The convenience and consideration of Japan ...

After some fun games between Albert-Greg and Bob-Steve on a weather-wonky Sunday afternoon, the crackle of thunder grew louder and the dancing lightning became brighter. The inevitable downpour soon followed and after initially taking refuge under the shelter of the Himalaya Sugi tree clubhouse, we were washed out and retreated to the safety of the nearby 7-11.

Sipping a Sapporo while waiting under the awning for the storm to pass, the sympathizing manageress came out and after a mandatory "taihen desu ne," invited us to drink our beers in the warmth of the dry shop. A few sticks of yakitori later and exchanges of pleasantries, the boys finally headed home.

The Japanese can be very considerate.

(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Pisted off! More league frustrations

HSPC traveled to the shoreline of Shinkiba on Sunday, May 11, to take on defending champion Mon Soleil in the Tokyo Petanque League. After a poor start to this year's competition that has left HSPC with one draw and a defeat, the boys needed a win and got off to a solid start, easing out to a handy 3-1 lead before Mon Soleil shuffled their team, brought in the big guns, and clinched the clash 5-3.

Congratultations Mon Soleil!

Full results can be found on the TPL site.

HSPC battles back for draw after another slow start

HSPC hosted Hiratsuka Beach Petanque Club at Myoshoji Park on May 3 in the second round of the Tokyo Petanque League and once again found themselves four games down before battling back for a 4-4 draw.

Some fine play by our opponents, a morning start, and a lack of "fuel" were all cited as causes for our disappointing performance.

Thanks to Okawa san and his crew, you have a great club.

Full results can be found on the Tokyo Petanque League site

Next up HSPC plays away to last year's champions Mon Soleil and like in 2008, HSPC will be looking for (and needing!) a win!

HSPC's courageous rally comes up short

HSPC lost its opening game of the new Tokyo Petanque League season on Saturday, falling 5-3 to host Aoyama after rallying from 4-0 down.

Under perfect weather conditions -- and a playing terrain fit for Martians! -- Aoyama raced out to a dominating lead and appeared destined to sweep all matches before Bob and Vasili started the fight back for HSPC, streaking to a 13-0 victory.

On center court, Greg and Chris eased out to an impressive 10-3 lead against "snipers" Albert and Bernard before the sharp-shooters clawed back into the match. In a game many said was the most exciting petanque game they've ever witnessed, the momentum swung both ways before underdogs Chris and Greg held their nerve to seal a 13-11 victory.

Sensing a draw was there to be had, the experienced duo of Raj and Bob teamed up to tackle nemesis Adrian and Albert, a combination that the HSPC pair hadn't beat at Aoyama in several years. After a surprising 6-point first frame, Bob and Raj won the game 13-6 to bring the dream of a draw closer to reality.

But HSPC's heavenly run ended there, with Chris and Greg struggling to reproduce the magic from the previous game against Mochizuki san and Kurosawa san, falling 13-1.

Kurosawa san, the smiling assassin, deservedly won MVP honors with his 13-1, 13-1 performance.

Thanks to Aoyama for their warm hospitality and congrats on the victory, you were the better team overall.

Most picturesque petanque piste in the world?

OK, so the lads are a little bit biased on this one but spring in the park is hard to beat. Beneath the blanket of cherry blossoms there's barely space for a game. So in my heart I know Steve and I didn't get thrashed yesterday. :)

Another picturesque piste that comes to mind is the cathedral-like setting of the Place de la Bien-Aimée in Madagascar. Love to play there one day.

The Italian Spiderman, a sleeping sloshed Swede and Finnish reindeer salami ...

A few unusual visitors to the park on Sunday.

The Italian Spiderman



The sleeping sloshed Swede





And Yuha returned for a visit from Finland with some fantastic reindeer salami.



A fun day in the park.

We missed you Raj.

Get well mate.

HSPC to play away to Aoyama Petanque in league opener

The Tokyo Petanque League is set to start for 2009 in April and two new teams have been added to the roster to bring to total number of clubs to six.

The teams are:

Aoyama Petanque
Himalaya Sugi Petanque Club
Hiratsuka Beach Petanque (new)
Mon Soleil
Okubo Boules Association
Sagamihara Petanque Club (new)

HSPC travels to Aoyama Petanque for our first game.

Here is the draw.

April / 4月
1st Round
AP - HSPC HBP - SPC MS - OBA
May / 5月
2nd Round
HSPC - HBP SPC - MS OBA - AP
3rd Round
HBP - OBA AP - SPC MS - HSPC
June / 6月
4th Round
HSPC - SPC AP - HBP OBA - MS
July / 7月
5th Round
HBP - MS SPC - OBA HSPC - AP
August / 8月
Summer Break
September / 9月
6th Round
SPC - HBP OBA - HSPC MS - AP
October / 10月
7th Round
HBP - HSPC AP - OBA MS - SPC
8th Round
HBP - AP HSPC - MS OBA - SPC
November / 11月
9th Round
HSPC - OBA MS - HBP SPC - AP
December / 12月
10th Round
OBA - HBP AP - MS SPC - HSPC

Good luck HSPC!
2007 inaugural champions!