Join us in Japan

Day 2 – Meeting Our Buddies

Arriving after dark meant we had no idea just how beautiful our accommodation setting really was.

The Seminar House is nestled amongst mountains and forest, and the morning light revealed a stunning landscape surrounding us. Before long it was time for breakfast, with players enjoying a traditional Japanese meal of miso soup, rice, fish and meatballs in the cafeteria.

While managers tackled the first round of laundry, the teams prepared for one of the most anticipated moments of the tour – our visit to Kobe Koryo Gakuen High School.

The welcome was incredible.

Students greeted our players with handmade signs featuring their names, while cheers, smiles and laughter echoed through the hallways. Our new buddies guided us around the school before sharing lunch together. Despite the language barrier, friendships quickly began to form. Bottle flipping became the universal language as students and players laughed and competed together throughout the day.

Following the school visit, it was time for baseball.

The U18 team travelled to Mikiyama Stadium to face Kobe Koryo’s A Team, while the U13 group remained at the school.

The Queensland players were immediately impressed by the Japanese warm-up routines. Every drill, every throw and every pitch was performed with remarkable energy, discipline and attention to detail. It was a fascinating insight into the dedication that has made Japanese baseball famous around the world.

On the scoreboard, the result was a challenging one, with the U18 team falling by 47 runs. However, the scoreline told only part of the story. The Queensland players never stopped encouraging one another, never stopped smiling and continued to enjoy every moment of the experience.

As the bus wound its way back through the countryside, players chatted, laughed and watched the rice fields roll past outside the windows. The result may not have gone our way, but the memories being created certainly did.

Day 3 – More Baseball

Day three followed a familiar rhythm as the group settled into life in Japan.

After another traditional breakfast of fish, rice and soup, the girls gathered for a team meeting before making the trip back to Kobe Koryo Gakuen. Lunch in the school cafeteria provided another opportunity to spend time with our Japanese hosts before the team headed once again to Mikiyama Stadium.

The mission for the day was an ambitious one: introducing the Japanese team to one of Australia’s more unique local competition rules — the six-runs-across mercy rule.

Explaining that six runs equals three outs proved a little challenging at first, but with the help of translation devices and plenty of patience, both teams eventually understood the concept. The Japanese coaching staff were incredibly supportive, even lending us two pitchers and a catcher to help throughout the game.

The contest itself was another learning experience. While the final margin remained substantial, the Queensland team showed significant improvement and competed with confidence throughout the day.

One of the biggest celebrations came after escaping an inning having allowed only five runs. It might seem like a small victory, but moments like these are what make touring so memorable. Every out, every run prevented and every improvement is something to celebrate.

Perhaps the greatest success of the day wasn’t on the field at all.

The friendships between the Queensland and Koryo players continue to grow stronger. Bus rides are now filled with singing, laughter and constant conversation, with players finding ways to communicate despite speaking different languages.

Tomorrow will be our final day with the Koryo girls, and already there is a sense that saying goodbye will be one of the hardest parts of the trip.

Fortunately, there are still plenty more memories to make before then.

It’s no wonder they are at the level they are with this volume of quality training.

They only have one coach. The captain of the team runs warm up, and the players also coach 1st and 3rd during the game. The girls do all the line marking pre game and rake full dirt fields by hand after each session. They are a very well oiled machine and it has been pretty incredible to watch our girls compete against them.

The Queensland coaches are incredibly proud of how our girls have handled themselves, they’ve not taken a backwards step in playing this team, which is awesome.

Even though the scorelines have been quite large, at no time have they dropped their head or stopped supporting each other. And each day we are improving on the parts of the game that we are discussing in our debriefs.
The rivalry on the field has been strong, but the bus rides home together on the bus have really been where memories and friendships have been made and as they got off the bus and said good bye for the last time, there was sadness in the air.

Day 5 – Sightseeing

Getting the teams up for an earlier start was pretty easy today as they all knew we were heading into Osaka for some sightseeing. And boy did we see some sights!

