I wake up before everyone else; around 6:45. The small confines of my capsule serve me well throughout the night, and I feel well rested. Sadly though, I end up waiting around for quite
awhile, which is funny because we had all planned to leave at eight. One after the other, Kevin and Mike wake up, but not Masahiro. We figure we will give him some more time to sleep, so we go and grab breakfast in the lobby.
When we come back, we are hoping that he is awake, well, he still isn't. At this point, we are wondering if he is even in his capsule, so we go up to it (at least the one that we think is his) and start pawing, scratching, whispering, and meowing at it, trying to wake him up. We yield no results, so at this point we check the front desk to make sure we are harassing the right number. We are. Ok good.
Well, looks like it's time to pry that coffin open!
I approach the room with malicious intent - he must rise from his slumber!
First, I flip the lights on and off, once that has been done an absurd amount of times, I pull up the shade serving as his door and begin insisting upon the idea of waking up. He wasn't dead or missing after all, he sat up and groggily asked us to get him some water. Looks like somebody was out late last night! Tsk tsk.
Alas, an awkward situation befalls us at this moment. Kevin has to stay in town to play in the A class at the Hirosaki tournament, but I have to be at another competition, a couple hours away
. This hasn't been a problem before, but for some reason they decided to inconvenience the gaijin as much as possible this year. So, we say goodbye to Kevin, gather our things into the van and gun it for Kanagi.I haven't really begun practicing my song for this second tournament yet. Good thing though, I am more familiar with what I am playing today than at Hirosaki. Anyway, despite that, it is even more important for me to get started
as soon as possible. I pulled out a shamisen immediately as we board the vehicle; I've got my timer set up, stuck to the side of the door, and I get to work.
The drive involves no highways and the entire trip brings us deeper and deeper into rural apple country.
When we arrive, we pull into the lot with no hassle; this tournament is a lot more laid back than Hirosaki, and the parking is completely free.
Despite our late start, it's still the same story. We get there around eleven and I go on stage around two thirty or so.
I go inside, get my number and badge. I'm number thirteen, great.
We set up shop on the second floor in an empty classroom and I get to work once again. But
before I can get any serious practicing in, we head out in search of some grubbers.
A few side streets and a couple back alleys later, we approach a small ramen shop with a lone woman in the front sweeping; looks like win already.
We take a seat at the bar and order two ramens and a yakisoba.
She turns the TV on for us, and methodically starts preparing our food; obviously she's been at this for years.
Mike and Masahiro engage in casual conversation with her, but I am not able to catch most of it.
The walls are covered with posters and autographed photos of what I assume to
My companions receive their food first. It looks really tasty, and I can hardly wait my turn.
Soon enough, my
soba slides out, steaming and inviting. - And I've got to tell you: it was amazing. I am sooo going back there next year.
We finished up, and it could be told from the smiles on our faces and the fullness of our bellies, that it was time to go.
I must admit, the rest of that afternoon wasn't anything much of interest up until I was about to go on stage, so I will just skip to that point.
So, I'm sitting last in a line of chairs down a small hallway. The nervousness
is palpable all around, but it doesn't rub off on me; I have been trained in the School of Kmetz, and I know how to keep my cool. Too many a great performer has done themselves a disservice by stressing out too much when their time comes. Well, not me!
One by one, every three minutes, I move up one chair closer to my fate. All along the way I try to ease the tension a little bit and talk to the other competitors, but I can tell that they are focused on
the task at hand.
I am the next person up, and as I wait, I am approached by the Emcee. She asks me how many years I have been playing, where I am from, and if I played in Hirosaki too. She's very nice, and I figure she wants to know so she can tell the audience after my performance... like the last two years, haha.
Anyway, the moment comes, my nerves are as strong as steel, and I step out onto the stage - "Hai, douzo." - I make sure my Shamisen is secure, take one good look at the audience, and bust a move.
Since I am the only one of the crew who plays today, we only stick around long enough to hear the results a few hours later.
After what seems like days of them giving out the awards to the junior teen, teen, junior girls, junior group, senior, and senior group classes, they finally announce the results of C class. Time moves slowly as they call they winners onto the stage, but soon enough, she skips over my number.
Son of a bitch -- and I practiced all afternoon!
Haha, oh well, looks like next year will be the one!
We bounce, and make our way back over to Hirosaki to snatch up Kevin, since by now he has been done for the better part of the day.
We meet Kevin and Masahiro's friend, Shiho, outside our favorite restaurant, Bikkuri Donkey
, and pick them up. Unfortunately, Kevin doesn't have a trophy in his hand. But it's not surprising considering how fierce the competition is in the A class, and being that it's his first year.
We roll through the night, heading back to Kanagi. The type of place we are staying at is called a ryokan; a swank, japanese inn. They are usually around a hot spring, and are built with the old Japanese style architecture in mind in rural areas.
Once finished unloading our belongings, Kevin, Mike, and Shiho all go off into a conference hall and practice for their shots at the tournament tomorrow. Meanwhile I browse around and wait until they are done ( I'm really not in the mood to play).
Before going to bed, we hit the onsen (bath house), tell some stories in the lobby, and relax before the big day tomorrow.
That about wraps it up.
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