DREAM vs. Sengoku press conference notes by Akimitsu Kuwabara

Damn it’s cold in my office and it’s raining outside. If you must imagine what I’m wearing, I’m wearing a long sleeve Hem with polyester rain coat. I wear a thick black jeans and a basketball shoes. Anyway, I think I haven’t done a wallpaper pack for quite a time, so I think I will launch a Bakemonogatari Wallpaper Pack for you to download. Enjoy!

Once thought to be a passing fad, the maid cafe has actually become somewhat of a cultural mainstay in Japan, deeply rooted in its media and fetish culture. From the sexually suggestive french maid fantasy featured in anime to the nurturing maid that will also administer reflexology, the role of the maid seems to be evolving both inside and outside of the maid cafes.  Typically, one can go to a maid cafe and be greeted with “Welcome Home, Master” and enjoy the sort of pampering comfort one would find in a wait staff at home. But now maid cafes offer services such as card-game playing, face-slapping, emotional manipulation/play-acting, conversing, and praying for the souls of guests. Increased competition amongst the 217 maid cafes requires constant evolution, new hooks, and new gimmicks — and so maid cafes seem to be stretching the services traditionally provided by the role and as such, redefining a cultural icon.    via

Enter: Samurai Maid. Bookmark this for Halloween 2010… via

Props: MMAJunkie

After rumors of a potential partnership were mixed in with reports of the organization’s potential demise, officials from World Victory Road’s Sengoku event series today announced they’ll join DREAM for a joint event on New Year’s Eve.

Originally, the Japanese-based organizations planned to hold competing shows.

The Dec. 31 event includes WVR’s would-be headliner of Satoshi Ishii vs. Hidehiko Yoshida, as well as the finale of DREAM’s Super Hulk tournament, and other MMA and K-1 bouts.

The event takes place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

NICE! As a huge follower of the Japanese MMA scene, I can’t begin to tell you how pumped I am for this event.  The Japanese always go out with a bang on New Years Eve, last year FEG’s Dynamite!! event was amazing, and now with Sengoku on board, it can only get even more fucking awesome.  I don’t know the details on the full fight card, alls I know is that only six fights have been confirmed:

• Minowaman vs. Sokoudjou (Super-Hulk Final)
• Masato vs. Andy Souwer (K-1)
• Satoshi Ishii vs. Hidehiko Yoshida (Battle of Judoka’s, MMA rules)
• Hiroya vs. Japan Masaaki Noiri (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal)
• Katsuki Ishida vs. Shota Shimada (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal)
• Tsukasa Fuji vs. Ryuya Kusakabe (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal reserve)

I can only hope for some epic freakshow fights, hopefully a bunch of lightweight battles between DREAM and Sengoku, and maybe a couple of title defenses from both organization’s champions.  Needless to say, if you’re a fan of MMA and you don’t watch this, you’re wrong!

So i was inspired to do this from The MMA Word blog , you can find a link to his blog on my blog  and also he is on Twitter @HellnBackMMA. So on to a recap for what has to be one of the busiet months in MMA for the major promotions.

Events of November

1. Strikeforce:Challangers IV
2. Strikeforce:Fedor v Rogers
3. WEC 44: Brown v Aldo
4. UFC 105 : Couture v Vera
5. Strikeforce Challangers V
6. UFC 106 : Ortiz v Griffin II

Best Show of the Month : WEC 44: Brown v Aldo

Like seemingly every WEC show I have seen there wasn’t a boring fight on the main card. Jose Aldo proved to be one of the top featherweights in the world, with his complete domination of Mike Thomas Brown . Manny Gamburyan defeated Lenard Garcia in impressive fashion despite a rather large size disadvantage. Karen(Car-rin) Darabedyan made his WEC debut with a split decision victory over Razor Rob McCllugh . Shane Roller came from behinde to get a submission win over David Castillo .

WEC continues to impress me with there shows and fights. I can only hope VERSUS issue with the cable and satalite companies is fixed or Zuffa somehow moves them to Spike or another more accesable channle in the future.

