University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Volleyball Japan Travel Blog
3/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
March 22, 2015
The Gophers closed out their scrimmages and their trip to Japan with an eventful day. With a morning scrimmage, the Gophers fell in four sets and battled the duration of the scrimmage.
After the scrimmage was done, Minnesota and Japan posed for a full team photo before taking off on sightseeing.
The Gophers then had lunch and went to a premier league men's professional volleyball matches. Quite a sight as each team had cheer sections and thunder sticks each time they scored a point. In Japan, each team is allowed to have just one international player. A great experience for the team to see.
We then went out to eat at a yakiniku restaurant. Similar to our first experience, they give you raw meat and instead of boiling, you grill your own meat in the center of the table. We had beef, chicken, and even ventured out to some cow tongue and octopus. All tasted pretty good and the meal itself was quite the event!
It just so happened that a karaoke place was right next to restaurant. Nao, Mr. Kanno and coach McCutcheon told us that karaoke in Japan is extremely popular here. The team had a great time singing but maybe even more watching the coaches and even Nao Ikeda sing a Karen Carpenter song. It was awesome!
As we close out on our trip, we want to thank the Japan Volleyball Association and the National Training Center for hosting us. I think I speak for all in saying that it was a once in a lifetime experience and we are very fortunate for this opportunity.
We're also thankful for Nao and Mr. Kanno for being such great navigators and showing us their great country. Traveling internationally can be stressful, but with these two, it came with ease. Thanks again for all you do!
Take a look at the latest video as Samantha Seliger Swenson and Katie Schau close out our video series!
Sayonara from Japan!
March 20, 2015
The Gophers did something that not many get to do, they held a joint practice with the Japan University Team. Minnesota and Japan combined for some drills and had a great time in the process. What a great opportunity. Check out Paige Tapp and Dalianliz Rosado as they broke down the last couple of days.
March 19, 2015
PHOTO GALLERY
Although we're here primarily for volleyball, what a great day of exploring for the Gophers. We left the NTC at 8:45 a.m., and packed in a full day of sightseeing until 7:45 p.m.
Here with Gopher Volleyball, we couldn't ask for better navigators in Nao Ikeda and Mr. Kanno. They showed us the sights and did a fantastic job. We're very lucky to have them show us around and we went to a couple great locations.
We started out the day taking the metro to the Tsukiji Market. It's pretty safe to say that no one has ever experienced something like that before. Every aisle, everywhere you turn, people browsing to purchase fish or seafood. Head coach Hugh McCutcheon, as world traveler he is, never had been to the fish market. Even Mr. Kanno, had never been there so it was a new experience for him as well. Bustling activity everywhere and really no words to explain it properly. It's amazing to see that much fish/seafood come out of the ocean every single day.
We then broke up and went shopping to all the streets and surrounding areas. Everything from fruit, to dried squid (which was purchased by Nao), to whale bacon, green tea and oysters lined the shops and streets.
After shopping for a little while, we went out to eat at the restaurant called "Tentake" which is a restaurant specialized to serve seafood and "Fugu". The Gophers experienced something that not many have. The place we went to was licensed to prepare blowfish (Fugu). We all divided it up for a sample and tried it. Not bad at all! When in Japan....
The Gophers then went to the Senso-Ji and the Asakusa Kannon Templeand walked around. Lining the streets again were shops for sounveniers and if you ventured a little further off the main road, even clothing stores, a mall and restaurants. The Gophers were able to take it all in and have fun exploring.
We went to the electric district where the Gophers could purchase iPads, computers, tablets, cameras, toys, etc. You name it, they had it. The team went to a shabu-shabu restaurant. It's a place where you cook your meat and vegetables in a boiling pot of water and seaweed. It was amazing to see how fast the meat cooked and a fun way to cook/eat dinner for the team. Definitely a new experience. It also followed by ice cream, which was an instant hit.
Full day of adventure and the Gophers will get back in the gym tomorrow. We have a scrimmage, but we're integrating with the Japanese team. New experiences all around!
Sayo nara!
