At the start of our group trip with Walk Japan on the Nakasendo Way I decided to liven up the evening meal with what I called “The First Ever Salty Plum Haiku and Limerick Contest”. There had been discussion in our group about the surprising Japanese dish umeboshi, which is an intensely sour and salty pickled plum. It is certainly not for everyone. Pop one into your mouth without knowing what it is and it may come right back out again. Best eaten in small bites. Perhaps not particularly visually appealing.

I kicked off the contest with this haiku.

Salt plum in morning

Wakes the senses with pleasure

Mouth waits for sweet rice ball

Then, on a lighter note, after a day on the trail highlighted by signs warning of bears:

There once was a salty plum,

Pleasingly shaped like a bum. 

When it sighted a bear,

It had nary a care,

No way the bear will say yum yum!

Our trip started in Kyoto and concluded in Tokyo. I composed this limerick while on the trail and then dictated it into my iPhone so I would not forget it.

There was a young plum from Kyoto,

That danced with delight to the koto.

But the salt made it numb,

So it sat on its bum,

And never arrived in Tokyo!

After a rainy day hiking that included a beautiful waterfall, this haiku wrote itself.

Rain sweeps the mountain

Waterfall welcomes our hikers

No need for salty plums

And on a completely unrelated note…

A tennis shop owner in California posts videos on YouTube under the channel name “Tennis Spin”, and I came across some where he visited three stores in Tokyo which offered used racquets in good condition at low prices. Plus, they even have new grips!

The first store I could not find even though I physically walked the street at the address shown in Google Maps. One side of the street was closed with construction, so maybe it has moved.

Tennis 846:  〒150-0043 Tokyo, Shibuya City, Dogenzaka, 1 Chome−3−8, Marukyo Bldg., 3階

This store had about a hundred used racquets, along with new gear. I bought a Yonex Astrel 115 for 12,000 yen.

Tennis Support Center:  〒150-0031 Tokyo, Shibuya City, Sakuragaokacho, 25−1, Araki Build., 3F

This store was a gold mine, offering probably over 1,000 racquets. I bought another Yonex Astrel in the 105 head size and a Wilson Triad Three, both for 9,900 yen each. The store was huge, with an amazing variety of used, well, everything! Rosemary bought a lightweight rain jacket for US$12.

Book Off Super Bazaar: 6 Chome-29 Nagayama, Tama, Tokyo 206-0025, Japan

Three racquets in near new condition (all require new strings of course) that purchased new in the US would cost almost $900 and I paid about $150.

About the “soft” tennis…

On our Nakasendo Way guided trip I noticed some tennis courts in the distance and asked Sean, our guide, if he knew what the court surface was as it didn’t look like anything I recognized. Although he didn’t play the game, this lead to a general discussion of tennis in Japan and I discovered to my surprise that there was a variation of the game called soft tennis that uses the same court, slightly different scoring, a smaller racquet and a very different type of ball; no felt covering and lower pressure (shown below). The ball is inflated using a tiny pump with a bulb you squeeze with your fingers and can be used at a range of pressures though the rules limit what is allowed. The game is popular in many Asian countries and is also played in Hawaii. Here is a video of two serious players; note that service speeds are lower and rallies shorter.

Later while in Tokyo we came across some tennis courts in a park and I watched the game being played. The stroke style is different and the ball behaves very differently from what I’m used to; it doesn’t go as fast even when being hit very hard. The courts I saw up close appeared to be covered with artificial turf but there was also regular tennis being played on them.

And here I had thought that there was only one way to play tennis!