A weekend in Kyoto and Osaka
That’s where I will be from tomorrow evening until Monday morning, or rather Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe to be 
precise. As long-term readers of this blog might remember, I went to the Kansai region back at the end of March last year, and loved it there. Kyoto is such a beautiful city, and if I wasn’t in Okinawa then I’d probably choose to be there. I could have spent hours sat by the canal in Gion on an evening, watching the tourists and businessmen go by, while the occasional maiko or geisha will pass on their way to an appointment. Hopefully I’ll be able to take in some kabuki (traditional Japanese theatre) and do a few other cultural bits & bats (you can tell I’ve planned this really well!). It will also be my first time to visit Kobe and so I’ll go and see the museum about the Great Hanshin earthquake that struck the city in 1995, killing over 6,400 people and causing over $200 billion in damage. For those economists and businesspeople out there, you might recall the Nikkei 225 dropped 1,000 points in the day following the earthquake. Indeed, this earthquake was one of the main reasons Barings Bank collapsed, due to Nick Leeson’s speculations in Japanese derivatives.
The worst thing about going to the Kansai region this weekend is that I sincerely doubt I am going to be able to listen to the Good Friday rugby league derby between Wigan and St Helens at the JJB Stadium. The game will be a 24,000 sell-out and is thought to be one of the closest derbies in recent years. Wigan have a 6 point start with the bookmakers, but when it 
comes to 
a derby like this, all form goes out of the window. Having been a Wigan supporter for around 13 years now, I will be cheering the “Cherry and Whites” on against their old rivals. But even as I want every St Helens player to have a shocker, I’ve got to hold some small reervations. My cousin, despite being a Wigan supporter as a child, is now playing in the St Helens team. Consequently, he usually gets the “boo/cheer” from my family and friends when he plays against Wigan (much to the puzzlement of the crowd around them!). I’m going to go for a 22-18 Wigan victory, with plenty of big hits, and a sin-binning or 2 in there for good measure. If you’re not familiar with rugby league, then you should click this link for a short video clip showing some of the big tackles involved in what I believe is The Greatest Game.
I will try to write a report in the first couple of days of next week, but will leave you with a couple of photos of the beautiful Kansai region of Japan. Take care and have a great Easter.
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Have fun over the weekend Dave!
Oh dear… I think the cherry and whites need some help Dave. We had a poor match, outplayed totally, much as I hate to admit it. And yes, we got confused and disgusted looks when we cheered for Bad Boy Bennett’s try in the last few minutes. Disappointing, but an improvement on 70-0!! All because you weren’t listening, you do realise that…
Maybe next time eh…
Bim x