Awesome time out the country with a close friend to Tokyo Japan for some good lacrosse.

The Sport:

• Lacrosse seems to be growing in Japan.  On the grassroots and highschool level lacrosse is non existent.  All the players in Japan first starting playing competitive lacrosse in college – can you believe that?  From watching practice and looking at the talent level its pretty crazy to imagine or think about – the players have the right skill level that makes one think they have been playing for years.  For the faceoff position; all the players were extremely talented and scary good.  Their hand-eye coordination was through the roof and their physical/mental toughness was impressive to experience over the course of the three hour clinic.  They were extremely attentive, hardworking, and appreciated of the training.
  • It is a privilege to play a sport in Japan; our host mentioned this a couple times and said it was extremely expensive to play the sport as well.
    • Really cool to see and experience

Culture:

• Very cool/interesting to experience the culture of Japan compared to the United States.  It seemed like the people of Japan were very at peace and followed a simple/structured work/life balance and schedule.  The cities, towns, and streets were spotless and clean; little to no trash – at times it was difficult to find a garbage can!  Right away one could see the income gap was a little more balanced compared to the United States.  The food and drink were unique, great and reasonably priced.

Schools:

• We had the privilege of working with players on three major universities across the country of Japan.  Below were the universities:
  • Tokyo University
  • Seijo University
  • Kyoto University
• We were told each student takes one nation wide high school and college test; depending on how you scored you get placed into a school that fits your respected grades.  You’re able to retake the test but might have to take a gap year if interested in retaking.

Places to check out:

• Meiji Shrine – the walk up towards the Shrine was very cool and intimate. The Shrine was built over 100 years ago and was destroyed during World War II and rebuilt.  The architecture was first class and the wooden gateways were special to see; how one constructed is a whole another question.
• Fushimi Inari-taisha – the shrine was located at the top of a mountain with small businesses/thrift stores at the bottom. The Shrine is the head shrine of Inari, or Japanese kami of foxes (based on Shinto or Shintoism).

Some side notes from traveling:

• 13 hour flight from JFK -> Narta airport (bring a good book!).  International bags are free on Delta (don’t forget your passport!)
• Japanese rails are extremely expensive – be sure to buy the universal pass for the rail ways
• Drivers drive in the right side in cars
• 100 yen = 1 dollar (just remember to take two 0’s off the yen to equal one dollar)
• Hello (Kon’nichiwa), Goodbye (Sayonara), Cheers (Kanpai)
• Money is handed out on small platters – Japanese culture doesn’t like to exchange money via hands
• It’s common curtesy to where a mask in Japan if you are sick!

Check out some photos below and comment on anything you’re curious about

~Pop