One of those friends happens to be a fighter from Japan that I trained with at the Kaewsamrit gym about 3 years ago. I met Masashi Hirano at the Kaewsamrit gym along with Yuya Suzuki who was also training at the gym.
Apparently Masashi asked if I was in Japan and I responded that I was staying at a hotel in Shinjuku. He then asked if we could meet up on Wednesday since he lived in Yokohama. I told him that I would let him know on Tuesday night.
Honestly, since it was my first time in Japan I was kind of hesitant in meeting with him. There's nothing wrong with Masashi but I had this idea that Yokohama was pretty far. I did not really have anything to gage the length with. I figured it was like driving to Sacramento from Stockton. I did not want to commit to seeing him and then bailing on him at the last minute. Sherryl on the other hand thought it would great to see him.
Well Tuesday came around and I told him that I would give him a final answer on Wednesday after breakfast. He politely stated that he could meet us at either Tama Plaza Station or Shibuya station. Shibuya station is not far from where I am and so I asked if we could meet there. He agreed at first and so Sherryl and I just winged our Wednesday since we did not have anything planned for that day.
After breakfast we took a short nap. Later on we decided to go grab Starbucks and just relax for a bit. We found one on our way back to the hotel the previous day but for some odd reason we couldn't find it again. With the help of one of the locals we found a different one that was located in a department store.
It was very different experience at this Starbucks. We were told that we had to sit outside. We complied, sat for a few minutes, and then one of the baristas escorted us to our table. It was very similar to eating a restaurant. Once we were at the table we just waited as we did not know what else to do. I then decided that I would get up while Sherryl waited at the table.
I ordered what I normally always order which is a white mocha with no whip cream grande size. Sherryl got a tall caramel macchiato with soy instead of whole milk. She also got a cinnamon roll while I ordered a slice of apple pie. We relaxed for a bit and talked over on what we were going to do for the next couple of hours before we meet up with Masashi.
I haven't visited any kickboxing or MMA gyms on this trip and I did not have any reason to. But since there was time to kill I decided to head out to Shibuya and visit Silver Wolf Gym which is home to Masato the most famous Kickboxer from Japan.
We went to Shinjuku station and after a transfer of trains at Shibuya we headed off to Sangen-Jaya station. After we exited the station we walked to Silver Wolf where there wasn't anybody really training. The gym was small but fully equipped. It had one boxing ring and every piece of gear that was necessary as well as all of the heavy bags. Ken, who was manning the front desk at the time asked me to come back in an hour at around 4 because that is when the professional training starts.
Sherryl and I thought it would be cool to see the training but we had one hour to kill. We walked down the road and saw a department store called Keio but later we found out it was Walmart Japan. Sherryl ended up shopping and buying a sweater and some other useful items. I took it as an opportunity to just sit down and relax. After Sherryl was done we headed back out to Silver Wolf.
Once we got there the gym gave us two chairs to just sit down and watch. They told us that the training starts at 4 but training did not really start until 4:30. From 4 to 4:30 the fighters just start trickling in. I knew two of the fighters just from watching K-1 but the rest I did not know. In Thailand training starts at 3 pm and it really starts at 3. If you're late you're late, the session starts without you.
There's only one head trainer and that trainer is the only trainer period. There were about 11 fighters and 10 of them were paired up so there were 5 pairs training each other. One fighter would attack and the other would be working the mitts or the thai pads. One of the fighters seemed to be new and he was working with the head trainer.
We were able to see about 3 rounds of training. Sherryl and I couldn't stay long because we were under the impression that we had to meet up with Masashi at 5:30 pm at the Shibuya station. So we got up and I bowed in respect to Daiguji san (the head trainer) for allowing us to watch. He bowed back politely and waived at us as we left the gym.
We walked back to Sangen-Jaya station and were able to make it back to Shibuya. Unfortunately Masashi asked that we go to Tama Plaza Station instead. Since we were already committed in meeting him we tried to find a way to get to Tama Plaza. I did not even see it on the train map so I figured it was pretty far. However one of the station attendants told us it's not far, not expensive, and that we should take the express train.
Sherryl and I take the express train and it was a different kind of ride. It did seem long at least longer than some of the other rides that we took. I even see us crossing a bridge over a body of water and what looked to be Tokyo in the background. Anyway, we finally make it to Tama Plaza Station.
