Bring on the Heat

Yokohama, Japan

 

Well, I definitely didn’t expect that.  Everything was in dark black tents.  It brought back memories from when we performed in Toronto, Canada minus all the dirt since were weren’t in a baseball stadium.  However, temperature-wise it was much more bearable there than what it was here that’s for sure.  I think we were all hoping for a little relief this week and well we got the exact opposite.  

 

However, trying to make the most of it, we did manage to find perfectly taped off squares in the right arrangement to be able to play four-square.  Yes, that’s right, four-square.  We were all taken back to our elementary days when we felt like the big kids on the playground.  Ah the good ole days.

 

Adding to the feeling, a few train stops away at the Yokohama Port, there waited a Ferris Wheel accompanied by a small amusement park to steal our fun.  However, we had to settle for pictures from a distance for the time being.  

 

So we put our adult pants back on and settled for more shopping, which literally is everywhere.  This week, not only are there four floors of shopping within our hotel, but also in the train station as well.  I don’t just mean convenient stores either; I’m talking about clothing stores and shoes stores and even electronic stores. One of the most important finds this week though was a Krispy Kreme Donuts followed up by an import store.  Ah, you have no idea how much you miss certain foods until you are gone and can’t have them anymore.  Thank goodness for the Hard Rock Café, it was a lifesaver because that meal has never tasted so good!   

 

Coming back with a full tummy was even more satisfying especially to a grand hotel like this.  From all the stores to the circular shape to the Olympic Figure Skating jacket in the lobby all the way up to the 40th floor, we felt like we were living pretty special this week.  

 

And it was definitely a good thing we liked it because there was a possibility of being stuck in the hotel.   Stopped transportation, 120 flights cancelled, in the eye of the typhoon, but we still had our shows and only delayed by five minutes.   I would have to say that is dedication.  

 

Wow, we have definitely seen it all here from temperatures in the 100s to earthquakes and all the way to typhoons.  Let’s see if we can finish this country off without any more strikes from Mother Nature.  

 

It’s hard to believe that we are coming up on completing two months here in Japan and with only one month left to go, we are off to Fukuoka.

 

 

Marathon #2

Osaka, Japan

 

We did it!  We finished 29 shows in 11 days, hiked Mount Fuji, and did 25 more shows in 9 days!  Now, we can do anything!  

 

D34 conquers the world in Japan! 

 

As if it wasn’t enough to perform to show #900, we wanted to hike a mountain before doing 25 more shows.  Yes it was hard, yes it was challenging and at some points you may have thought that you may not make it to the top, but we all did and it was 100% worth all the effort.  Never have I ever hiked that far, that high in altitude, or at night and I must say it was one of the best things that I have ever done.  Not only is beautiful, but it also teaches you a lot about yourself as well.  

 

Once you make it to the top and see the sun start to rise, everything becomes silent and the beauty just speaks for itself.  Its something that you have to be there to experience it and no picture will ever do the scenery justice, nor the feeling that you get inside knowing that you made it and such beauty lies before you.  

 

However, the hike up was hard, but I think for some, the decent downward wasn’t the easiest either.  It was not as difficult on your endurance, but the high impact on your knees and ankles definitely made up for it.  We all looked a little strange walking down the trail backwards at some points to relieve the stress and tension before collapsing and not moving in a large circle in the middle of the common area before catching the bus back.  

 

It was a quiet bus ride and even quieter bullet train ride for us; all sleeping every chance we got after that to recover.  And I must say the bullet train ride is probably the smoothest means of transportation that I have ever been on.  Even though we were traveling at speeds around 162 mph, the only time you felt anything was a slight wobble when we would pass another train before making it to our final destination.  

 

And while we didn’t have much time to sightsee, we still made time for a company BBQ and the first annual traditional formal of the new tour year!  I really don’t know how we still find the time and energy to do the things we do, some more than others, but somehow we are still on the journey all together.  

 

And a journey is just what these 25 shows in 9 days were going to be.  I really think we may be a little crazy, but hey we can at least say that we did it and we survived! 

