This photo was taken from Row 1, in the section right behind the players bench. I was so thrilled to get seats so close to the court. I could see the players' expressions. I didn't expect to get such good seats for the day, I was just going there to see if I could buy any tickets at all for any day. Last week, I tried to call the ticket office to try to get tickets for the weekend's volleyball game. I called aobut 6 times on 3 different days. No one ever picked up the phone. So on Thursday morning on July 10th, on a whim, I decided I was going direct to Yokohama Stadium to see if I could possibly get any tickets to the game.
After getting directions from the internet, stopping for lunch and getting lost a couple of times enroute from Shin Yokohoma station to the stadium (I mean there were only directions to Nissan Arena and I figured 'how many large stadium like venues in this area could there possibly be?' - apparently at least 2), I finally arrived in front of the ticket office. I knew I was in the correct place this time, because I could see all sorts of volleyball and FIVB paraphernalia in front of the entrance doorways. I arrived at just before 3 pm and at this time, there are literally no crowds. I guess most people are working or going to school. It didn't take too long to arrive at the head of the line. I asked if I could order in English and the hesitation I received forced me to tell her that it was okay, that I would use Japanese to order tickets. She looked much relieved. I was shocked to find out that there were still tickets to today's game. At the international volleyball tournaments, usually, there are 2 or 3 matches during the entire day but your ticket allows you stay for the whole day. The headliner of course, is Team Japan, so they always place them at the 6:30 timeslot. It's at this time that the audience becomes full. But when I arrived, it was just before 3 pm and it really didn't look that busy outside or inside.
Even though, I was sitting in row which was unbelievable close, in front of me there was still a Row 0. Apparently all those seats were reserved a long time ago. The guy beside me was a huge fan of Team Brazil and he brought a tripod and Fuji camera with a huge lens. The guy in front of him also brought a tripod and an even bigger lens. I think at this distance they would have been able to get full face shots, with great expressions. Being surrounded by such greatness in the camera realm, I felt funny pulling out my keitai (cellphone) to snap a shot. But this is the only proof of the view I had that day. And it was a fun day. It especially got pretty lively when Team Japan came out. As you can see behind the players on the opposite side, the seats are all full. And just about everyone buys the clapping balloons. These ones had the Volleyboo mascot. He's a black pig with rising sun bandana.
I can't wait for my next game.
No comments:
Post a Comment