Jan. 22, 2015 - Jan. 28, 2015 www.japanupdate.com
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Bats are swinging as teams prepare for season Fantastic Okinawa
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Baseball fans have something to look forward to as Japanese pro-baseball teams hold their spring training camps here. Yomiuri Giants, the most storied of Japanese pro teams will take on Hiroshima Toyo Carp on Feb. 22 and on Rakuten Eagles on Feb. 22 at the Cellular Stadium in Onoyama Sports Park in Naha, tickets are available at FamilyMart convenience stores. Urasoe City is hosting the Yakult Golden Eagles and its farm team are both By Bill Charles Okinawa Feb. 1st, preparing for a baseball season that officially launches in March. Swallows, while the DeNA Yokohama Bay on Kume Island, and the Shonan Searex, a rom Ishigaki to Okinawa, people DeNA Yokohama Bay Stars farm team, is are beginning to hum the tune ‘take Aside from players, coaches and managers, Stars are in Ginowan and the Chunichi at Kadena Town. me out to the ballgame’ as spring many of the mainland Japanese teams have Dragons and its farm team in Chatan. The Four Japanese professional teams— training rolls toward the first exhi- loyal fans that have flocked to the training Hiroshima Carp are working out in sites to mix-and-mingle with their favorite Okinawa City, the Hanshin Tigers in the Orix Buffaloes, Yomiuri Giants, Seibu bition games less than a month from now. Thirteen professional baseball teams, stars, not to mention hordes of media Ginoza, and the Hokkaido Nipppon Ham Lions and Softbank—have opened Spring including four from Korea, will begin reporters who follow every move .of their Fighters are in Nago. the Chiba Lotte training camps in locations other than Continues on page 2 Mariners are in Ishigaki, the Rakuten going through spring training paces on assigned teams and players.
Henoko base construction
Okinawa City showcases its products at industrial festival
Okinawa City businesses showcase their products and services this weekend.
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he island’s second most populous city is gearing up for its annual industrial festival, planning to share with everyone on the island what Okinawa City has to offer. The 38th Okinawa City Sangyo Festival, which most people appreciate as an Industrial Festival, takes place Saturday and Sunday at Okinawa Comprehensive Athletic Park gymnasium, and surrounding area at Hiyagon 5-3-1 in Okinawa City. Admission is free for the festival, which runs 10 a.m. ~ 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. ~ 5 p.m. on Sunday. Visitors should plan on using temporary parking spaces at Awase Fishing Port and free shuttle busses to the festival. Many Okinawa City vendors will be on hand, displaying a lot of local goodies
and specialties. Various handmade stores, Tatami and Sanshin stores will be there, while in the food area, people can try international foods from a variety of restaurants. There’s a bit of everything being baked, boiled, cooked and grilled, including pasContinues on page 2
Japan Update Classifieds
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A&W hosting custom car & hot rod show
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Makiminato A&W is the venue of the Drawing Hot Rod & Custom Car Day. kinawa meets Americana Sunday as A&W Okinawa Makiminato stages its 5th annual Drawing and Hot Rod & Custom Car Day. The Drawing and Hot Rod &
Custom Car Day runs 10 a.m. ~ 6 p.m., and is free. The event features many old classic custom cars, motorcycles, and live pinstripe painting by professional painters. A&W remembers the good old days, and wants to
Okinawa City Industrial Festival
share the nostalgia in both the old cars and the car culture, which is ingrained in Okinawans much more than in other Japanese prefectures. Okinawa was under U.S. administration from World War II to 1972, and Okinawans readily identify with many things American. The organizer, Isamu “ISM” Nakanishi, says that “ of course Okinawa is a small island, but Americans or other foreigners who love hot rods or old custom cars will be satisfied by this event, even though it is much smaller than the same kind of shows in the U.S. Okinawans enjoy the cars, too, and even though our A&W event size is not so big, each customized car or painting is good enough to watch.” Nakanishi says he believes the A&W show is as good as those in America, mainly because it is in Okinawa. His goal is “to make it larger than larger with all kind of nationalities participating”. Finding A&W Makiminato just off Highway 58 is easy. The map is at https://goo.gl/maps/IHb67
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tries, pizza and sweets at a coffee shop. As a special event, the local products exhibition and sale of Yamagata, Hokkaido, Nagano and Aichi will take place. Visitors can also make things like glass, leather and wood goods in the hands-on booth. There’s more than shopping, as events Saturday begin with kids Eisa at 9:45 a.m., and move to Okinawa folk and pops music by Hikari at 2:20 p.m. Natchy is on stage at 3 p.m., Sakura Ishado, a 15-year-old drummer, takes to the stage at 3:40 p.m., and the Ryujin Mabuya super hero show rounds out the afternoon at 4:20 p.m. On Sunday, Kojya Shouryu Daiko is on the outdoor stage at 10:30 a.m., followed by shishimai or lion dance at 11:00 a.m., and a kids dance show at 1 p.m. Yoshimoto’s Okinawa comedy show is at 1:40 p.m. and Sonda Eisa is at 2:50 p.m.
Foodcourt outdoors serves every imaginable kind of food from local restaurants.
Jan. 22, 2015 - Jan. 28, 2015
Baseball spring camps Continued from page 1
Okinawa. The Orix Buffaloes in past years had spring training drills on Miyako Island. Training was moved from Miyako Island to Miyazaki Prefecture last August 25th. According to Ryuzo Setoyama, the general manager of the team, there are three reasons; a better facility, easiness of adjustment of schedules of practice games and attracting a large number of customers. The new camp site, Miyazaki Kiyotake Comprehensive Athletic Park, has a 5,500 capacity stadium and an indoor ground. They have constructed another stadium the same size as current one and a bull pen that ten people can practice in at a time. The Yomiuri Giants and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks are also training in Miyazaki City, although the Giants spend the lastter half of February at Cellular Stadium in Naha. Orix had had a camp since 1993. “We so much appreciated Miyako Island for supporting us,’ said the general manager Setoyama in Osaka. Korean teams are soaking up Okinawa’s warmth as temperatures across the southern Korea peninsula are in the sub-zero range. The LG Twins are in Ishikawa, Uruma City, the SK Wyverns are in Gushikawa, Uruma City, The Samsung Lions are working out at Guam now, and will then open its second training camp in Okinawa. The Kia Tigers are training exclusively in Okinawa, while five other Korean pro teams – the Nexen Heroes, NC Dinos, LG Twins, Doosan Bears and Lotte Giants—will train in Arizona. Youngsters of all ages with aspirations of playing professional baseball are gathering daily at the training sites, hoping for a word, or a tip, or even a smile from the pro players. In the intimate Okinawa training setting, players often take their bento or noodles and sit in the stands during breaks, mixing and mingling with spectators. The opening exhibition game is February 21st with the Yomiuri Giants and the squaring off against Hiroshima Toyo Carp at 1 p.m. at Cellular Stadium in Naha City. The Hanshin Tigers and DeNa Yokohama Bay Stars meet at 1 p.m. at Ginowan Baseball Stadium near the Convention Center. On February 22nd the Giants take on the Rakuten Eagles at Cellular Stadium at 1 p.m., while the Tigers go against the Chunichi Dragons at Chatan Stadium at 1 p.m. A third game, also at 1 p.m., puts the Yakult Swallows against the Nippon Ham Fighters at the Urasoe Stadium.