S-Pulse @ F.C.Tokyo

Yuichiro Nagai of the Shimizu S-Pulse was born and raised in Toyama Hights, Shinjuku, where I was born and raised in. He was graduated from the same elementary school I graduated from, Higashi Toyama Elementary School(東戸山小）. To me, he is the hero from my hometown.
Last saturday, his S-pulse came to Kokuritsu Kyougijyou(the National Olympic Stadium) at Kasumigaoka, Shinjuku. However, Mr. Nagai has been injured. He was not on the active roster for that game. I was kind of disappointed because I was so excited to see his return to his home .

F.C.Tokyo won the game against the S-pulse 2-1.

プライド・オブ・戸山ハイツ、キング・オブ・東戸山の永井雄一郎君を見ようと思って地元凱旋試合の行われた国立霞ヶ丘競技場での清水エスパルス対東京ガスに行ってきましたが、試合はおろかベンチにも入っていませんでした。あーあ。

Hanshin Tigers Lost the Game against Swallows, Again

At Jingu Stadium, Shohei Tateyama gave up four hits in eight innings and marked his winning streak at 10 since last August. When Swallows' Chang Yong Lim closed the game for his 13th save of the season, the score was Swallows 4 and Tigers 1. Tateyama(4-0) struck out just five Tigers that night, few numbers per game for him; but, he allowed just one run over those innings to get a win. He was not good at his control, surrendered four walks; however, Tigers' horrible offense could not give enough support for their starter Shinobu Fukuhara. Fukuhara(2-3) pitched five and plus strong innings, but he gave up two homeruns and got a loss.

Stadium Food:

Tako Kara(Fried Octopus)

Soki-Don(Okinawa Style Pork over Rice)

館山は制球に苦しみ、むしろ福原の方が良いくらいでした。しかし、阪神のまずい攻めが多々ありスワローズが勝ちました。スワローズの林は完璧な抑えで１３セーブ目。

StarFlyer

When I made a trip to Kitakyusyu, I used StarFlyer. It is an airline based in Kitakyusyu, Fukuoka. Their Airbus A320 is painted in black, which is really cool & elegant. Airbus A320 can have around 180 people in the cabin; however, StarFlyer's have only 144 seats per airplane. That means its leather seat has wider legroom than usual economy seat from the most of airlines. Their economy seats are better than others.
A cup of coffee & chocholate.
I had a cup of coffee during the flight. That was the best coffee I have ever had. According to them, you can drink that cup of Tully's coffee only on the StarFlyer flights.

This picture is the view from the cabin. I believe that I took the scenery of Moji & Shimonoseki.

I didn't have any plan for where to go for this trip, other than Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome. I picked up a on-board magazine, which led me to Idemitsu Museum and others. That StarFlyer/GQ magazine helped my trip in Kitakyusyu. They also give me a free magazine from the City of Kitakyusyu.

By the way, I took 9:00 p.m. flight for returning to Tokyo. During the airplane's departure from the Kitakyusyu airport, I was thinking when it would take off. I knew it was running on the runway. I felt it was too long to run on it. I didn't see anything from the window because it's middle of the night. I was wrong. The fleet was already in the sky when I was thinking it would be running on the runway. I just didn't realize it already took off.

北九州をベースにしているスターフライヤーは、黒に塗られたすごくかっこいいエアバス・３２０を使っています。この機体はだいたい１８０人乗りの構成ですが、スターフライヤーでは１４４人乗りにしています。ということは、革張りの座席とその座席間隔が非常にゆったりしていてくつろげるフライトです。機内で提供されたチョコレートとこの飛行機限定のタリーズコーヒーがとてもおいしく、お洒落な旅を演出してくれます。

Georges Rouault @ Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Moji

I went to Kitakyusyu; because, I wanted to board on a cool Star Flyer airplane. Star Flyer has operated the service from Haneda to Kitakyusyu; so, I had booked a round trip flight between Haneda and Kitakyusyu.

Moji ward of Kitakyusyu city has Mojiko(Moji Port), which has Moji Retro. It is actually a tourist area. You can experience 1920's atmosphere from that area.

Idemitsu Kosan was originaly established at Moji in 1911. The company has had strong relationship with the city until when the headquarters moved to Tokyo in 1940. Sazo Idemitsu, founder of the Idemitsu Kosan, was an art collector also. You can see his collection at two Idemitsu Museums in Japan. I went to one of them at Moji. It has held the exhibition of George Rouault now. I had no information about Rouault prior to get there. When I saw one of his paintings, I thought the man on the painting was Chad Kroegar from the band Nickelback. The man, Rouault was drawing, was actually Jesus Christ. That was one of his collection called "Passion." His "Passion" series were amazing paintings. The show was huge surprise for me, since I didn't expect to see such a great art show.

You can also learn the history of Idemitsu Kosan(Sazo Idemitsu) at that museum. It is interesting history, and it has the exhibition of Rouault until June 14, 2009. Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Moji
スターフライヤーの飛行機ってかっこいいなと思っていたら乗りたくなったので, 北九州まで乗ってきました。北九州市には, 門司港レトロと呼ばれる観光地域があります。そこに元々は門司で創業を開始した出光興産のやっている出光美術館門司があります。この日は、ジョルジュ・ルオーの大回顧展をやっていましたが、知識がなかったのでニッケルバックのボーカルの顔の絵をたくさん描いてるなと最初は思いました。解説を読むと、“受難”というルオーの連作の宗教画で、描かれている顔はキリストでした。なるほど、感動的で心に響く深い作品群でした。こういう絵を収集して、安い料金で実際に鑑賞させてもらえるというのはありがたいなぁとつくづく思いました。ルオー大回顧展は２００９年６月１４日まで。この美術館では出光興産の歴史も学べます。

Hurting My Left Knee

I will run for the marathon in Shimanto Town of the Kochi Prefecture on April 5th this year. My left knee has been bothered me a lot lately. I have had major set back for my running practice. I have talked to a lot of people about this, and a trainer at a gym told me that I put too much weight on my left knee. He said my balance is not good. When I stand straight, my upper body obviously leanes toward to the left side. I need to fix my balance ASAP. Runner's World magazine and its website have helped me through this problem. I have learned I need to do a lot of hard work besides running if I want to run better. In order to do that, I need to manage my time more efficiently.

今度の４月に高知県の窪川（現：四万十町）である桜マラソンに出場するために調整中ですが、膝が痛いです。

Lions against WBC JAPAN

John Wasdin of Saitama Seibu pitched three scoreless strong innings, and the hot hitting Lions defeated the Japan 7-2 at Tokyo Dome last night.
Ichiro Suzuki against John Wasdin in his second at bat.
ライオンズが日本代表を７対２で倒しました。試合内容はライオンズの方が遥かに上でしたが、日本代表も心配する必要もない程度です。ただ、バファローズの小松などは投球回数があまりにも少ないので、４月からの公式戦に入るまでに彼にとって順調な調整になるのかどうかが見ていて気掛かりです。