I'll just skip the introductions and briefly write about my trip this time in chronological order.
2011.02.28 Day 1
Reached Tokyo at around 8 am in the morning. The announcement said that it was 6°C, which really scared me. I didn't even dare to walk out of the airport. The cold wind from outside prevented me from even going near the doors.
I needed to wait for Wang Zhuo and Zhao Wei from China, who will be reaching in the afternoon, before making our way to the hotel. So I just walked around, bought Shonen Jump and Magazine, sat down to read, and took some rest. It was then that I realised that things like Shonen Jump was one of the cheapest things I can find in Japan. Amazing.
Food at airport was not cheap. Some 900 yen for a soba plus small bowl of rice. But it was very delicious. It made me realise that I've not been eating delicious stuff for very long. It was also the first time I ate soba contained in soup. Kitsune Soba. Yummy~
Wang Zhuo and Zhao Wei arrived at around 2 pm. I was so worried that I missed them because their plane arrived quite early but they were still not coming out. Luckily I managed to see them. I was able to recognise Wang Zhuo with one look, but as for Zhao Wei, he didn't look like a guy who play weiqi and get champion. I've heard about him before, but... Maybe he was just too skinny...
Getting to the hotel was easier than last year. The information counter gave me clear directions on how to get to Ginza. It took us about one hour plus to get there. Ah, back to this expensive place again. I think if not for this competition, I wouldn't even think about stepping into Ginza.
As far as I can remember, the room was kind of smaller than last year's. Other than the bed and table, there was almost no more space. I'm guessing this year the organisers don't have enough money to go around, so they chose a cheaper hotel? But well at least there's still internet connection, and as long as I have a place to sleep I'm content.
Opening ceremony started at 6pm. I was glad that I saw many familiar faces, and all started calling me kazuki. They also recognised Zhao Wei, the champion 2 years ago, immediately. Among the other players there were also some I've seen before, such as Yang Po Chun and Pan Ning from Taiwan. I've seen Yang Po Chun not long ago in the Thai U-Go, while Pan Ning I've seen her during the Asian Amateur Baduk Championship in 2007. The representative of Japan were also the same people. The world is small indeed.
The day ended with self introduction by everyone and interactions among the players and organisers. I was surprised that the Korean representative, Ham Young Woo, could speak Chinese. My Korean was still too lousy to be able to talk to a Korean. The Korean female player could only speak Korean and a bit of Japanese, so I had difficulty talking to her. I definitely must learn my Korean well after I go back.
2011.03.01 Day 2
Start of competitions.
As usual, I didn't manage to wake up for breakfast.
But that's not important.
Competition venue was the same as last year. Ginza Internet Forum. I still don't know why it's called internet forum though. It's a very nice, cosy place. It was so warm inside that it made me forget about the cold wind blowing outside. Miranti, the player from Indonesia, said that it's still very cold inside the room. We were all kind of shocked.
My opponent for the first round was Sekine Reiko from Japan. She's the Female Oza of last year, and the year before. And according to Zhao Wei, 2 years ago she was also the representative. It shows how strong she is. It seems that she also trained in Korean dojo for about 3 months. I think I also should do that sometimes, and I can practise my Korean there as well.
The game started with a joseki I had forgotten. I thought for sometime but still didn't make the correct move. Luckily she also didn't make the correct move and the game was able to continue. I made some problem moves in mid-game and was quite dangerous, but due to byo-yomi she made some serious mistakes, and as a result I was able to win in the end.
Lunch was bento, which was same as last year. It never fail to amaze me how delicious these bentos can be. I don't think I can find such bentos in Singapore.
My opponent for the next round was Song Yeseui from Korea. Sadly I could only do a bit of self-introduction in Korean. The game started out quite normal, but nearing mid-game I started to make mistakes, and my groups were all very weak. In the end I was unable to withstand her fierce attacks, and lost. No offence but it's amazing how such a cute person can play so well.
Another thing to take note is that Zhao Wei and Ham Youngwoo, two persons who should be fighting for champion, met in the second round. It was totally unexpected for both of them. After a fierce fight, Ham Youngwoo managed to win. Zhao Wei seemed extremely unhappy, and kept replaying the game over and over. It also made me see what the 'champion' level is like.
Night time was free time as usual. Me and the two players from Taiwan and Zhang Yue from US went to a nearby Ramen shop. They used machines to take orders instead of verbally. More effective? Well at least it saves them the effort to write down each person's order manually.
Because I didn't get to eat ramen the last time I came, I just ordered the ramen that looked the most special and with most ingredients. It was very yummy! Much better than the ramen you can find in high class restaurants in Singapore! Japan is indeed a place with great food everywhere.
2011.03.02 Day 3
With the help of Wang Zhuo, I managed to wake up for breakfast. Breakfast at our hotel was simple, just like a full course, the waiter served us each dish one by one. The variety was not as great as last year though, but we could have chosen to go to the other hotel for a buffet breakfast. Too bad even until the last day I didn't manage to eat the buffet.
