By Ihor Sywanyk
The jet lag is slowly wearing off. There’s a 14 hour time difference between Japan & Collingwood.
I was very fortunate to have traveled around beautiful Japan for nearly a month. Lots of beautiful history, delicious food, wonderful culture & powder skiing.
One of the highlights was a special tour of beautiful Katano (between Kyoto & Osaka), population 80,000(approx). I arrived on a sunny Saturday, after 2 local trains from Kyoto. As I exited Kozu Station, I was surprised to see lovely palm trees🌴.
After a quick coffee in a warm local diner by the eki(station), I was met by 2 gracious gentlemen, Mr. Sawamura & Mr. Tamura of the Katano Sister City organization.
Luckily for me, they both spoke English fluently, since my Japanese language skills are quite limited. These 2 gentlemen were incredible hosts, representing Katano proudly.
They chauffeured me around town as I bombarded them with questions. Our 1st stop was the over 100 year old Yamano Shuzo Sake Brewery (Sakagura), a wonderful tour hosted by CEO Hisayuki Yamano (even though the brewery was closed!). This was followed by visits to ancient temples & the Katano Educational & Cultural Hall, a nice museum & work space for skilled local artisans.
We ended our incredible tour with a climb, up 200 steps to a stunning vista from Mount Kono. I proudly gave my hosts Collingwood pins & a Collingwood Blues hockey puck. I am very honoured to have visited Katano & enjoyed the company of Mr. Sawamura & Mr. Tamura.
どうもありがとうございます Thank you very much!
❤️🇯🇵🇨🇦
Ihor Sywanyk
Happy 59th Birthday to my friend “E” – Malloy
Amazing Adventures in Japan
Ozeki Hoshoryu was unanimously recommended for promotion to Yokozuna by the Japan Sumo Association’s Yokozuna Deliberation Council. On January 29th he officially became the 74th yokozuna – bravo Hoshoryu