Promotion of the Month: Strikeforce

With two Challanger shows and a debut on CBS this has been one of the busier months for the promotion. They had a great debut with a average of 4.04 million viewers im sure CBS will be back for seconds they did it for Elite XC so they better come back for more Strikeforce.

Next Strikeforce has Strikeforce:Evolution with fighters like Jacare , King Mo , Cung Le , and the Main Event of  Josh Thompsan v Gilber MElendez to unifiy there lightweight titles. This card will feature a look at Strikeforces present and future stars. The only proble WEC 45 is on the same day which to watch?

Fight of the Month:Tie

Fedor v Rogers @ Strikeforce :Fedor v Rogers & Jose Aldo v Mike Thomas Brown @WEC 44 Brown v Aldo

While Jose Aldos win over Brown was done in a very impressive fashion , both fights served as a comeing out of sorts for eachother. Fedor got his biggest North American audience with his fight on CBS with a average f 4.04 million viewrs and a peack of just under 5.5 million.

Brett Rogers gave Fedor his toughest fight since his PRIDE days. Fedor came back though early in the second and KO Rogers . With this newfound American exposure the next CBS Strikeforce show should do better raitings.

Jose Aldo came out as one of the best Featherweight fighters in the world with his domination of Brown. The scary thing though isnt his insane speed and striking . Its that he is a BJJ black belt and we have yet to see him off his back, somethig I was hopeing for in the Brown fight.

Worst Fight of the Month: Josh Koshcheck v Anthony Johnson UFC 106

This fight just had way to much drama and not enough fighting. With the eye pokeing and the ref not followign the rules right. This fight had m just completly out of the fine grove i was in from the previous fights.  Koshcheck after eating a knee which was thought to the head but after replays was really the arm rested in the corner. He then poked Johnson in the eye.  Koshcheck eventually went back to his roots and brought out some wrestling. After takeing Koshcheck down he was able to secure a RNC in the last seconds of the fight.

Runner up : Randy Couture v Brandon Vera

Randy executed a winnign gameplan im sure everyone expected . Im all for good plans but this was not exciteing at all .

WTF moment of the Month: MMA Judgeing

In less then a week we have seen two fights where a judge gave it 30-27 one way and another saw it 30-27 in the other fighters favor. Yes they have different prespective but the two fights in question Rob McCulloghn v Karaen Darabedyan and Ortix v Griffin were clearly 29-28 form my perspective. Ive already written a nice peace on the state of judgeing and what I would like changed go read it for more information on the matter.

Worst Promotion : Sengoku

With a loss of a major sponsor and apparent venue and ticket sale problems things are not looking good for Sengoku. This brings up a very likely of a merger or rather absorbtion by fellow jappanesse promotion DREAM. This isnt all bad, for the fighters they will get a better stage to fight on, for DREAM they get to pad there roster with more talen allowing for hopefully more shows.

Now who is ready for Decemner? we have WEC 45 , Strikeforce:Evolution and UFC 107 to look forward to.

Eccoci nuovamente in cartoonSpoiler con nuove puntata di One Piece in. Ad occuparsi dei nostri riassunti, Mario “Dr. House” Casa. Fate molta attenzione ai contenuti dei riassunti, perchè contengono ovviamente SPOILER.

ATTENZIONE SPOILER!!!

One Piece ep 422 “Infiltrazione a costo della vita!Impel Down,la prigione sottomarina”

La puntata inizia con un dialogo fra Garp e Ace,in cui il Viceammiraglio si rammarica del fatto che i nipoti siano divenuti dei pirati.

