5/27
I went to Tokyo Saturday to see the all japan aikikai demonstration. I went along with the high school club that I train with, they were participating as they do every year.
After only getting about 4 hours sleep and having to get up at 5 to catch the 7:30 flight, I wasn’t very awake. In fact, on the way to the budokan we stopped at a 7&i (711) to get our lunches and drinks. They happen to have a huge display for redbull. I was so tired I just grabbed one, bought it and left. It wasn’t till after I drank it that I realized that they were being sold, cheap, almost the same price as in the US. So need less to say I have a decent stash that I brought back from tokyo. On a side note, the 7&i is next to the Kudanshita, JR exit 3. I checked other 7&is and other stores in Tokyo and no others had it. I am hoping they are testing the market and will soon test in Hiroshima.
The zen taikai was interesting. This year there were a lot of foriegners demonstrating; france, spain, netherlands, malaysia, singapore and america. The shihans were for the most part interesting to watch. A few that stood out were Endo, Watanabe, Yasano, Tada and Dosshu. The students did well, in fact they recieved first place for the high school participants.
I have video. Now I just need to dump it to my laptop. Stay tuned!