We got up early this morning and took the light rail to Showa Kinen Park, site of the original Japan Open. After a little ‘exploring’ we made our way to the back corner and found hole 1. All the holes were rather short, in fact we probably could’ve played the entire course with just a putter, but we each brought our nutsacs regardless. I hit metal a few times, after our aces at the cottage course, I was running at every hole. The course was beautifully maintained and the lush gardens and trees made for a super fun round! We made it through the course pretty quickly and, although I would’ve loved to have played it at least one more time, we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the rest of the park.

I was most impressed with the bonsai garden which featured miniaturized trees almost 200 years old! We took a bazillion pictures as the grounds were simply spectacular. We rode the little train back to the park entrance and took the light rail back towards the hotel. We also stopped for a bit in Harijuku to check out the 5 story toy store and crazy outfits near the train station. Arriving safe and sound having had a wonderful day, we passed out back at the hotel, dreading the thought of leaving this strange and amazing country.

In lieu of writing a separate post, it suffices to say that our entire trip home consisted of a ridiculously long flight that we spent talking about how much we wish we could’ve just stayed in Japan :) Simply put, the Japan Open is the best disc golf tournament in the world and it is an honor and a privilege to play. As my friend Dan says, we got to play ‘a game of etiquette in the land of manners’. Thank you so much to the fine folks at Innova and Hero Discs that made this such a fantastic journey! See you all in 2012!

Until then, stay tuned for more stories as the disc golf adventure continues… Up next, the inaugural ‘Heroes Huk’ in Pueblo, CO!