Ace gli dice che ciò era impossibile in quanto nelle loro vene scorre il sangue
di criminali di fama mondiale.
Nel frattempo la ciurma di Bagy fa rotta verso Impel Down con l’intenzione di liberare
il loro capitano, ma Albida fa comprendere loro che è impossibile evadere da quella
prigione.
Rufy e Hancock raggiungono infine Impel Down e qui viene fatta una perquisizione
all’imperatrice,la quale rischia di far scoprire il nascondiglio di Rufy.

http://www.megavideo.com/?v=O6N5XRS7

One Piece ep 423 “Riunione all’inferno!?Il possessore del frutto Puzzle Puzzle!”

http://www.megavideo.com/?v=DW6H9H8E

Per evitare la perquisizione Hancock pietrifica Domino e la Lumacamera in modo
di permettere a Rufy di uscire.
L’imperatrice sale poi su un ascensore diretto verso il Livello 4 dove incontrerà
il direttore della prigione,Magellan.
Rufy invece si infiltra al Lvl 1, dove è in atto un tentativo di fuga da parte
di Bagy il Clown.Fattosi scoprire incontra Rufy al quale rivela che Ace si trova al
Lvl 5.Per sfuggire ai Blugori i due formano un’alleanza e danno inizio ad un
vero putiferio.

One Piece ep 424 “Irruzione!L’inferno Cremisi – Il grande e vistoso piano di Bagy”

http://www.megavideo.com/?v=4MFFS9DD

Rufy abbatte facilmente i Blugori con enorme stupore di Bagy e di tutti i prigionieri.
Il clown racconta allora di come abbia conosciuto Ace e accetta di collaborare in cambio
del bracciale di Rufy.
I due raggiungono il primo livello di Impel Down,dove trovano una foresta di lame
taglienti.
Chiunque verrebbe ferito ma non Bagy, che grazie al suo potere Puzzle-Puzzle,
riesce ad attraversare la foresta fino ad una voragine enorme.
Rufy vi si getta subito diretto verso il Lvl 2 e Bagy invece vi ci precipita
a causa di un Blugori.
Sono diretti verso l’inferno delle Bestie Selvagge dove è prigioniero Mr.3.

One Piece ep 425 “L’uomo più forte della prigione!Entra in scena Magellan,l’uomo veleno”

http://www.megavideo.com/?v=KS6TSTWT

Rufy e Bagy atterrano al Lvl 2 dove si devono scontrare con i mostri presenti
su questo piano.
Dopo un primo momento di tranquillità vengono inseguiti da un basilisco e
Rufy è costretto a sconfiggerlo sfoderando il Gear Third.
Questo però mette in allarme i carcerieri,i quali riescono così ad identificare
il pirata che imperversa insieme a Bagy all’interno della prigione.
Intanto Hancock incontra Magellan,il direttore della prigione che ha mangiato il
frutto Venom-Venom,rendendolo un uomo veleno.
Per facilitarsi la fuga Bagy libera i prigionieri del piano confidando nel caos
che si sarebbe generato.I prigionieri però tornano quasi subito nelle loro celle
per paura del Boss del piano.
Rufy allora incontra Mr.3,il quale si offre di condurli verso il Lvl 3.
Intanto Sengoku apprende che Rufy si è infiltrato ad Impel Down,ma confida nell’impossibilità
di fuga dalla prigione.
Un unico uomo è riuscito a fuggire dalla prigione e il suo nome è Shiki il leone Dorato.

Heavyweight Top Ten for November, 2009:

1.. Fedor Emelianenko

2.. Brock Lesnar

3.. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

4.. Frank Mir

5.. Josh Barnett

6.. Brett Rogers

7.. Cain Velasquez

8.. Junior dos Santos

9.. Alistair Overeem

10. Andrei Arlovski

Okay, this is a one shot of all Bakemonogatari characters made in one single Rainmeter file. It’s a calendar but if you click on the character image, it will change to another character. Kinda cool, isn’t it? Well, it’s just an experiment for trigger using left mouse. So, enjoy this Rainmeter skin!

Skin Name: Bakemonogatari-tachi Calendar Rainmeter

File Size: 304 KB

Color Theme: Red

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/file/vxkjz3mzkhw/Bakemonogatari-tachiCalendar.rar

Features: You can change the character everytime you left-click on the character image. There are a total of 6 characters to change.

Note: A Rainmeter application can be downloaded in my previous post. Don’t forget to extract and move the folder to your Rainmeter skin directory. Happy downloading!

