World Cup for Father's Day

Today was Father's Day here in Japan, too. Our Papa had to work. We couldn't have done anything anyway. There were thousands and thousands of water rings! (See the posting for June 16). No waves, but there were mini rivers around our house.

The World Cup Soccer game between Japan and Croatia is about to start. Tomorrow is a school day and it's too late for all of us to go so Papa went by himself. He won't be outside, though. Movie theaters across Japan are screening the game for 2000 yen per ticket. That's pretty cheap for tickets here. (The yen changes everyday, but I think it has been about $1.07 lately).

It's the second World Cup game that Papa has watched at the theater. He said there were three security guards there last time. I have never seen a security guard at a movie theater here. Last time he went, they gave him this pennant. Coca Cola is giving these keychains away with the purchase of a bottle of their soft drinks. You can buy the bottles at convenience stores like 7-Eleven and Mini Stop. You probably have these keychains in your country, too.

Wagon

These children were going to use this wagon to transport chairs that were used for the elderly guests at the Sports Day. I have seen this kind of wagon in other places, too. I have seen city workers use this to carry tools, brooms, ladders and cut branches when they clean the park. I have also seen construction workers use them.

I took a close-up so that you could see the wheel. It looks like a bicycle wheel. See the frame around it? That looks like a good idea.

School Days: Sports Day

The official time for Sports Day is in October, but both Big Sister's and Little Brother's were this May. Today was the junior high's. No ribbons are given to individual students. For this junior high, there were five teams, red, green, yellow, white and blue. They were competing with each class and grade. The teams got points for the number of "winners" of the events. There were mostly races and relays. There was tug of war.

Big Sister is part of a volunteer club that goes to nursing homes and festivals to perform Japanese dances. They perform at Sports Day, too. Members of other classes were taught a dance to perform with them. Here is a picture of Big Sister dancing just with her club members.

The other picture is the scene outside a conference room. Parents went in to get out of the sun to eat their lunch. they took boxed lunches. Street shoes are not worn inside the school so everyone left theirs outside the door. Looks like a lot of people went on home for lunch. There were a few of us eating our lunch outside in the sun, too.