TravelJapanBlog.com
TravelJapanBlog.com - Japan (2007, 2009-2010), Denmark and France (2008)
      
The above will search this blog.

 
 
 
 

Posts tagged tokorozawa

勝った！

They did it! I can’t believe it. Down 3 games to 2 with two away games to go, the Lions were able to win both on the road to capture the 2008 Japanese Baseball Championship.

Hopefully they can do it again next year when I’m there.

Posted on November 9th, 2008 under Japan. Tags: , . Comments: None

It all comes down to this

Seibu won game 6 to force a 7th and deciding game on Sunday for the Japan Series. It doesn’t get any more exciting than this baseball fans!

Each year in Japan, each team picks a new slogan (I guess you would call it). Some are in English, or more commonly Engrish, but others are in Japanese. Last year the Lions had one in Japanese as you can see above: 心を,ひとつに。力を,ひとつに。 That translates into something like “With one heart, with one power… (let’s do this thing!)” And that’s what they need to do tomorrow night!

I went to the official website of the Lions to see what their slogan or motto was for this year. It looks like they chose the classic Engrish phrase “i believe lions.” for 2008. Oh well, last year’s wasn’t bad.

While on the site I learned that they have renamed the team from simply the Seibu Lions to the Saitama Seibu Lions. Saitama is the prefecture (sort of like the state or county if you are wondering what a prefecture is) where the Lions play their home games. I wonder if this was something like what we had with the Angels in the states going from being the California Angels to the Los Angeles Angels to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim within a few years.

Maybe they will be called the Saitama Lions of Tokorozawa next year. I used to live in Tokorozawa (near the 西所沢駅), a mere 10 minute bike ride from the stadium. Oh, the memories…

Posted on November 8th, 2008 under Japan. Tags: , , . Comments: None

Lions on brink of elimination

With Thursday’s victory the Tokyo Giants have taken a 3 games to 2 lead in the Japan Series. The final two games move back to the heart of Tokyo and will be held on Saturday and Sunday. The Seibu Lions have to win both to win the series.

Let’s all hope that the Giants can lose two in a row at home and not crush the above little boy’s hopes and dreams.

Posted on November 6th, 2008 under Japan. Tags: , , . Comments: None

3 cheers for the Seibu Lions

The Seibu Lions have advanced to the Japanese World Series. They are playing against the Tokyo Giants for the championship. Currently the series is even at a game a piece. If you can read a bit of Japanese then check out the latest here. Play resumes on Tuesday at Seibu Dome where the above picture was taken last year. Female cheerleaders come out and do their thing in the seventh or eighth inning in Japan. Then the fans fire off thousands of balloons. And this was for a regular old game, not the playoffs. I can’t imagine what happens when they turn things up a notch for the Japan Series.

Posted on November 3rd, 2008 under Japan. Tags: , , . Comments: 1

From 5th to 1st!

In Seibu’s second game last season, pictured above, they lost to the Rakuten Golden Eagles. They ended up losing more than they won in 2007. This year their fortunes took a dramatic turn for the better as they won the Pacific Coast League. Let’s see if the Seibu Lions can go all the way in 2008. All will be decided in a little over two weeks.

Posted on October 6th, 2008 under Japan. Tags: , , . Comments: 2

Seibu Lions

The Seibu Lions are about to win the Pacific League in Nippon Professional Baseball for 2008. Last year, when I saw them last, they didn’t even make the playoffs. This year they seem to be headed toward their former glory years (of the late 80s when I lived in Tokorozawa and early 90s). Hopefully they will keep it up next year when I return.

My favorite player, Kiyohara Kazuhiro, is retiring this year. He recently made his retirement announcement while playing against Seibu.

Posted on September 3rd, 2008 under Japan. Tags: , , . Comments: None

Seibuen Yuenchi (西武園ゆうえんち)

Amusement parks are very popular in Japan, not only with the Japanese locals but also with foreign tourists. I really don’t understand the latter. For instance, why would an American going to Japan want to go to a more crowded, more expensive version of what they can already get at home (while in a country like Japan with so many things that are unique and foreign to normal experiences)?

I’ve never been to Tokyo Disneyland, and I hope it stays that way. I did go to Universal Studios Osaka and regretted it. However, when traveling with kids it can be difficult to avoid the amusement park trap; I mean trip. My suggestion is to avoid the ones everyone knows about and find something a little different.

Flashback to 1989… I was living in Tokorozawa, Japan. Nearly every night during the summer I was treated to a fireworks show from my apartment thanks to a nearby amusement park called Seibuenyuenchi (西武園ゆうえんち). I only went there once and my recollection was that there weren’t many rides. I remember animals there–especially a peacock. Either my memory is bad or things really changed at Seibuen Yuenchi between 1989 and 2007.

While surfing the net before going to Japan in 2007 I told my kids that I once went to an amusement park in Japan that now appears to have a Hello Kitty Marchen Town. They had to see it so we put it on the agenda. Plus, I wanted to check out my old Tokorozawa neighborhood which in my memory looked like scenes from Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ). (Miyazaki is from Tokorozawa.)

Given that the cost of Seibuen Yuenchi is a small fraction of what you’ll pay at Universal Studios Japan or Tokyo Disneyland I was happy that if we were going to do an amusement park it would be this one.

hello kitty angel coaster

Although most of the park consisted of your typical rides, this section of the park, for younger kids, is what I will share with you in pictures. Here my kids are heading off to the Hello Kitty Angel Coaster.

hello kitty

Hello Kitty and her friends were all over the place in this section of the park. I’m guessing that Sanrio Puroland (サンリオピューロランド) is like this on a much larger and much more expensive and crowded scale.

seibuen yuenchi hello kitty cups

The above ride was like the Mad Tea Party ride at Disneyland except that you get to spin in Hello Kitty and her friends.

The above video is of my kids on the Hello Kitty Angel Coaster. We were the only foreigners in the park that day and it wasn’t very crowded, even though it was a holiday week.

If you want an inexpensive amusement park experience in Japan then Seibuen Yuenchi isn’t bad. Nearby is an indoor skiing facility called Sayama Ski Slope. To get there take the applicable Seibu line from Ikebukuro or Shinjuku. Coupons are sometimes available on the website linked above.

Posted on June 9th, 2008 under Japan. Tags: , , , , , , . Comments: None

« Older Entries