The first stop was Osaka Castle. This traditional 8 storey castle was built in 1583. It is a museum now to preserve the history of the castle. It offered spectacular views from the highest level and showed off some interesting artefacts, including samurai suits and swords. The teams enjoyed the displays, but not as much as the opportunity to shop for the first time in the stores beside it!

After a very brief shop, we strolled through the surrounding gardens, under the cherry blossom trees, imagining what they would look like in bloom. The stroll took us back to our bus, which drove us to Doutonbori. This place really is fascinating. The signs, the lights, the smells, the people. Incredible.

We got to first see them by cruising up the Tombori river, and then by foot as we made our way to lunch.

Lunch today was Okonomiyaki. A dish we had to cook ourselves on the teppan, which was a lot of fun. The players made an absolute mess!

The players all broke off with coaches after this and hit the shops. With bank accounts a little depleted, it was back on the bus and over to Koshien stadium, the home of the Hanshin Tigers and the school boys National titles. We were privileged to have a private tour of the stadium, including the air conditioned bullpen for the visiting team and of course, the stadium store.

We boarded the bus once more, laden with our purchases and moved to our new accommodation for the night, the Shin-Osaka Youth Hostel.

The hotel offered traditional Onsen (communal bathing house) where bathing suits were not allowed, so our players chose to line up in front of the 4 cubicle showers we had available to us, making the showering quite a long process.

The team staff were grateful when the players finally were tucked up in bed so they could begin the laundry. After 20,290 steps today and another late one, the coaches might be the ones who need to be dragged out of bed in the morning!

Day 6 – Tokyo Dome

Breakfast today was a little closer to home, with our accommodation offering little sausages, eggs and croissants as part of the buffet. Quite a number people stayed clear of the fish and rice but a few who have really settled into Japanese life, still opted for these breakfast choices.

Once we had packed up our rooms, our guide walked us through the rainy streets of Osaka to the train station to catch the Shinkansen (bullet train). This station was bigger than some airports. If he wasn’t leading the way, there is a certainty we would have become lost in the crowds and chaos. We had to board from a numbered gate onto the reserved section of our carriage. Many of our group were aware that we would pass Mt Fuji but hope faded at seeing the beautiful landmark when we realised the clouds and rain would mar our view. The ride was about two and a half hours so some watched devices, some chattered away and others had a little nap!

Once in Tokyo, we boarded a bus to head to the Tokyo Dome. The players and coaches were so excited to arrive and even more excited when we broke up into groups to check out the stadium shops and have some lunch. Lunch today for most was burger Shack. The taste of those burgers and fries were savoured by everyone, which goes to show how different food is here from what we are used to.

We eventually made our way into our seats of the indoor stadium and got to enjoy our the view. This place was phenomenal. The size, the crowds, the singing. There were groups of people with trumpets and drums. When their team was batting, whole sections sung songs and had synchronised actions to the words. For the whole 9 innings the singing and chanting did not stop. In between innings, the dressed people up as sushi and had sushi races, there was cheerleaders dancing, and other fun and games. The Giants beat the Dragons 1-0 in an extremely tight game.

After the game, it was back on the bus to our accommodation, Keyaki Gate Hotel. The players were pretty excited to get their room allocation with some of the players having a room, and a shower, to themselves for the next three days. Small luxuries.

Day 7 – FUCHU CITY BASEBALL

Over the years, the mayor of Fuchu City, Mr Takano, has built a strong relationship with Baseball Australia. His relationship with Australia has provided opportunities for Australian baseball players to train and play in Japan. Today’s games were organised by Mr Takano and his staff and it really felt like we were honoured guests of Fuchu City, playing at Fuchu Stadium. Our change room was stocked with gifts of food, the players presented us with gifts after the games and photographers and other staff were around at all times to capture the games and our interaction with players. It was almost like we were celebrities!