My first opponent for the day was Wang Zhuo... again. Last year we met in the first round, and this year we are playing again. And then I realised that for the first three rounds I had been playing the female players from the 3 strongest countries, Japan, Korea and China. Is it good or bad luck? I don't know...
This game again started out normal. I was black but I didn't play the same fuseki as last year because I lost that game. However in mid-game I was too eager to start a fight even when white is thick. In the end I didn't gain anything from the fight and ended up with a weak group in the middle. There was nothing much to be played after that.
Second game of the day was against Zhang Yue from US. I thought then that maybe this year I will end up only winning one round... Because Zhang Yue used to aim to be a pro in China, and is quite strong. However it seems like he has been out of touch, and played many problem moves since the beginning. I was also dangerous for one moment, but he made a severe mistake in mid-game, and I was able to win the game.
And that was the end. In the last round, Song and Ham, both from Korea, met each other. It was the champion deciding match. Ham managed to win in mid-game. Song seemed quite upset, because as a result of losing the game she got 4th. Yang Po Chun from Taiwan was 2nd, while Wang Zhuo was 3rd.
I always think that 4 games is a bit too little for a competition. But considering that there are only 16 players, and they have limited resources, I guess it's still reasonable.
After the award presentation, it was the much awaited drinking party. Sadly, Wang Zhuo, Zhao Wei, and Song didn't join the party. This year the place was smaller than last year, but nevertheless it was still very fun. The japanese players were trying very hard to get Ham drunk, but Ham seemed very strong in drinking as well. Even after drinking so much he could still stand up straight. Dirty words and jokes flew all over the place, and there was laughter everywhere. I really enjoy this kind of parties. I should've let go of myself, and allow myself to go crazy together with the rest. Hmm maybe I didn't drink enough =p
After the drinking party there was still the second party. We went to the same place as last year for Karaoke. Personally I didn't sing enough but all the weird and crazy dances really made me laugh. These people really know how to have fun!
There was one person who lost consciousness and kept vomiting though. I wonder if she's alright now.
2011.03.03 Day 4
After a night of crazy dancing and singing, day 4 was the day for sightseeing. Of course not as fun as drinking, but it was necessary. We went to the National Park (I don't know how to call that place). It was sort of like an imperial palace. Nothing much to see there actually. Just nice scenery. And a very big Sakura tree! A very nice to place to take group photo.
After lunch we went to a shrine nearby. I drew lots there, and it came out 大吉, which is the best one can get. It was 恋みくじ (lots that will tell how your love life goes) actually, so I was a bit happy. But as for how it will turn out in real life, I'm not sure.
In the afternoon we went to the Nihon Kiin, and it was free time from then onwards. This year I didn't buy as many books as last year, because last year I bought so many that I had difficulty carrying them home. I only bought two fans and some small books.
Even though it was free time it seemed like everybody didn't know where to go. So basically we dispersed into two teams. One visiting a dojo nearby, and another going Karaoke. I of course joined the dojo group, because I have never seen a dojo in Japan before. It was quite a small place, somewhere I wouldn't expect a dojo to be. The goban also seemed very old, and when we reached there was nobody there but a girl playing out professional games.
There, we got a professional player, Mr Ohashi, 5p, to review Ham's game. He seemed to be on good terms with Ham, and very actively gave opinions. A very small kid, who was a student of the dojo, also joined in the discussion. From the opinions he gave, I could see that he was very strong.
After that we went to join the rest in Karaoke and dinner. It was more like another drinking party rather than dinner though. We played many drinking games, including the I Love You game. Just like one of the staff said, there was no boundary at all in drinking games. =)
After that we split into two groups again. One going back hotel, and the other going for second party. I of course joined the second party group. We made our way to another Karaoke place, and stayed there until 5 am. At around 3 am nobody was actually singing already, and some were playing Go, me included. Mr Ohashi also gave some tsumegos for us to solve. It was a fun and crazy night~
2011.03.04 Day 5 (Last Day)
The last day.
The day we had to leave.
On this day I reached the hotel at around 6 am. Slept for a while and woke at 10 am to pack my stuff. We had to check out at 11 am.
The staff was waiting for us at the hotel lobby. They passed us our Kifu collections, which includes some of our photos printed out. It was a very elaborate job. I like it very much. After taking a group photo with them, it was time to leave.
Me, Zhao Wei and Wang Zhuo's flight was at 7.30 in the evening, so we went to Akihabara to take a walk before making our way to the airport. We reached the airport quite late, so I didn't really have time to buy many things.
I have to say, the trip this time was much more fun than last year. I think it's mainly because I was able converse more with everyone, especially with the staff in Japanese. And all the staff were calling me by my Japanese name, Kazuki, so I felt that I'm recognised. I don't think many people can understand my feelings, but I really felt happy. =D
There are some regrets though, one of them being the fact that I was still only able to win 2 games out of 4. Yes my opponents were strong, but that doesn't mean I don't stand a chance and I should lose. The difference between me and people like Zhao Wei is still quite huge, and I must strive to close this difference. I hope by next year, this gap would have closed by a little.
Yeah, I definitely hope to come again next year =D
