MIA NEWS 171ed., Aug. (4)Miyakonojo International Association

Miyakonojo International Association
6-21 Himegi-cho, Miyakonojo-shi,
Miyazaki-ken, Japan 885-8555
TEL 0986-23-2295
FAX 0986-23-3223
http://miyakonojo-mia.com
E-mail mia@btvm.ne.jp

2018 Soccer World Cup - Iihoshi Kazuhiro (MIA Member)
As I stood upon thehour renewing myself from the long journey thus far by
precipice of achieving
wandering amongst the colourful yet subdued buildmy lifelong dream ofings. During the public viewing of the Tunisia vs. Engwatching the Soccer
land match, I joined with the Tunisian supporters, andWorld Cup, a mixture
as we cheered the team on together, I finally felt thatof uncertainty andWorld Cup feeling begin to rise.
anticipation washedThe following morning at 4AM, the Japanese supportover me. Uncertainty
ers gathered together, and we set off for Saransk on
about travel to which I
our dedicated bus, and the apple we enjoyed for breakwas not accustomed,
fast on the bus was delicious. We had an opportunity toand moreover my dislike of aeroplanes, became drain- talk to a wonderfully kind couple of farmers during ouring after 10 connecting flights, with my days spent in break. Along the way, we were inspected by the police
anguish over Russia’s information control and security, twice, as their anti-terrorism policies were strictly envastly different to that of America or Western Europe. forced. After all of this, we made our way to the MoldoThose concerns were swiftly wiped away by the elation va Arena, where the first and final matches would beof seeing first-hand the world’s greatest superstars on held. Enthusiastic Colombian supporters were out inthe playing field, mixing with other supporters, touring full stride, with face paint, flags and scarves, dancing
Russia and tasting its cuisine, and being thoroughly down the street and along to the rhythm of their flutes
satiated by vodka.
and drums. Boisterous as a festival yet very friendly, IAt last, after 15 days of extensive travel, my humble quickly took some shots with my smartphone. Afterself, often “forgetting” a number of things, and having arriving at the arena, it took 30 minutes to complete
effectively no knowledge of overseas travel, was con- the entry inspection. They scoured through our bags,
cerned that my life was to come to an end in Russia; and security was strict. With a beer in one hand, I excitAs painful as the experience was, the decisiveness of edly entered the arena.
my inseparable friends and colleagues “Y” & “T” led me We were completely outnumbered and surrounded by
to being able to partake in a spectator’s tour, whilst Colombian supporters; we were clearly the “away”
simultaneously keeping my spirits high and further team. The match ceremony began, and as they playedadding to the fun over this most rare journey together. “Kimi Ga Yo”, I was moved to tears. Certain critics sugAnd so, we three together, collectively known as the gested that Japan’s chances of winning were slim, but“Three Brave Warriors”, were present for all three of we had faith. I will leave the match details out.
the consecutive matches Japan played in. Our naviga- Following Japan’s victory, we felt as though we needed
tor, “M” from the travel company, led us safely through to make a quick retreat from the spectator stands beour journey; I will leave out the events until praying for fore the Colombian supporters began bashing us, but
our safety at the Narita Shinshōji Temple.
such concern was unnecessary. They soon applauded
Take a JAL flight from Miyazaki to Haneda, ending in Japan’s victory, and gave a hug. We made a request toNarita. Exchange money from Yen to Roubles and Euro. swap one of our scarves for one of their Colombian uniFly on Finnair to Helsinki. 10 hours later, beautiful for- forms. They exchanged without hesitation. Even thoughests and lakes will appear before your very eyes: You they lost the match, the sportsmanship they showed
are now arriving in Helsinki airport.
was exceptionally praiseworthy. We all hoped that JaWhile considering the thought of exploring Finland, af- pan and Colombia would win their remaining two
ter a two hour break, we now arrive in Moscow matches so that we might meet once more in the(Sheremetyevo Airport). There is an immediate sense playoff tournament.
of having arrived in another country alongside the over- Following the match, we set off on our bus for Moscow,arching feeling of relief, with expectations set for the a 10 hour long journey.
“Nishino Japan” team as we looked out upon the outer We bought some bananas and tomatoes at the local
suburbs from our dedicated bus, taking in the modern supermarket, and found some very fresh vegetablehigh-rises, expensive cars and beautiful streets as we produce. On the bus, even though Japan had won, evewent; Russia’s image as a firm and dark country quick- ryone was very quiet; was this just characteristic of thely became a thing of the past. After staying in the Avia- country? Or was this due to exhaustion from a long
tor hotel, we once more set off on our bus. The abun- journey? Early in the morning, we arrived at our hotel indant and verdant birch and poplar trees were a beauti- Moscow, and slept lightly. We then checked in to the
ful green, and I couldn’t help but admire the scenery. “Izmailovo Gamma” hotel next to us. There was no AC,
As with the Old Town hotel, the outer suburbs were ele- which we accepted as simply being standard for Rusgant, bearing a distinct personality. I spent about an sia. Power to the TV, as well as our bath facilities were

