Pubblicato: 06.07.2024
At Hokkaido University, there is a baseball tournament every year, and since Prof. Maeda's group is participating, there were two games on Thursday. It's a knockout system, so they only play as long as they keep winning. Fortunately, I only had to watch and not play. To be honest, I am not familiar with all the rules of baseball, but my colleagues kindly explained everything to me as I watched. The first game was won decisively, I believe, with a score of 20:2, and the second game was against very good opponents and was won 5:2. The pitcher in Maeda's team is truly outstanding. He threw the balls very fast and with incredible precision. With the two wins, there was another game on Friday. This game was also won, putting Maeda's group in the final against the reigning champion. After a nerve-wracking final with a score of 12:10, Maeda's group won the cup for the first time in history. In addition to fame and honor, there was also a prize money of 20,000 euros. Of course, a huge celebration took place in the evening. After the tournament, there is always a celebration where the entire Chemistry faculty on campus drinks. I was in so many different rooms, talked to so many people, and tried so many different drinks. I even saw Japanese poker being played, and I thought the celebration was super fun. Unfortunately, I had to take the train at midnight, but most people were already so drunk that it was probably better to drive. I have to say that the celebration was only slightly different from celebrations at HHU.