The picture above shows me eating some of the munchies I bought there. This was dried squid strips. Rather yummy. They did have hot dogs also, but fried foods and such were more common as munchies at the game.
The fans are much more civilized here than they are in the States. They are definitely as loud, if not louder, than in the States, but it is always cheers in support of their team, never boos aimed at the other team. Each team has a cheering section in the outfield stands with memebers who likely travel with the team. This includes a band who plays when their team is batting or when they make a good defensive play. Also have people who wave huge banners back and forth. And just about every fan has these plastic bats which they whack together to the beat of the band when they support their team.
The seventh inning stretch doesn't have take me out to the ball park, but instead a karaoke song. Picture of this above. On the right side in the stands, you can see some of the banners I was talking about.
At the game, I bought a t-shirt as a souvenier. Went to the stand and was looking through the selection. One concern in Asia is finding something in my size. Added to this is that I do not know what sizing system they use in Japan. I asked the woman working there ”このシャツはわたしのおおきさがありませんか？" (Kono shatsu wa watashino ookisa ga arimasenka / do you have this shirt in my size?). She responded that it was fu-ri sizu (free size). Confused me at first, but I quickly figured out that this is the term they use for one size fits all clothes. I didn't have the heart to type the word "free" into my electronic dictionary and show her what it means.
Experienced another earthquake last weekend. This was the fourth I have felt in Japan. Considering that I have spent about 4 months here between business trips and school, that averages to one a month. If my experiences are normal, then they get a lot more earthquakes that are large enough to feel here than we do in California.
This earthquake was probably about a 4 on the Richter scale, assuming it was centered near me. Japan uses the "shindo" scale for measuring earthquakes, so it may be a challenge for me to find out its magnitude. The "shindo" scales refers to the intensity of an earthquake at a given location - basically what people actually feel at a given location. The Richter scale measures the magnitude of an earthquake - basically the energy an earthquake releases. The shindo scale ranges from shindo one, a slight earthquake felt only by people who are not moving, to shindo seven, a severe earthquake. Shindo two and three are still minor earthquakes that do not cause damage, while objects start to fall at shindo four, and heavier damage occurs at shindo five and higher.
Ok, checked on the web and did find a place that listed this earthquake using the Richter scale. It was 4.2 and centered in Nagano (a bit north of me). My area only ranked a 1 on the Shindo scale, and I saw some 2 closer to the center. I don't recall seeing any 3s.