Sensei had a business meeting in central Tokyo, with the Irish Tourist Board. I went along just to look around the area and then meet him later. It was another long journey with many changes, and it was hot as hell by 11:30am. Sensei left me in a little shopping area and we arranged to meet in an Italian café for espresso when he is finished. I roamed around looking in the stores and bookshops for a few souvenirs with the sweat rolling down my back. Unable to go any further without liquid refreshment, I nipped into a little convenience store looking for some lemonade or something thirst quenching in the drinks refrigerator and settled for a big can of grapefruit drink that said “Cool and Refreshing” with a big picture of cold grapefruits on the front. It was delicious and I drank it all in two or three swallows. I made my way to the café and started feeling a bit funny, quite pleasant actually! Then it suddenly occurred to me that what I had drunk must have been alcohol. When Sensei arrived he made me bring him across the street and show him what it was – which turned out to be a vodka cocktail with sparking grapefruit juice – enough for four servings! Well, needless to say the rest of the afternoon went quite quickly!

Later that evening, we went back to the Kaio Hotel in Shinjuku so that Sensei could meet with the Grandmaster and the referees committee for a ‘post tournament’ discussion. I sat in the foyer and fell asleep for about an hour and a half when Iwasaki Sensei woke me up to bring me upstairs for wine because the Grandmaster said I should not be sleeping in the lobby like that! My head was a bit sore and I was hungry. Upstairs, the officials had been meeting in the restaurant where the panoramic views of Tokyo was quite amazing despite the dark and gloomy sky. I ate some sandwhiches and then talked with Osaka Sensei from Utah in America and also Kazutaka Ohtsuka who is the son of Jiro Ohtsuka, both of whom spoke very good English and were anxious to make me feel at ease.


The view from the restaurant where the post-tournament meeting of officials was held.

Once again we finished the day in the Japanese baths at the hotel. There were several other men that evening, all probably businessmen Sensei said, and they spent ages washing and soaping and rubbing, all the time sitting on their little plastic stools in front of their shower handle and plastic basin. I didn’t spend as long rubbing and soaping as they did and preferred to soak in the hot tub with the water jets on my sore back. Afterwards, we sat in the games room and drank ice cold Asahi for the last time. The next day I was to travel home, disappointed and a little disillusioned but determined not to let the experience interrupt my training. After all, that’s what its all about – the training!


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