled soda? Check. Junk food? Check. Candy? Check. Kitschy paraphanalia? Absolutely. But lets venture out a bit. Sushi, onegiri, and mini bento boxes galore packed in miniature sushi trays (like the ones you can pick up at our grocery stores). The clerk (in this case the owner) will put it in the microwave and heat if for you. And lest we not forget, the hot water dispenser for the cup of noodles or cup of tea. 7-11. Pronounced "seboon eleboon". The preferred quick lunch stop for the full day pottery hunters.

I would have gone to Greenland instead of making the pottery rounds. REALLY. But once Oscar said we had enough chaperones for the rainy amusement park, it was not hard to imagine how quickly my mind was made up. And all for the better. With the indispensible help of Bill's Japanese, Michael's directional sense and Carol's adventuresome nature (have you seen how narrow some of these roads are?), we spent 4 hours taking a potter's tour.

We were so very impressed with Bill when he got us to the first place. Big parking lot, big smokestack. Lots of cars. He pushed the intercom by the door. (It triggerred some vague recollection from my days in Europe. Remember that, Sharon Sargent?) Bill stated the essential sumimasen (and a lot of other words I don't know) and the owner said ie. No. It was not a potter's studio. More words passed. Lo and behold, before we could even say "go trebol", an older woman appeared. She had come outside to greet us and point us on our way. Ann gave her a Trebol sticker for her troubles. Go, Ann.

Back at the hotel, we met Coach Yamata for an early dinner. It was a walk across the street to a "sushi train" restaurant. Little plates moving around on a conveyer belt. No waiting. Think Hot Shoppes (or McDonald's) with sashimi on tapas plates. Worth doing once. Funny thing is, over half the adults went twice in the same day. I think there is such a thing as too much sushi. Or at least too much mercury.

The soccer games in the evening were beyond my expectations. Coach Joe has already blogged about the games. Now it's his turn to hear what he missed, through no fault of his own, by being on the sidelines coaching.

It was so much fun. All three teams brought parents and boosters. You could smell the excitement in the air. I took on my customary role . . . being loud and cheering. Lionel, you were sorely missed. One curucurpai gaijin was probably enough. Your presence might have altered the world's chi (qi). The poor girls had a hard time because they were on the same side of the field as parents. My chants were distracting. I didn't care. I was in Japan. I was watching good soccer. I was cheering Oscar and Joe and every single player. I was an ambassador for soccer fans the world over. And boy was I loud!!

But the true ambassadors were our team. They performed like diplomats and heads of state. They have every reason to be proud.