I haven’t done Bakemonogatari series in my Rainmeter skins since the Hitagi Senjougahara Clock Rainmeter skin. Therefore, I’m determined to make another Bakemonogatari Rainmeter skin series. I think I will make another Bakemonogatari Rainmeter skin, but this time it will be different from my previous creations. Stay tuned!

Skin Name: Nadeko Sengoku Rainmeter

File Size: 183 KB

Color Theme: Orange

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/file/uyjz2idmmn4/NadekoSengoku.rar

Note: A Rainmeter application can be downloaded in my previous post. Don’t forget to extract and move the folder to your Rainmeter skin directory. Happy downloading!

Over the course of the next eleven days I will be going over my top eleven favorite fighters.  Why eleven you ask? Because everyone else does top ten’s and that shit is weak, I plan on going above what everyone else does, even if it’s by one!  My favorite’s range from all organizations, all different parts of the world, but they all bring one thing to the table and it’s that they beat the fucking piss out of their opposition and they do it with style!

Why should you care?  Well, you might not know some of these fighters, a few are just up and coming in the sport, but no doubt have some big things ahead of them if they keep fighting the way they’re currently fighting.  Hopefully you’ll read this and then go out and draw your own conclusion on these stellar fucking fighters, and maybe one day you’ll come back and thank good ol’ Hard-Boiled for opening your eyes to the greatness that is my top eleven!

Let’s get going….number 11:

Mamed Khalidov

They don't call him the "Cannibal" for no reason...

Mamed’s 20-3-1 as a pro fighter, with nineteen of his twenty victories coming in the form of a KO/TKO/or submission.  The man is a fucking finisher, and hasn’t lost a fight since 2005.  He has some wicked kicks, great striking, and an some very legitimate grappling skills.

This past weekend, he fucked up American Top Team fighter and current Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago in under two minutes.   The fight was a non-title fight, but Mamed put himself on the map with this victory.  He’s only fought once in the US, on a ShoXC event, where he beat Ultimate Fighter rejet/fat-body Jason Guida with relative ease.

I’ve been following him for a few years after I saw a KSW event he fought on, and I really hope Mamed makes his way back over to the states, signing with Strikeforce and joining their middleweight division.  I think the guy has seriously potential to be a truly great fighter, and I can’t wait to see what this he does once he makes his name know to the states.

See, that wasn’t so bad was it?  Number 10 tomorrow….who will it be?

Like many others, I would so caught up in the hype for this past weekend’s Strikeforce show on CBS that I nearly slept on Sengoku 11th Battle the night before. I forgot to do a rankings preview for it, which is a shame as it was the only event this weekend that produced significant changes in the standings, with two major upsets: Michihiro Omigawa over Hatsu Hioki (via controversial decision) and Mamed Khalidov over Jorge Santiago. The Strikeforce card held the possibility of multiple rankings-shifting upsets, but in the end, the overdogs all prevailed.

Here’s the altered middleweight top 15 and featherweight top 10. For a complete update, check the current rankings.

MIDDLEWEIGHT (183-185 lbs.) TOP 15

FEATHERWEIGHT (143-145 lbs.) TOP 10

Otra de esas figuras con la que la mayoria solo podremos soñar. Aquí la hermosa Uesugi Kenshin del juego para adultos Sengoku Rance.

Esta increible y enorme figura de 1/4 escala fabricada por la empresa Volks y que saliera como edición límitada del Wonder Festival allá en el 2007 y vemos ahora gracias a que un coleccionista tuvo la osadía de hacerse de una.

El precio de la figura en aquel entonces fue de 44100 Yen. La figura al amigo le costo con gastos de envio US$765.

La figura fue de la Serie A-Brand que sacara Volks por aquella época. El material es de Resina pero fue Pre-pintada; su anatomia eso increiblemente detallada. Ella aparece de pie con sus katanas, una al hombro la otra a su espalda. Uesugi esta semi desnuda y parte de lo que fueran sus vestimentas caen sobre sus piernas mientras el viento las lleva consigo lo que le da dinamismo a la figura

Aquí la vemos comparada a la figura de Saber Lily la que de por sí es grande.

