Kelly and the 2002 Worlds "yuki daruma" (snowman) at
the Shinshu Matsushiro Royal Hotel.
*You can find my reports from previous Worlds here: 2001, 2000, 1999.*
Konnichiwa and welcome to my annual Worlds site.
I didn't expect to go to Worlds this year, since I went to
US Nationals for the first time, but at
the end of February, I decided to go after all. I plan on moving
to Japan sometime in August or September (to teach English for 1-2 years),
so I wanted to get a feel for the country before then.
Below and on the following pages is my online journal from the trip, which includes competition notes, off-ice musings, pictures, and general observations about Japan. I don't have a separate picture page, partly because I only took about 1/4 as many pictures as I have in past years, and partly because most of them turned out really bad! So the photos that are web-worthy are scattered throughout this site.
I hope you enjoy this site, and please email me with any questions or comments.
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Sunday, March 17
Twelve-and-a-half hour fights really suck, especially when they turn into 14-hour flights. The flight from Minneapolis took off about 30 minutes late, and then towards the end of the fight, we started running out of fuel, so we had to make an unexpected stop in Sapporo, Japan, for almost an hour to refuel. Finally got to Narita at around 6:45PM instead of 4:35, so my plans for that evening were screwed, and my poor friend who picked me up at the airport had to wait almost 3 hours for me! I later found out that Jennifer Kirk was on my flight. So she either didn't get to Nagano until really late Sunday or not until Monday morning or afternoon.
Monday, March 18
I spent most of this day in Tokyo with a friend of mine. We visited two skating rinks, LOL, then wandered around the Shinjuku and Shibuya sections of Tokyo. Tokyo is absolutely massive!! High-rises as far as the eye can see. We went to the top (47th floor) of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and had a spectacular view. At street level, you are constantly surrounding by a sea of lights, color, and thousands of people! It's really amazing, and great fun. I was delighted to find a crepe restaurant. :-)
Downtown Shibuya, Tokyo
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