Japan v Scotland - Yokohama Stadium

We had a great time at the football game yesterday (Saturday 10th October), despite the final score. I assumed the role of proud ex-pat Scot and wore the kilt to the game. The kilt often gets a lot of attention when I have cause to wear it in Japan and therefore sometimes I avoid it so that I can blend in to the background a bit more. However, the overwhelming opinion of my Facebook friends clearly required a bit of kilt wearing action and I was happy to oblige.

It was quite a long journey to Yokohama Stadium and we had to take 3 different trains, each of them progressively busier than the last. The kilt was obviously a point of interest for many of my fellow travelers as they were sneaking frequent looks and mentioning it in conversation.

The journey to Yokohama was generally uneventful until we got on our last train. A couple of meters from us were 4 members of the Tartan Army who had obviously travelled all the way from Scotland for the game. They were generally a genial bunch, if however slightly pissed up. Yuki and I really enjoyed listening to their thick Scottish accents but I was glad that the other passengers on the train had no chance to understand some of their jokes. Not for the faint hearted! Yuki and I got off at a different stop and I exchanged pleasantries with them as we got off the train.

When we reached the station in Yokohama, we walked about 15 minutes to the stadium through large crowds of Japanese fans. There were no other signs of Scotland fans and it seemed that there would only be a handful of Scots at the game. However, as we got closer to the stadium, the sight of kilts became more common and I realised that there was a fairly respectable contingent of my countrymen at the game. We all enjoyed the game despite it ending in defeat for the Scots. I decided to make an addition effort to mark myself as a Scot by consuming as many cans of lager as possible throughout the occasion and I managed to put away a good few before full time. Clara was angry with me for much of the game as I was joining in the Scottish chants and created a few of my own when a Japanese the irritating Japanese fan in front of me decided to contribute. Each time he opened his mouth, I would drown him out, which has resulted in me gaining a rather hoarse voice. Although the final score was not a big surprise as Scotland were essentially playing their B team, I was surprised to see so many Japanese people in the Scotland end wearing Scottish tops and scarves. I can only assume many of them have lived in Scotland before and decided to support Scotland instead.

A a great day out and a rare chance to have an excuse to be drunk and with a tad faux bellicose. Looking forward to the next time Scotland come calling.

National Museum of Nature and Science

Continuing on our new vein of pro-activity, Yuki, Clara, and I visited the Ueno area of Tokyo to explore the National Museum of Nature and Science. Once again, the weather was not great and there were some heavy showers. However, the inclement weather proved useful in scaring away the crowds and allowed us to explore the museum relatively unmolested.

The smell on this day was not quite as pleasant as the smell of the previous week at Roppongi Hills. Because of the heavy rain, the smell of dog shit hung in the air as we walked though Ueno Park. Not a pleasant smell but it was certainly preferable to the heavy crowds that would have been around if the weather had been better.The museum was pretty interesting and I liked the fact that many of the scientific texts and instruments displayed originated from Britain. The best part of the visit was just watching Clara running around soaking up as much information as possible. Towards the end of our visit, I was starting to tire of the rain-forest exhibition and so started mimicking the bird calls being played though the hidden speakers. Clara did not seem to be impressed with my bird calls but none of the other people around seemed to notice.

Another pleasant day out and a good chance for some mental stimulation for us all.