After a bit of waiting we meet up with Masashi and he's looking cool as always. He informed us that he had his own car and that he'll be taking us to a Yakiniku Restaurant (Japanese BBQ). We get into his spot clean Toyota Prius and he takes us for a drive. Almost instantaneously my Japanese just flows and Masashi and I start conversing in Japanese. I then notice that the area and pace of life is similar to Stockton and is much quieter than Tokyo. Masashi then tells us that we're in Yokohama, Kanagawa and outside of Tokyo. It made a lot of sense as Tokyo seemed like a place in which you really needed to rely on the public transit system similar to New York or Singapore. In Yokohama it seemed like you really needed your own car to get around.
After a little bit of driving we arrived at Yakiniku Daifuku. It's a cool restaurant and Sherryl was immediately excited. We were ordered to take off our shoes and put them in a locker. I never had to do that before but everybody had to do it. We were then escorted to our table and Masashi informs us that the salad bar is all you can eat and the drinks are all you can drink.
I get back to my table after getting my salad and my orange juice (they did not have regular coke). Once seated I was given three sauces which were soy, Japanese spice, and lemon juice. We were then given three types of raw steak that were finely cut and were marinated in 3 different ways, various vegetables to grill, and rice. In the middle of our table is a open stove that was covered in mesh. I immediately get it that we had to BBQ the steak and the veggies ourselves.
It was easy cooking the steak and the three of us ate like kings. After few more servings of steak the waitress comes to us with Chicken and Pork. Both Sherryl and I declined on the pork but we ate the chicken and the vegetables as well.
After dinner was served Masashi informs that we would be meeting with two of us friends, one of which spoke fluent English. We pick up Komone and Yuka and they get into the backseat with Sherryl while I sit in the front. Komone, who speaks perfect english, just lives a few blocks away from Masashi and we later find out that Masashi lives really close to Tama Plaza Station.
Because we ate already and the other girls did not we decided to hang out at a Denny's. Denny's in Japan is actually pretty good as opposed to how it is back home. It's similar to Sizzler in Bangkok in which it's so much better in Bangkok as oppose to Sizzler in the US. Both Sherryl and I are still full but we end up purchasing all you can drink. I start off with a mocha but Sherryl and I discover hot lemonade and it immediately starts soothing our throats. We've been both battling colds since our stay in Thailand and the warm lemonade starts helping out a lot.
At Denny's Masashi finds one of his training partners Sasaki dining in and goes out of his way to meet him. He also wants me to meet his friend as well and the three of us ended up taking a photo together.
While I'm drinking the hot lemonade both Sherryl and Komone start discussing the cool things that we should see while we're still in Tokyo. We were notified that we should go to Asakusa and visit the Sensoji Shrine which is the oldest temple in Tokyo. Also, we were notified that it's in the same direction as the Tokyo Sky Tree which is one of the landmarks that Sherryl and I wanted to visit.
After we were done at Denny's Masashi surprised Sherryl and I by informing us that he'll just drop us at our hotel. It was a grand gesture and one that I would never forget. Sherryl and I would be able to witness a highway drive from Yokohama to Tokyo which also entailed crossing the Tama bridge which separates the two cities.
While enjoying the drive Masashi informs Komone about an event three years ago that he's forever grateful. I couldn't really grasp what was being said except for the fact that I did something for him when we were in Thailand. Komone then translates to me about an event that involved Thai television visiting the Kaewsamrit gym in 2011. Suddenly I remember everything that happened that day.
At around September 2011 it was a normal Saturday in which I was just getting ready to go to church. I was suddenly stopped by the gym and asked if I could stay for another 30 minutes. It was not just me but four other fighters that were asked as well. It was myself, Reuben from New York, Sloan from Australia, Carlito from France, and finally Masashi.
The interview was done in English as the interviewer spoke it fluently. The first four of us answered our questions flawlessly. However Masashi, who could speak some english but writes it a lot better, was having a hard time and looked petrified in front of the camera. Almost immediately I jumped in and started translating both the questions and his answers for him. It went a lot smoother and both the interviewer and Masashi thanked me graciously.
Apparently that made such an impression on him 3 years ago. I remember hanging out with him along with some other guys as well. My training trip to Kaewsamrit and Singapore in 2011 was one of my fondest ones and he's a big reason as well.
Once we crossed the Tama bridge Masashi was able to find our hotel on his NAVI (navigation) that's connected to his car. Sherryl and Komone ended up conversing about the history of our relationship. We ended up dropping of Yuka at one of the stations first and then Masashi takes us to our hotel.
We park right in front of the hotel and the two of them go with us to Lawson's which is a drug store at the bottom of the hotel. We later find out that they did not have to go but rather they wanted to show us where we could buy hot lemonade. It was another nice gesture and shows how nice good friends can be.
We then parted ways, hugged each other, and exchanged well wishes. Both Sherryl and I head back to the room. It's been decided, we're going to visit both Asakusa and Tokyo Sky Tree.
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