車イスカーリング

The 2010 Paralympics games started on 2010 March 12 and will continue until March 21.
Are you watching them?

(Click here to see the 2010 Paralympics medal count so far.)

At the time I wrote this post, Japan has one medal so far.
Kuniko Obinata won bronze in the Women’s Slalom Alpine Skiing event.
おめでとうございます！ (Congratulations!)

I wrote a post last month about Japan’s oldest Paralympics athlete…the 75-year old 比田井隆 (Takashi Hidai).
He’s a member of Japan’s 車イスカーリング (Wheelchair Curling) team at the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver.

(Click here to read it.)

So far in the Wheelchair Curling event, Japan won their match against Italy (9-6).
It was their first game of the Olympics and the Japan team was ecstatic, of course.

Mr. Hidai told the Japanese press after that match that he was “on top of the world!”

Takashi Hidai after Japan's Wheelchair Curling victory over Italy.

But their good luck didn’t continue for the next few matches.
The Japan team lost their games against Korea, Germany, and Canada. 😦

Today they’re scheduled to play Norway. And then Switzerland, America, Sweden and then Great Britain.

がんばれ！ (Good luck!)

Sporting event news

Did you watch the 2010 Olympics women’s figure skating event?

It was probably the biggest event of these Olympics in both Japan and Korea.

Japan’s best skater 19 year-old Mao Asada competed against Korea’s star Kim Yu-na, who is also 19 years old.

Of course, both Japan and Korea were sure that the skater from their country would win the gold medal for this event.

In the end though, Korean Kim Yu-na won the gold and Japan’s Mao Asada won silver. Canadian Joannie Rochette got the bronze medal.

Asada Mao is in the black dress.

Mao Asada tried her best and she did two “triple axel” jumps. It’s her signature jump and she is the only current women’s skater in the world who can do that particular jump.
She executed the triple axels perfectly, but she tripped up and almost fell at another point during her rountine and it cost her points.

Mao Asada skating in the 2010 Olympics women's figure skating event.

The 2010 Olympics will be over tomorrow. Japan currently has a total of four medals from these games…two silver and two bronze.
It looks like Japan won’t be taking any gold from these games.

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Also, tomorrow is the day of the annual “Tokyo Marathon“.

32,000 people will running 42 km through the streets of Tokyo.

This year a friend of mine will be running in the marathon.
ガンバレヒデキさん！ (Good luck, Hideki!)

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And the pitcher from the Japanese baseball team, the Chunichi Dragons, Maximo Nelson (from the Dominican Republic) was arrested yesterday for bringing a bullet in his luggage in the airport in Okinawa (where he was going for his team’s spring training).

Japan is very strict with it’s drug and firearms laws.

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Speaking of Okinawa, there was a very big earthquake in Okinawa this morning.
Hopefully everyone is OK.

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Different subject, but I finally admitted that my eyesight isn’t what it used to be and got eyeglasses yesterday.
So, now, for the first time, I wear glasses for reading.

I can’t deny that I’m getting older. 😦

Olympic tragedy

We’re watching the 2010 Winter Olympics live on TV right now.
It started this morning (Sunday) and it’s currently about 1PM here in Tokyo. So I guess the games are being played in the evening in Canada (Sunday, 1:00PM in Tokyo = Saturday, 8:00PM in Vancouver).

As of right now, Japan doesn’t have any medals yet.
Ten countries have at least one medal each so far.

2010 Olympic medal stats (as of 2010 Feb 14, 1:20PM, JST)

If you want to see an up-to-date listing of the medal statistics, check out the 2010 Olympics medals page.

But, I’m sure you’ve heard how the 2010 Olympics started in tragedy.

Nodar Kumaritashvili, who was a 21 year old athlete from the country of Georgia who was on his country’s luge team, died in a terrible accident before the beginning of the games’ opening ceremony.

He flew off the Olympic luge track at high speed and smashed into a metal pillar during a training run.

He was air-lifted to hospital unconscious but died at the hospital.

The Georgia team was going to pull-out of the 2010 Olympics because of this tragedy, but finally decided to continue.
They wore black armbands in remembrance of Nodar Kumaritashvili as they marched in the opening ceremony.

Nodar Kumaritashvili, R.I.P.

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On a different note, today is Valentine’s Day.
Click here to see the post I wrote that explains how this holiday is different in Japan compared to Western countries.

So, my youngest daughter made some homemade chocolate for me.
I took a couple pictures:

The box of chocolate that my daughter gave me.

The chocolates that my daughter made for me...they were delicious!

The 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th

Have you seen the photos of the “2001 September 11th attacks” on the World Trade Center towers in New York City that were recently made public?

These photos were taken by New York Police Officers who were on the scene in a police helicopter.

Here are some of the photos they took:

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The 2010 Winter Olympics will take place in Vancouver, Canada.
The opening ceremony is scheduled to begin on Friday, 2010 February 12th in the evening…Canada time. So, it’ll be Saturday, 2010 February 13th here in Japan when the ceremony begins.

The official 2010 Olympics logo.

The games will go from 2010 February 12-28 (Canada time).
Do you watch the Olympics?
I watch them…but the games go for over two weeks—I don’t watch everyday of the games. I like to watch some of the opening ceremony and some of the closing ceremony and a few games in between.

This year, Japan is sending 95 athletes to compete in the Olympics, America is sending 216, and Canada (the host country) will have 206 athletes play.
How many athletes from your country will be at the 2010 Olympics?

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Sunday, February 14th will be Valentine’s Day.
How is Valentine’s Day celebrated in your country?

In Japan, it’s done the opposite of how America celebrates it. And Japan has another holiday (called “White Day“) in March that is more similar to Western-style Valentine’s.

Click here to read my FAQ about Valentine’s Day in Japan…
and click here to read my post that explains Japanese Valentine’s (and other holidays in February) in more detail.

Also, this year on February 14 will be the Chinese New Years.
I mentioned it on my site’s “Festivals In Tokyo” page….click here to read it.

Have you ever experienced a Chinese New Years ceremony?
If you’re in the Tokyo area this weekend, you can go to 「横浜中華街」 (“Yokohama China Town“) and see a Chinese New Years ceremony.