News

We have held the 2nd Board Meeting of GKJN via web conferencing connecting Chicago, Calgary and Tokyo.  Since I have now obtained my VISA, we had decided to make our website available to the public. Since the establishment of GKJN in October of 2020, we utilized the year for our preparation including our website. As the “Kickoff” of this organization, on September 25th and 26th we were planning the Tohkon Cup and GKJN Cup – a Judo Competition and Clinic with 200+ kids in the Midwest – due to the remaining effect of COVID-19, we had no option but to postpone this to next Spring at the earliest. I took […]

It’s been a month since I arrived in the United States. This article is about my survival experience in Chicago. Jewel Osco is located very close to where I live – just a minute walk!!  Everything is HUGE.  The Parking Lot, Entrance and whatever is sold here and including the customers:-) Even at my age, when I buy alcohol they ask me for my ID (a bit happy) To all visitors:  Make sure to carry your passport when you go by beer 😊 Reunited with the kids!!  This photo is with a pretty, 6 year-old girl Alansa (isn’t she so cute?) All the kids here are so adorable. Angels that

Saturday, August 7th 2021, I have finally arrived in the USA with an O-1: Athlete VISA that allows me to work lawfully. The 12 hour flight from Tokyo to Chicago on Flight 10 on Japan Airlines seemed to me “shining.” Summer Chicago greeted me saying “Welcome to the USA” Mr. Kenya Yamada, the branch manager of Japan Airlines had escorted me through immigration which went very smooth.  Last visit was awful as I was taken to secondary and went through a 3 hour interrogation which almost led me to deportation.  Although I had a legit VISA, I was nervous which ended up in vain.  The inspector’s question was “Welcome to

Late night on Monday, June 28th after my return to Japan on June 20th and during my self quarantine period in a hotel in Tokyo, the notice came.  The approval of O1A VISA from the USCIS… I was still an active player when I made this decision in September of 2019 and it was before my last Kodokan Championship.  1 year and 9 months from that point in time, I saw a flashback of the days that passed.  Didn’t cry a bit, but trembling with excitement.   The first VISA I tried was the Artist VISA (P-3) but Judo was not considered art and was denied.  Then COVID came into

On Thursday, June 17th at 11:30 I had an interview with Mr. Kenji Okada, the Counsel General of Japan at Chicago.  The Counsel General is located in the heart of downtown Chicago – I drove on my own there. I kept the speed limit (70 MPH) on the Interstate and with cautious driving I arrived in about an hour.  Bought a cup of coffee at Starbucks, and took a breath in front of the Water Tower Place which is right in front of the Office.  (kind of elegant…)  Now to the Counsel. I reported my activities of the past 2 months in his office as well as the status of

Indiana Championship took place at Portland Indiana on Saturday, June 5th.  I visited together with Doug Tono, the owner of Tohkon Judo Academy.  It was a 4.5 hour drive from Chicago.  In a fully chartered gymnasium, 300 participants gathered together!! We hauled TATAMI on the previous day (June 4th) and spent 2 hours setting up the event site.  It was the first time for me to setup a competition site, and now understood how tough a job the supporting staff are going through. I didn’t even think about this before I retired as a competitor. In the competition 16 kids participated and the results were great.  11 Gold, 3 Silver

Exciting times go so fast.  May felt like just an instance. While continuing my 4 lessons/week curriculum, I started to get worried on how to teach the Cubby Class (ages 3~5)  I also needed to prepare a boat load of information for my Visa application (My Resume, Competition Records, Recommendation Letters, and to dop it off my transcript from my University – contents of the transcript – top secret.) As for my personal life, I made an unforgettable experience travelling to Arizona during the Memorial Day weekend.  Acquired a lot of stuff in my exciting days!!  And now, approaching the time I need to leave.  A bit concerned about the

I participated in the All USA Judo Competition in Reno, Nevada that took place on May 15th and 16th. I was a 3.5 hour long flight from Chicago, but the main objective was to meet with the Chairman and the Executives of USA Judo (Keith Bryant) to request support for the O-1 Visa (Same VISA Type as Shohei Ohtani and Rui Hachimura).  We had discussed about detailed conditions for this support, but it was the first time we met.  I am not so good if it’s not on the TATAMI, being nervous, I met to request the above support. The meeting with Keith was brilliant as my thoughts and his

It’s been a month since my arrival to Chicago and now enjoying the best time of the year.  Continuing my 4 lessons/week at the partner dojo (Tohkon Judo Academy)  Initially I was just excited to meet the cute little kids, but now I feel a bit more responsible.  I need to make sure that the kids do their best at every lesson, and they go home with confidence that they did.  I ask myself with this question too. My education style still has a lot of room for improvement but I take this positive to push myself even harder.  Regardless, the smiles of the kids gives me the best power

After my arrival on April 4th, I started by 4 days/week lessons at the partner dojo (Tohkon Judo Academy) starting on the 6th. The smiles and the effort of kids are the best vitamins for me! (see photo) However, in my personal life, it was a VERY BUSY 2 weeks. I had a 3 hour interrogation at immigration. They did let me in, but I will require a VISA next time… I had a problem with my ears and had my first doctors visit (Nihon Clinic) Struggled to find the prescription drugs, and ended up searching through 4 pharmacies.  What I had taken for granted in Japan takes 4x the