The Balloon & Sports Day

 Eri & I got serious, and took our shoes off for traction

Eri and Rufus invited us to a sports day happening at a local school. I immediately had visions of McNaughton Park when I was 10 years old, when the whole school would gather for Field Day: a day off of school, where we got to play competitive games like 3-legged race, sprint races, and the good ole fashion potato-sack race. Man those days were the best, coming home with blue ribbons and purple flavored drinks in the plastic barrels with foil lids. None of that everyone's-a-winner crap, if you got ribbons it was because you kicked ass.

So I had some pretty high expectations for what these kids could do. Judging by some of the amazing Japanese competition programs you see on TV, I was almost expecting rubber suit sumo wrestling and sake keg hurdles. It turns out that this particular sports day was organized for the community. And given that the vast majority of Kamiyama's population is over 65,  hilarity ensued.

We walked in at the start of a vicious tug of war. Wow, you put enough people on a rope, regardless of age, and it's gonna get dicey. I had rope burns on my hands. My side lost but we all got to go up and collect prizes... which was a 12 pack of paper towels! I've never seen kids excited to get kitchen roll, but they ran back to their parents holding the packs triumphantly over their heads with glee on their faces. 

Being that we're in farming country, some of the games involved produce, like can you walk to and around that cone with 3 sudachi limes balanced on a badminton racquet. (The answer was an astounding no for most of the folks on my team. I was trying really hard not to feel competitive, so I was happy everyone wins the prize!) And other games were sheer ridiculousness. Nik got roped into the balloon popping race, where little old ladies ran at him with balloons that had to be popped between their bodies, which in a country not fond of the hug, sent most of the ladies, and Nik, into hysterics. He said their little spines were cracking. Should've been video-ing it.

The kids only games had suitable kid prizes like candy and small toys but the rest of the day unfolded into a Price Is Right realm. In the end, our booty included said paper towels, small onsen towels, Japanese curry mix, a variety of weird and wacky little snacks, tissues, cling wrap (which is awesome here, for those of you who know my cling film obsession you know this was my top prize), and a pink-ringed waste basket. The only thing I was upset we didn't get, because we were too late to get in line for the rubber tire rolling race, was the laundry soap. We're nearly out.

PS. Hopper pretty much spent the entire 2 hours asking to go home and refused to participate much to the disappointment of the organizer dude, who, bless him, was relentless in his attempts to win him over. Of course he still got the prizes.

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