Brazilian judo team trains in Chiba

FTV aired a report the other day focusing on the Brazilian judo team’s experience training in Katsuura, Chiba Prefecture:

Like many other countries, Brazil chose to have some of its athletes conduct their training in Japan, where air pollution is not as bad as the Beijing area. Brazil’s judo team picked the International Budo University in Katsuura as their training spot, sharing the facility with the judo teams from Canada, Cuba, and Switzerland.

Featured in the report is the friendly owner of Guesthouse Kanda, Osamu Ezawa, who has hosted Olympic judo athletes from several countries over the years. Ezawa guides them around town, where they sample local foods and take photos. Aside from an awkward situation in which an old lady attempts to lecture on about how they should speak Japanese in Japan, it’s a fun experience. Local residents interviewed say that the foreign athletes were very friendly, and it will be hard to consider them an opposing team at the Olympic games.