MIA NEWS 171ed., Aug. (5)broken, which we wrote off as balancing out Japan’s Yekaterinburg-Passazhirsky cenvictory. We raised a toast with vodka at dinner, which tral passenger railway station at
included a filling portion of Borscht and steamed Cod. night, a melancholic scene. I remarked that the next time I travelled across Russia I would takethe Siberian railway and crossthrough Eurasia. As daylightbroke, I took a walk to the Ascension (Voznesensky) Cathedral
and prayed for Japan’s victory
over Senegal in the match tocome.
The Ascension
We took our dedicated bus to(Voznesensky)
the Yekaterinburg Arena, andCathedral
along the way, we saw the statue of Vladimir Lenin out of our windows; intending totake some photos with our phones, we alighted andKazuhiro at the Red Squarethen proceeded to sprint down the beautiful tree andflower-lined streets. In the midst of this, we were overThe following day, we made our way to the “Red whelmed by the procession of Senegal supporters.
Square” via the subway. Alighting at Partizanskaya Sta- Once we finally managed to arrive at the statue, I wastion, we marvelled at the throng of tourists. Our viewing overcome with emotion. We hurried over to the arena.
of the illumination of Nikolskaya street was followed by The brand new arena had a beautiful design, and wea visit to Vokresenskiye Vorota (Resurrection Gate), the sat in our reserved box seats, experiencing the perfect
National Natural History Museum, Lenin’s Mausoleum, atmosphere and ambiance for watching the match.
and the wonderfully vibrant Saint Basil’s Cathedral (this The fans were encamped behind the goal on the left
one costing 350 Roubles). Walking along the coast of side of the field, and amidst that perfect atmosphere,
the Moscow River, we wandered a distance of around 5 the heated match concluded in a draw. A result mostkilometres. From the bridge, we headed to the statue worthy of special mention. With a spring in our step, weof Peter the Great (the Bronze Horseman), followed by headed home to our hotel.
the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and Dostoevsky The following day, a standard bus (free for those withStatue, before having lunch at a nearby restaurant; af- Fan IDs) took us to the airport. Once again, we took ater waiting an hour, our pizza finally arrived at our ta- flight to Moscow. While waiting to board, we met andble…
greeted a number of famous people from Japan. We
We cheered alongside the Polish supporters. We ate checked in at the Aerootel Hotel.
dinner as we watched the Argentina vs. Croatia match, The next day, I was delighted when I received a CDand as Argentina suffered their total defeat, the Uru- from a Mexican singer in the lobby of our hotel. Weguayan supporters were filled with delight. Is it because headed to our next tourist destination via the underthey neighbour each other that they so fiercely oppose ground subway. There we met with the “Merrymaking”
each other? The next morning, our guides, “Y” & “B”, Danish supporter. Even on the train, they continued towith their incredibly fluent Japanese, came with us as dance so wildly that we thought the bottom of the train
we moved through the subway system that was com- might fall out. “Good grief”… The heart of politics, culpleted in 1937. The magnificent yet dignified interior, ture and religion, surrounded by castle walls on allalong with the splendorous carvings and ornaments sides; we had arrived at the long-awaited Kremlin. It
were the very image of an “underground palace”. At 55 was absolutely swarming with tourists, and we wereRoubles plus transport costs, it was very affordable. We informed that there was acontinue riding through on the Moscow Central Circle. two hour wait for entry. Yet
This train was more modern, with all systems con- thanks to the ever-clevertrolled by computers. We alight at Luzhniki station and compatriots that comprised
observe the world heritage Ensemble of the Novode- the Three Brave Warriors,vichy Convent, before paying a visit to the graves of entry tickets were somehow
various historically important figures such as Nikita acquired. Dashing past theKhrushchev, Nikolai Gogol and Boris Yeltsin. We en- Troitskaya tower, we foundjoyed lunch at the “Golbi”*, where we had stout beer ourselves breathing in aand Pirozhki (similar to Gyōza), and the Beef Stroganoff peaceful garden area. Afterwas exquisite.
seeing the Kremlin, theThe following day, we took the Aeroexpress (500 Rou- Catedral of the Annunciables) to Domodedovo Airport in Moscow. Following the tion, the Dormition Cathetwo hour delay due to computer systems going down dral, the Ivan the Great Bellduring our boarding procedures, we arrived in Yekate- Tower and other landmarks, The Danish supporter inrinburg, which has a two hour time difference. We we had both completed and question, dressed fromchecked in to our Marins Park Hotel reservation, which had our fill of the main at- head to toe in Denmark
red and white!
came with three meals attached. We went to see the tractions of Moscow.

