Geo1

Yes, it would make sense for Yuzu to participate in the Iwate shows since it is in Tohoku and suffered from the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. It is also the home prefecture for Shohei Ohtani, two-way superstar of American Major League Baseball, who was born in Oshu in 1994, the same year as Yuzu. I think that it is a fitting coincidence that the two G.O.A.T.s from Tohoku will be performing in Tokyo Dome within two weeks of each other. Yuzu will be performing in GIFT on February 26 and Shohei will be competing in the World Baseball Classic as a pitcher and designated hitter with 'Samurai Japan', the Japanese team, on March 12. In 2016, Shohei Ohtani, playing for Japan, hit a ball so hard during a contest versus the Netherlands in the WBSC Global Series that it went through the roof of the Tokyo Dome. I am sure that Yuzu will also score a 'HOME RUN' with GIFT.

It was only yesterday that I was wondering about @Muffinator since I had not seen her on the Planet for a while and I had been aware of her illness. Then I saw the message from @ImmortalBeloved this morning. I am saddened to hear about her passing and extend my sincere condolences to her husband and daughter. It often seems to be the case that the good people are the ones who are taken away from us too early. I am glad that Yuzu provided her with joy, focus and a distraction from her pain. Now that she is free of her debilitating illness and pain, may she rest in peace and enjoy eternal happiness, including seeing GIFT from on high as well as watching her daughter grow into a woman and providing her with quiet guidance.

An "augmented reality" interactive Yuzu who "will be able to... do anything" will definitely be subject to abuse as his uses will be limited only by the imagination of Fanyus. He will keep you company alright, and not just on your walks.

Brian Orser is at 4CC with Boyang Jin and Junhwan Cha. I am posting it here because I am glad to see him coaching Boyang Jin who was Yuzu’s bestie at 2022 Beijing, providing friendship, support and cheer when he needed it the most. Wishing both Boyang and Jun the best of luck!

Yuzu thrives on being the centre of attention. That is why he chose figure skating as his sport because, as he said even as a baby Yuzu, in what other sport could he perform and be the sole focus of attention for thousands of spectators. The more people that watch him, the better he performs. Imagine how he is going to perform in front of a live audience of up to 55,000 people and livestream audiences of hundreds of thousands. This is the beginning of what he has worked for all his life – to showcase himself, alone, before an adoring audience of hundreds of thousands live and ultimately millions without the specter of false judgment. Yuzu not only has brains and immeasurable talent, he has courage and vision. GIFT is going to be – already is – an unprecedented success. (It would be an even bigger success if made available to viewing worldwide.)