Both teams were once again up against some talented baseball players. We played against two local club teams, the Fuchu City Eagles and the Musashi Nadeshiko. The highlight of the U18 game today was not only scoring our first run, but also following it up with a base clearing triple to score another 3. The score finished a little closer, 17-4. After the game, the girls sat in the stands, watching the U13 team play. The players from Nadeshiko shared their Japanese snacks with us while we shared Tim Tams with them.

Once we returned to the hotel the teams hung out, some exploring the local mall before getting ready to head out to dinner. The teams had another go at cooking their own food at an all you can eat Yakiniku. The players had a lot of fun trying different meats and vegetables and putting them on the grill. The players went to bed with full tummies tonight.

Day 8

Today we visited schools. We didn’t know what to expect, we just knew we were going to be interacting with students. We certainly were not expecting to be greeted by a marching band of over 120 students!

After they performed, they took us to their classes where they had set up traditional games or made carnival style games for us to play. We participated in Kendama, calligraphy, menko, ayatori, shooting games (with rubber bands), hoop games and spinning tops. The children had gone to a lot of trouble to set it all up and practise their English to be able to tell us how to play. We finished at this school by playing a huge game of dodgeball where we think Coach Cheyne was having more fun than the children.

The teams split after lunch. The U18 team caught taxis to another school while the U13 team hit the arcade. The U18s had visited the arcade a few times in our stay here, demonstrating their mastery of the claw games so the U13s wanted their turn. Many prevailed with a toy or two.

At the next school we split up and some played some more dodgeball. The highlight was a group of our girls teaching the dance club the nutbush. The dance club loved it and wanted their autographs after they finished.

After the taxi ride back to the hotel, we went across the road for Shabu Shabu. The players cooked their own meat and vegetables in little pots of water and broth on the tables. If you ordered more, a robot brought it to your table. The players soon discovered the dessert bar though so the cooking was put aside. They could make their own waffles, cotton candy or shaved ice. There was ice cream, toppings and different sauces so they were in their element.

The coaches decided it best to walk off some of the sugar before bed so we walked the streets and found some pretty cool shrines and temples to look at.

Day 9

The hotel was packed up nice and early to face the peak hour traffic. We had a scheduled game at Urawa Gakuen High School at 9:30 and as we inched closer, we realised that our warm up was getting shorter and shorter. One thing about this trip has been the tight turn around between arriving and playing games. The U18 hustle at each field to get the bus emptied, the dugout set up and get run through and bands done so they can throw. It hasn’t given them much time to settle into the transition between travel and playing. And when you are up against the talent they have been, they have had to work harder at that mental side of the game to be ‘in it’. Our arrival was very late and the school cut down the game time so we had time to warm up. It was unfortunate as this was to be our last game in Japan and we really wanted to savour it.

The school greeted us by lining the drive way with the teams and waving flags and banners as we drove in. We again felt like celebrities disembarking into the crowd. The field was a little more rustic than we had been playing on but was still well looked after by the students. Our game was played with a 5 runs across rule and over 6 innings, the score was 17-1.

The trip to our new hotel was a long one and  we were grateful to arrive. We weren’t there for long though as coaches were feeling brave and decided to brave the streets of Tokyo with the teams. Our mission was to get them all to the Shhibuya Scramble crossing, by train.

The trains here are not like trains at home. The process is truly epic. The volume of people alone is enough to send anyone running, but not us! We bought the tickets, navigated the platforms, crammed in to the carriages and got to our destination.

The players were so excited to walk out and see exactly what is in the movies and all over TikTok. This place really held up to the hype. After making the mandatory video of crossing the street, we hit the shops and found a Burger King for dinner. The trip home was less exciting but the coaches did give themselves a little high five for completing the mission successfully.

Day 10

Our schedule had a free day today. An unplanned day to do what ever we want. So, what does one do with 28 players under the age of 18….take them to Tokyo Disney of course!

We took the train again but had to change lines midway. The Japanese people sign things really well so we were able to make this change without getting lost or losing anyone in the crowds.