Más fotos que incluyen desnudo de Uesugi en el blog de Tentacle Armada

El Intro del juego Sengoku Rance

Starting out modestly with a top 15 for heavyweight through lightweight, and a top 10 for featherweight and bantamweight. In case you didn’t read the “guidelines” section, “P3Y Record” refers to the fighter’s record in the past three years, which is the time period I have deemed relevant for ranking purposes.

HEAVYWEIGHT (265 lbs. limit) TOP 15

LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT (205 lbs.) TOP 15

MIDDLEWEIGHT (183-185 lbs.) TOP 15

WELTERWEIGHT (168-170 lbs.) TOP 15

LIGHTWEIGHT (154-160 lbs.) TOP 15

FEATHERWEIGHT (143-145 lbs.) TOP 10

BANTAMWEIGHT (132-138 lbs.) TOP 10

There it is. Comments? Objections? Suggestions? I’m not above changing these things on the basis of someone pointing out where I’m wrong.

Publicado originalmente en Retazos de un Sociópata

Para mi Sengoku es uno de esos juegos que te encantaría poder decir que has jugado (o que has escrito, vamos, ni te cuento). Me encanta la época en la que está ambientando, he visto tantas películas de chanbara o samurai de corte histórico que solo me falta hablar japones para pensar como uno de ellos si llega el caso… bueno, vale, exagero un poco pero ya entendéis el concepto.

Me gustan las historias de samurais.

Y Sengoku es un juego histórico -aún añadiendo ciertas dosis de fantasía- realmente bien documentado y aún así no resulta, al abordarlo, demasiado pesado ni agobiante. Por supuesto es el DJ quien, como casi siempre, carga con el peso de conocer ese trasfondo y hacerlo parecer vivo, por lo cual para los jugadores ese problema es mucho menor. O no, porque siempre he tenido la impresión de que los juegos históricos tienen el problema adicional de… bueno… de ser históricos. Todo el realismo que aporta su trasfondo amplio y detallado se va al traste si la gente pasa por encima de él como si fuese el típico mundo plano de fantasía estandar. No puedes plantear el trasfondo de tu personaje en Sengoku con algo como: “mi personaje es una samurai que fue entrenada en la montaña por su padre y ahora viaja por el mundo haciendo justicia” por un montón de motivos de coherencia, esa historia chirriaría con el trasfondo realista y necesita mucho más trabajo por parte de los jugadores. Y no se si seré yo pero en muchas ocasiones los jugadores no están dispuestos a hacer el sacrificio de dedicarle muchas horas a la historia de su personaje, a documentarse sobre la ambientación y esperan que les digas en pocas frases todo lo que su personaje sabe sobre un mundo complejo… y en las ambientaciones historias eso es mucho decir. El mundo real está plagado de datos y detalles y si no me empapo bien de todo ello tengo la sensación de estar “traicionando” a la historia.

Supongo que por eso siempre me quedaré con las ganas de haber jugado a Sengoku en su momento y de que los juegos históricos, aunque me apasionan, están fuera de mi alcance.

Os dejo unos cuantos manuales realmente interesantes aunque solo queráis documentación accesible sobre el Japón del XVI en la sección de Descargas.

Eccoci nuovamente in cartoonSpoiler con nuove puntata di One Piece in “contemporanea”/differita con il Giappone. Ad occuparsi dei nostri riassunti, Mario “Dr. House” Casa. Alla settimana prossima!!!

ATTENZIONE SPOILER!!!

One Piece 419 “La destinazione dei compagni – L’isola degli uccelli giganti e il paradiso rosa!”

Continua il racconto del destino della ciurma di Rufy. Chopper precipita su di un’isola in cui la razza dominante è costituita da uccelli giganti e gli esseri umani che vi abitano devono sottostare alla loro forza. Nel frattempo Sanji sembra essere atterrato in un isola i cui abitanti sembra siano tutte donne.