2019 SKATE CANADA INTERNATIONAL IN KELOWNA 2019 Skate Canada International was the fourth and final competition that we attended. I am sure that all of the satellites and Fanyus who attended 2019 SCI in Kelowna have fond memories of Yuzu’s magnificent short, free and exhibition programs. It was a dream event for Yuzu fans. It was one of those special international competitions where Yuzu skated both the short and long programs clean. The time that we spent with fellow satellites was priceless. Yuzuru Hanyu's participation in 2019 Skate Canada International and the resulting Hanyuconomy had a huge economic impact on Kelowna and British Columbia. https://www.tourismkelowna.com/industry/industry-news-centre/post/thousands-of-international-visitors-attend-2019-skate-canada-international-in-kelowna/ https://www.tourismkelowna.com/industry/industry-news-centre/post/strong-international-visitation-and-economic-impact-from-2019-skate-canada-international-in-kelowna/ Westjet flight crews were heard to say that the three days of SCI and the days leading up to it were the busiest they had seen at Kelowna International Airport. One of the highlights of the 2019 SCI was Yuzu’s Otonal practice. This is the TSN coverage of the SP plus fluff with Tracy Wilson and Rod Black. This is the TSN coverage of the FS plus fluff with Tracy Wilson and Rod Black. This is the official coverage of the Victory Ceremony. This is the TSN coverage of the Gala exhibition PW with Tracy Wilson and Rod Black. This is Yuzu’s PW practice during the Gala rehearsal captured by On Ice Perspectives. (We did not see this live. I understand that this was a private practice on Sunday morning. You can see that the arena was empty.) GIFTS FOR YUZU In preparation for SCI, we bought gifts for Yuzu, his mother, Ghislain, Brian and Tracy. I will just mention the gifts that we got for Yuzu and his mother. I have posted about these gifts previously, but I repeat them for the sake of completeness of this story and for the sake of new fans who may not have seen the earlier post. Goat Plushy with a Gold Medal around His Neck: We found a goat plushy on Amazon.ca and ordered from a local trophy store a gold medal with a blue ribbon on which I had printed: Yuzuru Hanyu Greatest of All Time G.O.A.T. Shijo Saiko Shijo Saiko means “Best in History” (Greatest of All Time) in Japanese. The blue ribbon was clipped together behind the plush goat’s neck so that it fit, but when unclipped, it is long enough for Yuzu to hang around his neck. I like to imagine that, in private, Yuzu has hung this medal around his neck. LOL! Two Pairs of “Axel Arigato” Running Shoes: We ordered two pairs of handmade leather sneakers from a Swedish company called “Axel Arigato”– one white pair and one black pair. https://axelarigato.com/ A Gold-Toned Citizen Eco-Drive Watch: We found a Citizen Eco-Drive watch that was completely gold-toned stainless steel – the case, the dial, the hour indices, the letters on the face, the watch hands and watchband. It was not an expensive watch, but it was the only watch that was completely gold-toned. We knew that Yuzu would probably not wear it because he is not a watch-wearer and it was not his style, but we felt that it was appropriate as a good luck charm because it was all gold-toned. (My wife, Emiko, got one for herself.) Purdy’s Chocolates: We bought two extra-large boxes of Purdy’s mixed (milk and dark) chocolates for Yuzu and his mother. Purdy’s is a premium line of chocolates produced locally in Vancouver since 1907. Vancouver Calendars and Tourist Books: We bought a number of Vancouver calendars and tourist books hoping to tempt Yuzu and his family to visit Vancouver. I wrote a letter to Yuzu in English explaining the significance of each of these gifts and why we chose them. We also invited him and his family to visit us in Vancouver. I said that we would do whatever we could to make the visit memorable. I then had this letter translated into Japanese by one of my former professional court-certified translators. She had since moved to Tokyo, so I emailed it to her and she provided me with a certified translation. PS: Yuzu did not respond to my letter. DINNER WITH GHISLAIN AND BRIAN Several days before Skate Canada International in Kelowna, I emailed Ghislain and asked him whether he would have time to go for dinner when we were in Kelowna. I also advised him that we had gifts for him, Brian, Tracy, Yuzu and Yuzu’s mother and suggested that we drop them off at their hotel in advance of the competition so that we would not have to take everything to the SCI venue. Ghislain replied that he was available for dinner on Wednesday, October 23, 2019 and agreed that it would make sense to drop off any gifts at the hotel on that date. He asked me to send him an email when we arrived in Kelowna. After we arrived in Kelowna and settled into our hotel, I emailed Ghislain and he said that we could come by anytime we were ready. After organizing everything, we drove to the Capri Hotel where Ghislain and all of the coaches and skaters were staying. He had asked me to give him a call on his cell phone when we arrived in the lobby. When I called him from the lobby, he came down promptly. In the meantime, Jason, who drove us in our van from Vancouver to Kelowna had gone out to get the gifts. He had to use a large hotel luggage trolley to load up all the gifts for Yuzu, his mother, Ghislain, Brian and Tracy. While Jason brought in the gifts, Ghislain and I chatted in the lobby of the hotel. Ghislain opened his gifts in the lobby. After Ghislain had finished opening his gifts, we showed him the gifts that we had bought for Yuzu. Ghislain looked at the goat plushy with the gold medal around his neck and said, “Yuzu is going to love this!” Ghislain then pushed the luggage trolley with all of the gifts into the elevator saying that he would take them to his room for now and distribute them to Yuzu, Brian and Tracy later. Ghislain returned to the lobby in a few minutes and asked whether we were all ready to go for dinner. I said that we were and that we had made a reservation at one of the Keg steak restaurants. He then pulled out his cell phone and said, “Let me text Brian because he was interested in joining us.” Brian replied immediately and he joined us in the lobby in a couple of minutes. As we were leaving the lobby, some Japanese media people who were standing close to us said to Emiko, in Japanese, “Oh you know Coach Orser!” and “Are you going for dinner with Hanyu-senshu’s coaches?” Emiko smiled, said “hai” softly, and bowed politely as we left. As Jason was securing my wheelchair to the front passenger seat area of our van, I called out to Brian, Ghislain and Emiko who were waiting on the sidewalk, “I need a martini!” Brian replied, “I’ll follow your lead and have one too!” When we were seated at the restaurant and while we were waiting for the server, Brian asked me, “George, how do you like your martini? With gin or vodka?” I replied, “I like mine with gin Brian. What about you?” Brian said, “I like mine with vodka. Do you like yours straight up or on the rocks?” I replied, “I like mine straight up. What about you, Brian?” Brian said, “I like mine straight up as well. Do you like yours with olives or a lemon twist?” I replied, “I like mine with olives, Brian. What about you?” Brian said, “I like mine with a twist of lemon… George, do you like yours ‘dirty’?* My unexpected reply to this last question caused Brian and Ghislain to exchange glances as if they were each thinking, “Did George really say what I thought he said?” before realizing that I had and bursting out laughing. My off-color reply may have been crude, but it definitely served to break the ice. *For those of you not familiar with the term ‘dirty’ martini, it is a martini with an olive garnish into which is poured some of the olive brine from a jar of cocktail olives. This gives the martini a more salty, olive-y taste. It also gives the drink a murky, cloudy, swamp water appearance – hence ‘dirty’. We had a wonderful, relaxed dinner with great conversation. I lost track of time, but we were there for hours. We had a picture of us taken by the server. WE MEET SHIZUKA ARAKAWA On the way out of the restaurant, I asked Jason to take a picture of me and Emiko with Brian and Ghislain in the reception area. As we were lining up for the photo, Brian said to me, “George, Shizuka Arakawa is sitting over there. Would you like her to join us in the picture?” “Yes, of course,” I replied. The next thing I knew, Shizuka Arakawa was kneeling or squatting in front of me and introducing herself. I introduced myself and Emiko and asked Emiko to give Shizuka one of our cards. Shizuka lined up behind me between Emiko and Brian. She laughingly said to Emiko (in Japanese), “I’m not properly made up for a picture,” to which Emiko replied, truthfully, “You’re beautiful as you are.” Jason took a few pictures of us. This is one of them. The only regret that I have is I think Nobunari Oda and Shuzo Matsuoka were with Shizuka Arakawa at the restaurant and I did not have the presence of mind to ask her whether they were with her. If I had asked and they were there, I would have asked them to join us for a picture as well as ask them out for dinner the following evening or an evening that they were free during the competition. I would have enjoyed the opportunity to get to know and joke with them. I have a feeling that Nobu in particular would have appreciated the ‘dirty’ martini story. AUTOGRAPHED PICTURES I had the three pictures of us with Ghislain, Yuzu and Tracy that I posted earlier enlarged to 8 x 10 inches. I took extra copies of these enlargements for Yuzu, Ghislain and Tracy and included them with the gift bags that I gave to Ghislain in Kelowna. After giving those enlargements to Ghislain, Yuzu and Tracy, we still had three enlargements of one picture and two enlargements each of the other two pictures for a total of seven enlargements. When we presented the gifts to Ghislain at his hotel prior to dinner, I handed these seven enlargements to him along with a gold metallic ink fine point permanent marker and asked him whether it might be possible to get at least one of the pictures autographed by Yuzu. On the day following our dinner, during open practice, Ghislain came up to where we were sitting in the wheelchair section above where Tracy Wilson and Rod Black were broadcasting to see how we were doing. “Brian is wondering how you are feeling today,” Ghislain said laughing, implying that I may be feeling a little under the weather from the previous evening’s activities. Ghislain came up and visited us again just before the free skate to let us know that he would be leaving for Toronto on Sunday, but that the pictures would be ready for pickup at the hotel registration desk Sunday morning, before the Gala. On Sunday morning, as we were getting ready to go to the Gala, I received an email from Ghislain confirming that the pictures were ready for pickup at the hotel. He also hoped that we enjoyed Yuzu’s long program and said that watching Yuzu’s free skate had been “a great moment to live.” He thanked us for the gifts and dinner. I also received an email from Brian thanking us for the gifts and saying that “dinner was a blast as well”. He hoped that we enjoyed Yuzu’s free skate performance and added, “It sure was exciting.” When we went by the hotel, the pictures were at the front desk in a plastic laundry bag with my name on it. When Jason brought it back to the van and we looked at the pictures. Yuzu had autographed all seven of the enlargements in gold ink. He even returned the gold metallic fine point permanent marker! With his fingerprints and DNA on it, that marker is also a treasured keepsake! We also kept the plastic laundry bag! LOL! We arranged for three of the enlarged autographed group pictures to be framed and we also framed enlargements of the picture with Brian outside the restaurant in Montréal in 2017, the picture of us at our table in the Keg in Kelowna and the group picture with Shizuka. This is a picture of Yuzu’s autographs on the four unframed group pictures. I emailed the pictures that were taken at the Kelowna Keg to Brian and Ghislain and Brian replied: “Nice pics! Let's do this again sometime. Stay in touch. B” I have stayed in touch with both Brian and Ghislain through email. I exchanged emails with both of them before, during and following 2019 NHK Trophy, 2019 Torino GPF, 2020 Four Continents Championships, 2021 World Championships and 2022 Beijing Olympics. Ghislain sends me updates on his activities. He kindly sent me a couple of sets each of the two (old and new) versions of the Cricket Club’s black Covid-19 masks. The pandemic and other circumstances beyond our control have prevented me from getting together with either Ghislain or Brian. The last time I was in contact with Brian was on his birthday, December 18, when I sent him happy birthday greetings. He replied back to thank me and to say that he was leaving for Japan the next day with Rika Kihira. He expressed the hope that we will be able to get together for dinner in the New Year. The last time I was in contact with Ghislain was when he emailed me with pictures from Japan at the conclusion of JNats. Yuzu and his mother left Toronto for Japan for the last time in March, 2020. I understand that he left Old Man Pooh in Toronto with the intention at that time of returning the following season. He has not returned to retrieve Pooh since then. If the pandemic had not occurred, we had been looking forward to seeing Yuzu, Brian, Ghislain and Tracy again at the 2020 ACI in Oakville… Ghislain and Brian are both really great guys and I feel very fortunate to have got to know them, even a little.

