Sports weekend............

Last weekend we again caught some local sporting events by going to a Tochigi Brex basketball game Friday night and a Nikko Icebucks game on Sunday afternoon.
The Brex who are have now moved from the JBL2 to the top level JBL league won handily over Osaka Panasonic 91-73. This year they have 3 American players on the roster and probably what is Japans premier and only Japanese player to get drafted to NBA team Yuta Tabuse, who really had some excellent skills.
Sunday brought the last home game of the year for the Nikko Icebucks. Its been another long season for the Icebucks even with the addition of the Canadian players. However we weren't disappointed as we finally got to see them win a game, and win it quite handily at 5-3. Good to see them give their rabid fans a victory to finish out the year.
Whether you live in Utsunomiya or just visit on business you really should try to get out and see these teams play if they are in town, you would probably enjoy it.

Icebucks vs. Halla

Sunday evening several of us got together for an Icebucks game out at Nikko. We are happy to report the bucks aren't in last place this year and played a pretty good game. Unfortunately they lost 4-3. It was our firtst opportunity to see the new Canadian players Eric and Mickey on the ice and they didn't disappoint. We hope to get out and see them another time or 2 before the season is out

Myka Visits........

For the last 10 days we were paid a visit by our daughter Myka on her first trip to Japan. We (hopefully) entertained her with many of the local attractions around Utsunomiya and the Tokyo area. We hope spending time with us, meeting many of our friends and colleagues, and seeing the local sights as as enjoyable for her as it was for us. Now it is time for her to head back to School and begin her 3rd year in pursuit of her nursing degree.
Gambatte Myka Chan, we miss you!
Above is a sampling of the pics she took, and about 500 more can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157606886845353

Icebucks Tailgate Party

Saturday we made a brief trek to Nikko for the last Icebucks regular season games. We attended the 2nd ever Icebucks tailgate party (The first being on New Years eve this year while we were back in the states) The weather was a bit brisk but we still managed to have a good time with the beer and brauts flowing. As you can tell by the pregame desolation of the parking lot, the tailgaiting gig hasnt quite caught on yet here in Japan. The girls also managed to muster up a little cheese cake and some candles and a quick round of Happy birthday for Heather. The team took a 4-1 loss, but i believe will still make it to the Asian League playoffs this year.

The Nikko IceBucks

This weekend we went with Friends to see the local professional hockey team, The Nikko IceBucks play a home game. They are in the Asian hockey league which has teams mainly from Japan, but also South Korea, and a few other Asian countries. This weekend they were playing A team from South Korea called Halla. Unfortunately the Bucks lost 2-1 but it was actually pretty entertaining as the fans, as with all sports here really get into it. They are still learning to be hockey fans though and In the future we plan to introduce them to the idea of drinking some beer during the game, and heckling the refs and opposing players in the penalty box, as they were a little weak in these area's. Another reason the team/game is interesting for us is because during our stay in Utsunomiya we were introduced to the head coach and a former player who is a great guy and also happens to own one of our favorite drinking spots here in town. Here's a few fotos of the rink and the game.

The 2007 Jspec XR250 has arrived!

Picked up the new machine today. I must say that it’s not a bad looking ride in the Japan only black and gold rim trim. As expected the engine is a tad on the anemic side but we can live with that. Unlike the US XRs it does have electric start and just like all XRs it is also super lightweight(not)and you can see Heather throwing it all around in these pics. :)
It is nice to have a bike again and I got out for a little break-in trip towards the mountains north of town. It took me about 20 minutes to figure out there is no better mode of personal transportation available than the motorcycle for this country.
A manager at the Dream Honda shop was nice enough to break out a map for me and detail several hundred miles of offroad trails between here and the Nikko mountain area. I'll have to wait another month or so to explore those, as they are still snow and ice covered in some sections. In the meantime I plan to use it for the daily commute as weather permits and will maybe hit the Kinugawa river bed a little for fun.