We arrived at Disney Sea about an hour after opening so there were no lines to get in, but the lines for the rides were pretty solid! Some rides were about a 2 hour wait.

Some players figured out the Disney app and paid for priority, some waited patiently in line and some chose to hit the shops. There was plenty to see just walking around and plenty of things to marvel at. Everyone was fascinated by the popcorn flavours. They had the usual butter and caramel but also Soy, Curry and Garlic Shrimp.

Coach Bobby and a couple of parents shouted us all a ride on the Disney monorail back to the station to save our legs. It was pretty cool with Mickey shaped windows.

Finding our way back was a little easier and the teams had the getting on and getting off as a group down to a fine art by the time we were back at Shinagawa.

We split up for dinner; those who wanted Macdonalds (most of the group) and those that didn’t. Our tired legs carried us the rest of the way to the hotel and everyone was grateful to learn that the bus is picking us up a tiny bit later in the morning.

Day 11

Our bus took us to Adachi today to visit Field Force ball park. The Hamano family very generously paid for our lunch and for us all to take part in a coaching session run by their coaching staff. Field Force Ball park is a large indoor setup, with artificial turf and nets for batting cages, dedicated bullpen mounds and an attached shop with professional grade training gear.

The training session we had today was a culmination of everything we have been witnessing the Japanese players do. We started with their running warm up. As a group they run, in sync with each other, moving as one. It took us a few laps to finally hit our left feet on the ground all at once, but it did happen for a few steps! We then moved into some fielding work where the emphasis was about knowing where to throw it to make it easier for your team mate.

The Japanese players focus on cohesion, which drives individuals to execute their roles flawlessly so teammates do not face unnecessary hardship. This eases the workload on the field for all. We witnessed this throughout the trip. Everyone worked together to setup fields and unpack buses. Every player had roles while the game was on. It was even someone’s job to get the catcher and pitcher a cup of water when they came off.

During this training session they made the example that if you throw the ball where your team mate needs it, they don’t have to work harder to make the play. To emphasise this we also did some glove flips, run down technique, and some hopping to receive the ball on the ground. At one point, players had to receive the ball behind their legs to ensure they were keeping their legs wide. It really had the players working hard and thinking hard as well!

From here we walked down the street to the workshop where they make their gloves. They hand make personalised gloves using your hand measurements and your colour choices. They showed us the whole process from selecting the type of leather and cutting it to shape, stitching, adding embroidery and of course, various finished products. Some of the team went home very happy customers after making a purchase of their pre-made options.

Dinner was a casual affair in the food court downstairs from the hotel and the players were sent back to their rooms to squash all of their purchases into their suitcases, ready to check out in the morning.

Day 12

The one thing that the players have been desperate to do all trip is to purchase baseball gear, so today we headed to the Kanda sporting district to do just that. This district is a shopping area that has mainly sporting goods stores. We caught the train again and started at Baseman.

Shops don’t generally open until 11:00am so it was plenty of time to check our suitcases into baggage at the hotel and navigate the train system again. We arrived just before the doors opened but when they did, there was no stopping the players. The narrow aisles of this tightly packed shop barely contained us all, but many purchases were made including gloves, shoes, batting gloves and bat bags.

We then hiked nearly 2km to Mizuno and then Super Sports Xebio before sitting down for lunch. Our time was running out and so were our wallets so we headed back to the hotel to meet the bus. We said goodbye to some of our team mates so they could stay on with their parents and boarded the bus.

Traffic was slow and it was the equivalent of us dragging our feet to leave.

We had squeezed every bit out of the time we had in Japan making so many memories and were going to miss the people we had spent the last 12 days with.

Some will miss having rice for breakfast, some will miss the access to vending machines or even a warm toilet seat. Some will be glad to use a fork again, (particularly a certain coach who couldn’t quite master the technique) and some will be glad to see a bin.

Many of us walk away having learnt many new things, but all of us walk away with friendships and memories to last always lifetime.