Izu Nudibranch, Joshua Zimmerman

IRB Toshiba Junior World Championship Japan 2009

By Stephen Packer

Editor’s Note: Sanfrecce Update will be a recurring feature this year from Hiroshima-ken JET Stephen Packer, who maintains the “¡Sanfrecce Olé!” blog. Stephen, based in Itsukaichi City, will contribute regular updates on the progress of the Sanfrecce Hiroshima Football Club.

Palau is one of those places that you only hear about in wacky travel magazines or on mass emails that you get from that hippy guy/ girl you hung out with that one time in college. It’s a place that exists in the real world, but that no one you take seriously ever goes to. For instance me.

It was July 6 and the Carp were taking on the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, a team nearly as bad as the Carp, who’ve lost more than half their games this year. This was one game the Carp had a chance to win. And given the Japanese people’s deep devotion to baseball, especially in Hiroshima, I figured this was one experience I shouldn’t miss while I’m in Japan.

Touch rugby is an amazing way to get in shape while making friends with Japanese people and other foreigners. I’ve been playing touch in Hiroshima for the past year. Besides the camaraderie I’ve found on the field, I’ve also enjoyed many unforgettable times with players off the field on road trips, camping excursions, nights drinking and more.

Learning how to dive is surprisingly simple and cheap. You can get your diving license just about anywhere there is diving. This includes Japan. Throughout Asia, the set rate for a beginner course in diving is around $300 USD. This usually includes all equipment rentals as well as 4 skill dives, but it’s best to contact the dive shop to find out the local rates. The course takes around 4 days and afterwards you can use your license anywhere in the world.

With its 10,000-odd islands offering beaches galore, geological wonders like the Chocolate Hills, an abundance of endemic wildlife, a turbulent but fascinating history, and astounding rice terraces that are considered by many to be the 8th Wonder of the Ancient World, there is no shortage of things to do and see in the Philippines. Like in so many Southeast Asian countries the prices are dirt-cheap and the people couldn’t be nicer. Yet due to its isolated location away from mainland Asia, the Philippines is often left off many travel itineraries, therefore making it an ideal destination for those in search of a country not yet spoiled by the wrath of tourism. Travelers to whom this unique experience appeals should book their tickets to the Philippines now – before the secret gets out and tour groups flock to this Southeast Asian treasure. Then, 20 years down the road you can boast about ‘What the Philippines used to be like’.