taiso kuso bakayaro "Baka" means stupid, idiot or fool. The English equivalent of "bakayaro" would be akin to “stupid bastard”. My guess is that Kohei is using "bakayaro" in the same way that we use "fool" in the phrase, "I'm a dancing fool" which basically means "I’m totally hooked on dancing." "Kuso" means "shit", so that when a guy says, "Kuso!" after stubbing his toe, he is saying "Shit!" as an expression of annoyance. "Kuso" is often translated as "damn" or "damned" in English. There is no equivalent word in Japanese for the English expletive "fuck" or its various derivatives. As I have said before, the Japanese language is very swear word deprived. "Kuso!" may be the closest thing to the English “Fuck!” when used as an extreme expression of annoyance or emphasis. I suppose that the words “taiso kuso bakayaro” could be loosely translated “super gymnastics geek” or “fucking gymnastics idiot”, bearing the above caveats in mind. My take on "taiso kuso bakayaro" is "damned gymnastics loving fool”. If Kohei Uchimura spoke fluent colloquial English, he might say, “I’m a fucking gymnastics loving fool!” or “I’m a fucking gymnastics loving bastard!” Edit: On further reflection, I thought that "Damned gymnastics crazy fool" might be more appropriate. Edit 2: Or "Gymnastics crazy damned fool".

