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When I was in Korea several summers ago I did two walks through Mt. Mudeung National Park, each in different directions. On the first one I ended up at this rest stop, a lovely place along the river I was walking by. Mudeungsan (無等山) is known for its rocks, but you don’t have to be anywhere near the top to find some pretty cool-looking boulders like these.
The Arakawa in Yamanashi is not the same as the Arakawa in Tokyo. This one runs through Shosenkyo and then joins up with the Fujikawa (富士川).
Udon curry
This was my breakfast on my second day in Busan. I think I was in the basement of the Lotte Department Store.
Fred Lewis (former San Francisco Giants outfielder) in 2013
Fred Lewis spent one year with the Carp after his major league career was over. He didn’t do much in Hiroshima (batting .268 with just 4 home runs in 300 plate appearances). He had a decent year with the Giants back in 2008 when he hit .282 with 9 home runs in over 500 plate appearances. He now plays in the independent leagues in the USA.
BTW, I mentioned a couple days ago that the home team had won every game of the 2016 Climax Series, and the Carp were the favorites (and had four home games scheduled). Well, that held true for the first five games of the series. However, Hiroshima lost game six at home (and the series). Hopefully it won’t be another 32 years before they get a crack at another one.
Shota Dobayashi (堂林 翔太)
The 2016 Climax Series (the equivalent of the World Series for Japan Professional Baseball) features the Hiroshima Carp and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. The series is even at 2 games each, with home teams winning every game thus far. Today’s game is in Hokkaido followed by the final two games in Hiroshima. The Carp last won the series in 1984.
Hiroshima Carp pitcher Kris Johnson, from California, was the 2016 Sawamura Award winner (equivalent to the Cy Young Award in MLB), becoming the first foreign player to earn the honor since 1964. Johnson was 15-7 with a 2.15 ERA in 26 starts for the Carp this season. He struck out 141 over 180⅓ innings and threw three complete games.
Once my A’s are out of it, I root for the team playing against the Giants, followed by the team with the lowest payroll. To that end, I’m quite happy that Cleveland has made the World Series. They had the lowest team salary of any of the playoff teams. In the National League, I, of course, want the Cubs to beat the Dodgers since their payroll is about $100 million less.