 

What is even harder to grasp is the fact that only three weeks ago we performed show number 900 and now, we are over 950…in three weeks!  That means we did 54 shows in the last three weeks!  How many people can say they did that and hiked a mountain in between?!?!

 

Feeling like Olympians ourselves, it was fitting that we had access to watch the games during the shows.  However, it was a little disappointing because unlike in the states when most events and all athletes are covered, only the Japanese competitors were covered so when other countries were competing it was a blessing that we were able to see how they were doing.  Anyhow, the Olympics are the Olympics and they only come around every two or four years, so being able to watch anything was nice.  – Congratulations to all the competitors! – 

 

Back to reality though, it was the hottest it has been here with temperatures in the upper 90’s and 100’s and not only was there a tsunami in the area, but we were also hit with a gorilla rain, which is a heavy rain that comes out of no where unexpectedly.  Fear not though, we survived!  

 

But that wasn’t the end of the surprises, after three years behind the scenes; our Performance Director entered the show for the first time as a surprise!  Everyone was trying to keep it fresh after the same routine for so many days.  Just goes to show that we have to be on our toes at all times because we are never sure what could come next.  And after a well-deserved day off that sent us all in different directions, we were off to our next city; Yokohoma and before you know it we will be on our way home for a few weeks.  

 

 

Show Marathoning

Nagoya, Japan

 

It was a pretty quick trip for a long two weeks that lie ahead.  We were about to embark on a journey that not too many people can ever say they even came close to.  We were starting our 29 shows in 11 days and our trek to our 900th show all in the same week.  It’s even crazier to think that we will hit show number 1,000 before we even leave Japan! 

 

Anyhow, even though most of our time was spent at the arena in this city, we were still able to get out every now and then and explore.  Those few two show days were amazing because they almost felt as if we had days off.  You know you are busy when you still perform two shows and don’t have to do a third and it feels like a day off.  I think this means, that we went a little crazy, but we wouldn’t be who we are if we weren’t.  

 

Speaking of crazy, we all knew what was coming…the hike of Mount Fuji and it was getting closer and closer.  So, for now, we were just enjoying being at sea level and being a tourist around the area.  No one went very far or did any strenuous sightseeing because we knew was coming.  

 

The Nagoya Castle and Temple were close and nice places of interest to visit in the city surrounded with enriched history.  That’s one thing that I have to constantly remind myself, is that all these places I will be able to visit along the road this year are so much older than the anything in the U.S. and that their time periods of existence came before anything in the states was even thought about being developed.   Its amazing to see how advanced this culture was for its time and it really opens yours eyes to the world around you.  There is so much more to see outside of America and this has really showed me that.  I am blessed to have this experience.  

 

And aside from the sightseeing, birthday celebrations, shopping, nightlife, and Pokémon Go excursions, it was finally setting in that we were actually here, this was really happening.  I never ever thought I would be here let alone performing here.  

Each city we travel to, things get a little easier and make a little more sense even if we can’t directly communicate with anyone.  It has been a lot of charades to figure a few things out, but everyone is so kind and helpful.  It’s also so very clean over here, but its also very hypocritical because there are literally no trash cans anywhere.  That part, we haven’t been able to figure out.  

 

Also, on the pre-made sandwiches there isn’t any crust on the bread, loaves of bread only come in about eight slices total, and the fruit is really expensive.  For example, in the states normally cherries run pretty pricey about $4 to $5 dollars a pound at some stores, well three slices of an apple in Japan are about $1.50!  Also, common spots for dinner are the small convenient stores, which in the states those are the places that you only go for snacks and drinks.  And in the states it’s normal to run the air conditioning on high just to keep cool, well here that’s almost the last thing to be of a concern.  However, hot or not, somehow we just kept pushing on.  We made it through all those shows and were still able to enjoy our time here as well.  We were living lift to our fullest and were ready to face our next upward battle.  

We were off to climb Mount Fuji.  See you all in Osaka!