Post game gift

I have mentioned it before in one of my posts that the Japanese culture is a gift giving culture. People will sometimes give you gifts after the game. The fans here in Toyama have been especially nice to the girls and we have been very fortunate to have the fans welcome us and be so kind and giving to us this year.

Today was the last game of the regular season and as I was going to get on the bus some of the fans gave me different gifts. I was given some chocolate bars, snack rolls, energy drink and 2 cokes. Thought the cokes were kind of cool as the caps spelled:

Good Ego (english)

We are on the road this weekend so that means another stop at the highway rest stop/restaurant/rest area. And, more great English sayings on the boxes of sweets there.

And two things I don't think we have in the states: some sort of black (maybe sesame?) pudding and pretzels covered in a sugary grape coating.

No....."smoking"

This weekend we are on the road for our last home games of the regular season. We are staying in a hotel and one of the floors here is a "no smoking" floor

Starbucks

Here in Japan there are many starbucks. Here in Toyama city there are at least 4. When we are in America we don't tend to go that often, if at all, but over here it is a treat and a little taste/reminder of home. 

At one of the Starbucks a few of the workers are fans of our team, and very friendly when we stop in.

#47 is my number this year

Nice to be able to go and have a date with my girls sometimes :)

What flavor of cheesecake do you like?

Rice malt & citron?

Or do you prefer:

Green tea & adzuki bean?

Ice cream

Here are some pictures of the ice cream they have In The grocery store. Ice cream picture tour:

Snow plow

Here in Toyama we get a lot of snow. Wikipedia says average of 12 feet a year. The temperature here hovers close to freezing or warmer so it never gets really cold. Because of this the city goes about getting rid of the snow on the streets a little differently. Instead of snow plows they use............sprinklers. 

Every main road and a lot of parking lots have a built in sprinkler system that turns on when it snows. (Or some parking lots put out hoses with little holes in them that spray water). Because the temperature never gets much below zero, if at all, the water from the sprinkler system doesn't freeze so there isn't much worry about the roads being slippery from the water freezing.

This system works pretty well but it makes for some slushy, sloppy walking areas. Most of the people here wear rain boots, not winter boots, and I totally understand why. 

Me on the other hand, I wear sandals (because I ice my Achilles after practice and shoes are hard to wear with an ice bag strapped on the back of my foot) and there are days when toes definitely know they are not in a nice protected boot, but rather taking a new polar plunge with every step I take.

We have seen only one snow plow in the city all winter long and it didn't even have it's plow down to clear the road.