A taste of Japan

Arizona Summer Wildcat

Arizona junior shortstop Keoni DeRenne, along with UA teammates Ben Diggins and Shelley Duncan, traveled with the U.S. national team to play the Japanese national team overseas from June 21-July 1.

While the Americans didn't fare too well, going 0-5, DeRenne kept a diary of the team's trip through Japan - his and his teammates' first visit to that country.

June 21

We landed at Narita (Tokyo) Airport, which was very clean and they had the coolest baggage carts. We then took a 11 and a half hour bus ride to the Tanagawa Prince Hotel. I got a headache from all the traveling and couldn't eat dinner, which was a buffet of rice, steak, curry shrimp, roast, etc. (it was awesome). I went to sleep at 9 p.m.

June 22

I woke up at 4 a.m., 6 a.m., and finally at 8. I went to the breakfast buffet, which was American food. I watched TV with only Japanese channels available.

Then we went to Meiji Jingu Stadium (the home field of the Yakult Swallows) for practice. It was all Astroturf. We ate McDonald's for lunch, so everyone was happy. There was iced coffee for drinks, but that was not a favorite.

We had a banquet dinner that night with the Japanese team. We had to stand up the whole time. Everyone in the room had beer to drink except our team (I guess it's legal for them).

After dinner we watched a Japanese pro game on TV in the hotel, then we went to bed at 10 p.m.

June 23

I woke up early for breakfast because we had to leave early for our 1 p.m. game. The game was a good one, but we lost. Everyone was disappointed.

After the game we went to eat at the same buffet restaurant, which actually cost $30 a head (it was so overpriced). Then we caught a train to watch a professional game at the same stadium we'd played at. The fans there were so loud and cheerful, totally different than the American fans.

We caught a train to Shibuga, a part of Tokyo which a had a night life with many people our age. Plenty of them dressed funky. They tried to act like they were "westernized." We also noticed all the cell phones in Japan. Everyone has one. It's about the size of a shoe horn and very light in weight.

We went to bed pretty late.

June 24

We got up early today in order to take the bus to the next town, called Mito. It took three hours, and we were all tired. We checked in at the hotel, and we each had our own single room.

We played our game that night, lost again 9-1. We ate dinner in a room that had only 10 chairs, no tables.

June 25

We woke up at 9 to eat a Japanese-like breakfast. It had sweet egg, tofu, miso soup, fish parts, nori (seaweed) and rice. Not everyone enjoyed it. There was a McDonald's across the street.

We left the hotel at 10:45 for another bus trip to Yamagata. We saw lots of rice fields and countryside on the way. We finally arrived at the hotel, and again had our own rooms. The rooms were tiny. They were smaller than a one-person dorm room. Most of the guys didn't really fit into their bathrooms.

At night we walked around, but there was nothing to do. We came back and put on our Japanese robes that are in the hotel. About 16 of us took pictures outside on the street while many people drove by in their cars and stared. Two (good looking) young ladies came over and tried to talk with us. They left after about 10 minutes.

June 26

We ate another buffet-style breakfast which was very good. We drove 45 minutes in order to play our game. This stadium was all dirt in the infield. It was a very nice setting and a good crowd, but we lost for the third straight time. We were very discouraged. The Japanese team is awesome, they make no mistakes.

We drove back to the hotel, ate lunch and then drove for five hours to the Aomori prefecture. We got in late tonight. We're staying at a beautiful resort on a lake.