MIA NEWS 171ed., Aug. (6)Mamayev Kurgan,
also known as“The Motherland Calls”

The following day, we For me, it’s the people from Australia that I met that
arrived where the third planted that feeling within me, gave me that interest,
preliminary
match and made me feel that charm.
against Poland was to be At Tim’s wedding ceremony, a beachside wedding that
held: Volgograd. A town I was certain I would never get to experience the likes
that stretches north- of again, I met a number of Australians who, like thosesouth along the great who I had met before, were extremely kind and sensiVolga River, seeing the tive. Australia’s a nice place, isn’t it?
day’s weather gave us
expectations of a climateakin to Japan on a midsummer’s day; we weregreatly mistaken, once
more making us painfully
aware of Russia’s enormity. We went to see Mamayev Kurgan (The Motherland Calls), and weretaken aback by its sheersize.
Boarding a tourist vessel along the Volga River, wecould see the soccer stadium and The Motherland Callsfrom the top of the boat. Having lost the match against
Poland, discussion about how the match played out
became heated. We were to enter into the playoffs
tournament alongside Colombia, which gave us a small ◇ Articles For MIA News
case to rejoice. There was a small incident where we Are you interested in writing a short article about intermissed our dedicated bus, instead getting on to a tram national exchange or cooperation for MIA News? Someheaded in the wrong direction, from which we alighted. possible topics include travel journals, introductions toHaving lost ourselves along the road, we moved about your home country, experiences staying with a hostin confusion; a Russian couple tried to explain the way family, and activities with an international exchange orvery politely, but we couldn’t understand them, and as cooperation group. Articles should be about a page
patience waned, they decided to take us to the hotel by long and include a couple of relevant pictures. If you’dcar. After around 30 minutes, we arrived. Overwhelmed like to write more than that, please consult with MIA. If
by their sincerity and kindness, we were brought to you’d like to write anonymously, that can be taken intotears. It became a most treasured memory, and we consideration.
presented them with some of our supporter goods.
We are also looking for people interested in sharing
Interacting with people from around the world, the Rus- their Australian experiences. Whether it’s a rare locasian World Cup is full of many wonderful memories. To tion you found or some fascinating people you interactour tour guide and planner “M”, my “Brave Warrior” ed with, we want to share your story with all of our MIA
companions, and to my close friend “T”, I once more members!
offer my sincerest gratitude.
Please contact us if you are interested!
*We believe the store in question is the Gorodskoye
Kafe "Stolovuzhki", but have unfortunately been unable Message from the editor:
to confirm this with certainty.
Congratulations toall of the athletes
who performed in◇Aussie Bites!
the recent Tokyo
Today’s ‘Bite’ comes from Ms. Kodama! Thank you!
Olympics, and best
No matter where you are from, being surrounded by of luck to all of thephoto’s, TV shows and movies that fully embrace for- athletes who areeign countries and cultures is the easiest way to make about to performin the upcoming
someone long to travel there.
Paralympics!

Movies info

C-Plaza Cine-port (Tel: 0986-24-2571)

17-9 Nakamachi, Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Map-Code (GPS): 117 488 540*55●The Suicide Squad (2021) (Japanese Sub)●F9 (JP Title: Wild Speed Jet Break) (Japanese Dub)
●Belle (Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime) (Japanese)●Godzilla Vs. Kong (Japanese Sub or Dub)
●Anpanman: Fuwafuwa Fuwari to Kumo no Kuni (Japanese)●Jungle Cruise (Japanese Dub)
*The 1st of every month is ¥1,100 for everyone.
*Every Wednesday is ‘Ladies’ Day’, all ladies ¥1,100.
*The cinema is closed every Tuesday.
*For session times visit: http://movie.walkerplus.com/th286/
schedule.html (Japanese)