Verrà soccorso dalla bella Elizabeth, ma quando il cuoco si recherà verso la sua casa per restituirle un fazzolettino scopre l’orribile realtà: gli abitanti dell’isola in realtà non sono donne ma solo dei travestiti! Inizia così l’incubo di Sanji nella terra dei travestiti.

http://www.megavideo.com/?v=ZPG2Y7JZ

One Piece 420 “La destinazione dei compagni – Il ponte che collega le isole e le piante cannibali”

Nico Robin atterra sull’isola invernale di Tequila Wolf,dove viene salvata dalla piccola Soran,una ragazzina che
lavora come schiava alla costruzione di un immenso ponte.
Robin viene in seguito catturata da alcuni soldati e apprende così di trovarsi sul pilastro di un enorme ponte in
costruzione da oltre 300 anni.
Usopp invece precipita sull’isola di Greenstone,un luogo infestato da piante cannibali e insetti giganti.
Quando Usopp si convince di essere rimasto solo ecco che spunta il bizzarro Heracles,il quale lo salva dalle piante
mangia-uomini.

One Piece 421 “La destinazione dei compagni – La principessa negativa e il re Satana”

Zoro atterra sull’isola Kuraigana,la stessa isola sulla quale Orso ha spedito Perona da Thriller Bark.
La ragazza in un primo momento spaventata, si decide poi a curare lo spadaccino mettendo da parte gli antichi dissapori.
Una volta sveglio, Zoro cerca di fuggire dal castello per tornare dai suoi compagni ma la ragazza sembra essere
intenzionata a impedirgli di lasciarla sola.
Brook invece precipita sull’isola Namakura,proprio al centro di un’evocazione satanica da parte degli abitanti dell’isola.
Ritenuto un essere demoniaco, gli viene richiesto di punire la tribù dei Braccia-Lunghe.
Nel frattempo a Marineford si radunano tutte le forze militari della Marina, mentre ad Impel Down Ace implora Garp
di ucciderlo,ma il vecchio si rifiuta in quanto l’azione sarebbe completamente inutile,poichè la guerra contro
Barbabianca ormai è inevitabile.

Marco “Dr.Hous” Casa per CartoonMag

The official website of the anime Sengoku Gyōjin Dullahan ~Kagen no Keishōsha (Dullahan: The Inheritor of the Crescent Moon) has opened. It offers a trailer of the anime.

Quoted from ANN:

The anime is based on the top winning entry in northern Japan’s Sendai-Miyagi Animation Contest from the visual novel creator group Ra-sen in 2008. Various companies then collaborated on a teaser trailer that ran during the Tokyo International Anime Fair this past March. Sayaka Katou designed the characters, and funbolt was responsible for the original mechanical design sketches. The Sendai-based software and video company GrapeCity worked on production and motion-capturing, while the anima studio produced the animation and modeling. The THINK corporation also produced the project.

Seriously, this is awesome. I’ve seen the trailer and it is way too cool. I will be looking forward to this action anime.. ^_^

One of the big discussion topics on ESPN’s MMA Live episode this week was that the Ben Henderson/Donald Cerrone fight was fight of the year. Certainly it was an awesome fight – Cerrone might have gotten KO’d at various points on the ground in the first three rounds and Henderson nearly passed out twice from chokes and one late arm lock looked like it was about to tear the shoulder right out of it’s socket. Five rounds of solid action, back and forth ruckus… sure a good candidate for fight of the year.

For my money, however, I’m gonna say that the Urijah Faber/Mike Thomas Brown rematch was fight of the year. That was a very competitive fight, and made all the more amazing when you think that Faber was fighting probably the hardest puncher (and a good wrestler) in that division with two broken hands.

Other candidates, in no particular order:
Diego Sanchez/Clay Guida
Randy Couture/Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira
Anderson Silva/Forrest Griffin
Roger Huerta/Gray Maynard

If this is a little Zuffa heavy, it is. Hey, I’m a product of my environment. I get the WEC free on VS and the UFC free on Spike (and the internet and occasionally a sports bar). I watch the highlights and often the full fights coming out of DREAM and Sengoku, but I rely more on what I read from the various news/blog sites. If none of them tout so-and-so as fight of the year, then I’m certainly not going to delve into them in depth, panning for gold where none is likely to be found.

