Japanese Monopoly

The English version of Monopoly can be found at Toys "R" Us and a department store named Isetan. We decided to buy the Japanese version in case neighborhood friends want to play. This is called the designer version. There have been other versions available here. (Check the link below.)



This is what the center of the board looks like.




"Go" is "Go" on the Japanese board. The spot with the "thumbs up" is called "Challenge". The spot with the heart is "Chance".

All of the money came in a stack that was glued on one side. The picture was taken at night under a "warm" light (not fluorescent) so it's yellow.




Different colors of ink were used instead of different colors of paper.




These are the tokens. As I remember, they are the same in the United States version of the game.

Monopoly Japan

Dodgebee Court

This is a diagram of a dodgebee court. The court is 9 m x 18 m. Some of you may have to figure that out in feet. On the left side of this diagram, team B is on the outside of the court. The kanji after the letter "B" means "outside". Team A stands in the middle of the left side of the court. The kanji next to the "A" means "inside". Team B stands in the middle of the right side of the court. Team A is on the outside. There is a center line that neither team can cross or touch.

Teams have 10-13 players. The game starts with one or two members of each team on the outside. The game is played like dodge ball in the United States. Teams try to hit the other team players with the dodgebee. If you are in the middle and you get hit, you have to go outside the court. The player who hit you goes into the middle. The object of the game is to remain in the middle of the court. The winning team has the most players on the inside of the court at the end of 8 minutes. It's fun for all ages, and it's not as painful as dodge ball!

Dodgebee

This soft frisbee is very popular in Japan. It's used like a frisbee, but it is also used in a game like dodge ball. The frisbee and the game are called "Dodgebee".

Little Brother took part in a dodgebee tournament on the weekend. Teams from different schools participated. Each team played four games. The gym was divided into three courts. Three games were played at one time. I'll explain how to play the game tomorrow. I need to find or draw a diagram.

At the end of each game, the team players remaining in the center of the court line up. This makes it easier to count how many players were left. The winner is determined by how many were left in the middle.

After all the games were played, certificates were given to the top three teams in each court. Here, they are sitting in line by team. They are waiting for the ceremony. Each school got two new Dodgebees. Each and every player got a sports drink and pencils.

Old Tops

Recently I posted pictures of other tops. This is an old type of bei goma. It is metal. Little Brother dug it out of his top box for me to take a picture of it.

Little Brother looked up bei goma on the internet. He found some from the past that had been colored with crayons. He used his crayons to color his, but then washed it off. You can see some of the color left in the crevices.

Children used to spin these tops on a piece of cloth tightly placed on the top of a bucket. Little Brother spins them on his BeyBlade stadium. We're going to try using a bucket.

One of these tops did not spin properly because its tip was damaged from spinning on concrete. We went to an old toy shop to look for a new one.

There was a display of tops outside the shop. These metal bei goma were sold in packages of five. They had different designs on top and different tips. The packages were strung together with plastic string.

Inside this toy shop, small items hang from the ceiling on long strings. When you want to buy something here, you ask the clerk to cut it down for you. The tops were probably hanging inside the shop before the new year holidays.

Tops

Tops are played at New Year's and throughout the year. A top with a string is called bei goma. This one was Papa's when he was young. The tip is metal. They still make these.

This is another type of koma, top. Little Brother played with this type when he was very young.

This top has its own place to spin.

Some of these tops have wooden tips. Some have metal tips. These tops have strings, too. They are strung around the bottom of the tops. One end of the string is held and snapped. This sends the top flying and spinning. Tops are spun for fun, but they are also spun to knock other tops off course.

You may recognize this type of top.

The old and the new.

Kids Web Japan--beyblades

Kids Web Japan--words for family members

Hanetsuki

This is a paddle game, hanetsuki, that is traditionally played on New Year's day. I was told, "Girls in kimono play this." We've played without wearing kimono. I have seen boys playing this, too.

The paddle is called hagoita. A padded silk hagoita is used as a decoration. The shuttlecocks are called hane. The blossom on the back is sakura, cherry blossom.

Games You Can Play

Look who was waddling stiff-legged around the game center.


For 200 yen, you could try once to get one just like him. For 500 yen, you get 3 tries.



For another 100 yen, you can try to get a plastic mascot to hang from your school bag.


And then there's Pooh dressed up for Halloween. This is only a sampling of the games you can play at a game center.


Today was the official Sports Day, a day when schools all over Japan hold sports events. The schools in our area, however, alternate between May and October. This school year, they had their sports day in May. Check the archives of May2006 for the postings about Sports Day.

It would have been a beautiful day for Sports Day. It was pretty quiet in the neighborhood today. It was a three day weekend, so the neighborhood seemed empty.

The New Pokemon

A new Pokemon game was just released. Little Brother's friends had reserved their copies at the local video store, but we missed the cutoff date. Papa stood in line for it, though, and was lucky to get it. It is his early Christmas present. I wonder if or when it will go to the U.S. Have any of you heard about it? Did I just spoil a surprise by posting a picture of him?

Summer Days: Last Days Before Summer Vacation

Yesterday was their last school lunch. It was a special menu. They had two set choices and had to make a decision two weeks in advance. My son chose the meat pie, coffee milk instead of the usual milk, and orange sorbet. The other choice was chicken cream pie, tea or apple juice and vanilla ice cream. Everyone got spaghetti and salad.

Today was the last day of school. They came home at lunch time. Students are off for six weeks. They will go back to the same class on September 1st. (New school years start in April.) Though they have homework assignments to do over the vacation, they'll have time for fun, too. Unfortunately, it was raining today. But here is something fun to do inside on rainy days.

I said in a recent post that a ball is a ball everywhere you go. Well, maybe not. These are paper balls. You blow into the hole to inflate them. They come in four sizes with a round cardboard paddle that you can cut out. The paddle has a hole for you to stick your finger through to grip it easily. You can play by yourself trying to keep the ball in the air or hit the ball to another person. The ball doesn't float so you have to be quick. They're pretty tough. They don't even break when kicked. It's fun for all ages.