The City
Despite only having an 18-hour layover in Tokyo, it being the most heavily populated city in the world with around 37-million people, I felt confident I would be able to get a run in. I was actually feeling a little torn with my short time there because I had never been, I weighed up the idea of spending the afternoon sightseeing instead of playing, but ultimately I decided on trying to knock another city off my list.
It was a hot and steamy afternoon, but coming from Manila where the humidity was more intense than I had ever experienced in my life, it felt a little more comfortable.
Thanks to the help of my friend, Reo, he took me to a spot that was popular amongst locals, and even though this was a Wednesday afternoon, there was a few dudes balling.
The Run
The court had a funky paint job, and we had an even funkier green ball, but it made for a fun atmosphere.
I was so impressed by the quality of this run. Before I started playing, I watched the guys balling and saw some pretty good athletes and a high competitive standard. Furthermore, from what I could tell, their ages ranged from mid 20’s to over 55. But the older guys, while obviously a little slower than the younger ones, they were just as competitive.
It was a full court run, 5 a side scoring up to 11 with 2s and 1s.
The Star
This one was easy. Toshiro was a legit street ball star. He had such a complete game including handles, a mid-range jumper and was money from deep. In addition to all that he was a showman. He reminded me of White Chocolate, Jason Williams with the way he played. I love guys like this who are playing to win, but have real quality showmanship about their game.
