Kyushu Cup

The largest concentration of ALTs in the prefecture here is in the capital, Saga City — a number of them actually live together in a big apartment block, which I'm sure makes for a much different experience than what I get up here in comparatively remote Karatsu. I don't think I really envy them — college dorm life wasn't an experience I look back upon with any especially fond memories — but for better or worse they do seem to have a much tighter-knit community than Karatsu does.

Thus events like the 2006 Kyushu Cup, a tourney of ALT amateur soccer teams from across the island (and one group from the tail-end of Honshu, Yamaguchi-ken) that Saga had the privelege of hosting this weekend. Of course, this was not amateur as in "anybody who'd like to get out and have some fun kicking the ball around" amateur, but rather more like "expat sports players from around the world, unite!" amateur, so I was there strictly as a specator (and vendor of snacks for Habitat for Humanity fundraising). It was also an occassion for an attempt at some sports photography, although I'm afraid my meager zoom lens capability prevented me from capturing anything too dramatic, like, say, a goal. This is maybe just as well, considering Saga's home-turf advantage proved insufficient to forestall the onslaught from champions Fukuoka-ken, resulting in a somewhat dispiriting fourth-place finish. Oh well — as the Japanese say, otsukaresamadeshita, everybody!