Undefeated Knockout Artist and Japanese MMA sensation Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal has inked a deal with American MMA promotion Strikeforce, and could be fighting for them as early as December. Apparently his contract is like many that Strikeforce has with their fighters and Mo can continue fighting in Japan. Don’t forget Mo’s strong wrestling background and him winning the first and only season of “Real Pro Wrestling.”

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal has signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce and could make his promotional debut as early as December, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations.

Lawal has signed on to compete in the light heavyweight division, said the source.

The deal allows the undefeated Lawal, a NCAA Div. 1 All-American wrestling champion for Oklahoma State in 2003 and decorated international competitor, to continue competing on the Japanese circuit. There, the 28-year-old heavyweight has made a name for himself with four straight victories in the Sengoku Raiden Championship (formerly Sengoku) over the last year. Three of those wins have come by stoppage from strikes, while Lawal’s only decision came after he tore his ACL in the first round of his match with Ryo Kawamura at Sengoku “Seventh Battle” last March.

Nightmare of Battle is reporting that Sengoku’s big year end show will in fact be on New Year’s Eve, competing with FEG’s annual Dynamite show. We already know the big draw will be Satoshi Ishii making his debut against Hidehiko Yoshida, but some other matches are starting to come together as well:

Sengoku Raiden Championship
Date: December 31st, 2009
Place: Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo, Japan

Heavyweight Fight:
Satoshi Ishii vs. Hidehiko Yoshida

Possible Fights:
Antonio Silva vs. Josh Barnett
Masanori Kanehara vs. Hioki/Omigawa

Possible Participants:
Mizuto Hirota
Satoru Kitaoka
Takanori Gomi
Hiroshi Izumi

Right now, Sengoku is gambling it all on Ishii v. Yoshida, as Barnett v. Silva, a Kanehara title defense, or any of the other possible participants are not going to draw. Unfortunately for Sengoku, they really do not have any draws outside of Ishii and Yoshida at this point. The big question is, how big will that one fight draw, as it is the kind of super fight that can carry a show on its back. Look for FEG to offer something big in response.

Nagahama Castle

As I rode the train northward through paddy fields and old wooden houses, the shore of Lake Biwa drew closer and closer as the I entered Nagahama City. This would be one of the two real sightseeing hotspots I would spend time in during the trip–the other being Otsu–and I was looking forward to what Nagahama had to offer.

After detraining, I headed out toward Nagahama Castle, which is about 10 minutes or so on foot from the station, near the lakeshore. Nagahama Castle is not the most impressive structure I’ve ever seen, and even though it’s a modern reconstruction, it has a certain charm to it. Upon looking through the museum inside, I learned that it was at located at a vital location near Sekigahara, a mountain location where the decisive battle between the Tokugawa and Hideyoshi alliances was fought in 1600 to determine the future path of Japan, which ended up being one of long-awaited prosperity and peace for more than 250 years. The castle is small, but the view from the top is impressive, as you can look out over Lake Biwa as well as out toward the rolling hills around Sekigahara. Gazing at the illuminated castle keep that night, I had to admit the odd-shaped structure was not overly impressive, but in my mind its historical significance has left an imprint in my memory that is far bigger than the fortress’ physical stature.

Kurokabe Square

Next I went to Kurokabe Square. This is considered the center of Nagahama, and its name comes from the stately old black-walled (“kurokabe”) building that acts as its centerpiece and gives the district its name. The two-storey building was built in 1899 and served originally as the Daihyaku Sanju Bank building, but today it is a well-known shop selling the famous glassware of Nagahama on the first floor and imported glassware and jewelry on the second floor. The shop’s goods were absolutely amazing, and since I had come all the way to Nagahama, I couldn’t resist buying a few glass animal figurines (which somehow made it home undamaged). The surrounding area also has a number of wooden Edo- and Meiji-Period buildings. I splurged at a restaurant nearby and bought sukiyaki with Omi beef, a regional specialty. Though expensive, this tender, delicious, high-quality beef is worth it. Afterward, I visited a couple of temples in town.

