3-on-3 Game

The weekend was ok this time. Kagoshima had its big annual fireworks show on Sakurajima on Saturday, which could have gone better or worse. Coming up on Saturday, I knew that I'd have to miss the fireworks because I teach English lessons at the school in the evening. But, a few weeks ago, I discovered that the display was going to be on the 18th, which is at the end of Obon, so the school was going to be closed. Yay - fireworks. However, I'm busy on the 25th with other work, so the school rescheduled my lessons from the 25th to the 18, with classes specifically from 7-9 PM. Sigh. Then, at 7 PM, the student was late because the streetcars were all so packed with people going to Dolphin Port to watch the display, and when he did arrive, he said that he could only take one lesson in order to avoid the return traffic crush. So, I taught until 8:10 PM, and then ran the 6 blocks to Dolphin Port, where I was able to watch the last 30 minutes, including the big finale. So that was good. Partial-yay!



I didn't have much reason to get out on Sunday, and was pretty much planning on just staying home. But, there were a couple things I needed at Amu Plaza, so I got out the door at about 4 PM. At that time, the Kagoshima Explorers basketball team was putting on a 3-on-3 exhibit game in the open plaza. There must have been about 200 people watching, making it difficult to get close enough to take photos. I just held the camera up over my head and took a few shots and hoped they'd turn out. For amusement, the English slogan on the fliers being handed out reads "Explorers Kagoshima - Slow But Sure." Not the best motto for a pro basketball team...



I'm not a fan of pro sports, and I don't know any of the players. So, I didn't stick long. But the game here did end a little later, and the cheerleaders came out. I would have tried to watch them, but the crowds had gotten bigger, and the women just did AKB48-style posturing, but with pompoms. I never realized that cheerleaders could be boring like that. Eventually I returned home for an early dinner, and then did work for the rest of the evening.

I liked the fireworks, anyway. I don't know of any more events coming up, until the big outdoor Jazz fest Sept. 8-9. Last year, there was a good black drummer, but it doesn't look like he's coming back this time. This year, the headlining foreign group is the Kurt Rosenwinkel Trio. Everyone else is Japanese. On the plus side, it's a free 2-day show.