Monday 1 July 2013

Arriving in Osaka

Yesterday I finally arrived at Osaka Airport. Which actually is an artificial island. After having some trouble to get at least an initial amount of money I found a nice guy with an "Osaka Go Camp" sign who directed my to a bus. At the end of the bus tour there were already waiting other people to guide me through the subway. I guess it's quite easy to get lost if the organizers take so much care of their participants.

After registration everybody got this nice fan as a present by the Kansai Kiin. It is on purpose that it's empty so we can ask professionals for their signature. Next to that, I got my name badge which included just another upgrade. Since the rankings in Japan are a bit shifted compared to other parts of the world the organizers tried to balance that. For me this resulted in a promotion to 1 Kyu. I would not be surprised if the Japanese people constructed the rankings like this on purpose so foreigners can feel stronger by just coming to Japan :-)

The playing site is also used for Sumo events. The circle in the middle is kind of a "channel" (I don't even know how I would call it in German). However one must constantly be careful to not stumble into it. 















My room is in traditional Japanese style but actually it's quite comfortable. The fact that my room mate did not show up makes it a bit less crowded also.

That's it for the introduction, I will shortly report about the first day.















PS: Speaking about ranks and name badges. I guess there are not so many 10p's out there...

3 comments:

  1. I think 10p is only one in Japan as a person who won the 10p (Jyudan) tournament can give out that rank, Yuki-san this year.

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  2. "For me this resulted in a promotion to 1 Kyu. I would not be surprised if the Japanese people constructed the rankings like this on purpose so foreigners can feel stronger by just coming to Japan :-)"

    That's part 1 of their promise to make us 2 ranks stronger.
    Before leaving, we'll get a new badge which is yet one rank higher.
    Mission accomplished.

    Ok then, I will now explore the area and go to the bars, no need to play go anymore :P

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  3. That's so cool! I'm looking forward to a day where I own a high quality fan for playing go. =D Also, I think it's interesting how simple the Japanese rooms are compared to the typical hotels you generally see in the United States. Not a bad thing at all, just a cool difference. =D

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