Glass souvenirs from Nagahama (turtle, pig, and blowfish)

In the morning I got up early to catch the ferry to Chikubushima, an island in the middle of the lake where a temple and a shrine are located. I threw my things in a locker and walked to the ferry pier, only to find that (1) the time schedule in my guidebook was out of date and I had just missed the boat I planned to take, and (2) even though I thought I was clever enough to arrive early in the morning to avoid crowds, so had everyone else in Shiga Prefecture. Thankfully, I got a window seat on the ferry and we set sail across the placid waters of Lake Biwa.

Chikubushima from the ferry

As the boat closed in on Chikubushima, everyone went out onto the deck to take pictures, but I decided to wait until the return trip–which was a smart move, since it wasn’t nearly as crowded on deck during the return trip. The approach reminded me a bit of the time I visited Alcatraz in San Francisco, sans the chill running up my spine. Chikubushima itself was not as good as I had expected, although the imposing old gate of Tsubusuma Shrine and the beautifully carved Buddha statue inside were impressive, and the bright orange pagoda of Hoganji Temple surrounded by vibrant tropical greenery was refreshing. The shrine boasts a unique way of praying: you buy a pair of round ceramic fragments, write your name on one and your prayer on the other using a brush, and then try to throw them both through a Shinto gate (torii) perched below on a rock in the water.

Buddha statue inside Tsubusuma Shrine

After boarding the ferry back to Nagahama, snapping said photograph, and relaxing in the air-conditioned cabin after a lot of stair-climbing, I started to mentally plan the afternoon. I would ride the JR line around the north edge of the lake and down to Makino on the west side, put my things in a locker there, go sightseeing further south in Katata and Imazu, then return and catch a shuttle to the hotel and find a restaurant to eat dinner at. Little did I know that a combination of incorrect information, misleading information, the reality of the countryside would nullify my plan.

I went to Nagahama Station and saw that the next train would be leaving in a half hour. As the departure time approached, an announcement from the platform speakers informed us that the trains were now delayed a couple of minutes, followed by another that they were delayed by 30 minutes, meaning I would be waiting an hour just to get on the train. The train finally arrived, 40 minutes late, which just goes to show how dangerous it is to rely on JR (in West Japan, JR seems to have trouble handling busy travel weekends). I had to switch at Imazu-Shiotsu station for the Kosei Line, but thanks to that lovely delay, my train had left one minute before and I now needed to wait another hour until the next one came. After about 35 minutes I got impatient and decided to go call a taxi, so I went down the longest station staircase I have ever seen inside a train station and asked the station attendant for the nearest taxi company’s phone number. As luck would have it, the train arrived at that very moment (apparently the Kosei Line was delayed, too), so I ran up the longest staircase ever with my bags in hand and barely slipped through the door and into a vacant seat before it departed. We soon cut through a tunnel and rushed out into the breathtaking, verdant scenery of northern Biwa.

Around Makino Station...absolutely nothing

Despite the information on JR’s website, when I asked the station attendant where the coin lockers were, he gave me the “are you insane?” look and told me there were none. I couldn’t very well go sightseeing with my bags in tow, so I called the hotel, but despite their claim to be a lakeside resort, they didn’t even have a pickup service from the station. This meant I would have to haul my stuff 15 minutes to the place. Furthermore, there was nothing resembling a restaurant near the station–mostly just old houses and paddy fields. With a groan, I put one foot in front of the other. With trains that arrived only once and hour (and unpredictably delayed), my arrival at Makino several hours later than planned, and my legs worn out by the time I walked through the hotel’s front entrance, it seemed as if things that day would not go as planned.

Fortunately for me, when it comes to trips, I thrive on unpredictability. Stay tuned for part 3.

See part 1 and part 3 of the journey.

To see a map of my journey, click here.