Yes, Patrick Chan is coming out of retirement to participate in "Stars on Ice". https://www.google.com/search?q=Patrick+Chen+out+of+retirement&rlz=1C1CHBF_enCA831CA831&oq=Patrick+Chen+out+of+retirement&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i160l2.9471j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:0622af31,vid:lAZNsfs6kc0 https://toronto.citynews.ca/video/2022/12/07/figure-skating-legend-patrick-chan-coming-out-of-retirement/#:~:text=Patrick Chan is the most,for a special Canadian tour.

Yes, American Major League Baseball does not have global appeal. I guess what Kose means by “global” and “overseas” are the approximately 336 million people in the United States although, like for Yuzu, fans come from all over the world just to watch one baseball game in which Shohei Ohtani is playing. During one game, I even saw a couple holding up a sign which read, “We flew from Indonesia just to watch Shohei Ohtani!” Since this is the end of the year, I was thinking about 2022 and it was not a particularly good year for me because of health issues; however, I did attend the 45th Law School Graduation Reunion in May. (Actually, it was the 46th graduation reunion since it had been postponed one year due to the pandemic.) For the reunion, we were asked to provide old pictures of us before, during and after graduation. Here is one of me when I was 25 in my final year of law school saying: CHEERS! AND BEST WISHES TO ALL SATELLITES AND THEIR LOVED ONES FOR A VERY HAPPY AND HEALTHY 2023!

It looks like both unicorns from Tohoku will soon be representing Kose Corp. The Mainichi December 27, 2022 https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20221227/p2a/00m/0bu/015000c The Yomiuri Shimbun December 27, 2022 https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/business/companies/20221227-79703/ Major league star Shohei Ohtani will be pitching cosmetic products under the terms of a global advertising contract he will soon sign with cosmetics giant Kose Corp., the company has announced. Kose said that Ohtani, who has achieved world stardom as a two-way star for the Los Angeles Angels, fits the image that the company is looking for as a personality who transcends borders, genders and generations. The company plans to start using the 28-year-old Ohtani in advertisements from January next year. In addition to being the general face of the company, he will be featured in brand ads for its sunscreens and lotions. As more people become concerned with beauty care, demand for skin care products and other cosmetics is growing among men and women alike. Kose derives about 40% of its revenue from overseas sales, and the company is relying on Ohtani's name-brand value around the world. I would have loved Yuzu to be the global face of Kose. This position is tailor-made for Yuzu – "the image that the company is looking for as a personality who transcends borders, genders and generations," but it's difficult for a niche sport like figure skating to compete with American Major League Baseball for a global reach. If not Yuzu, I am happy that Shohei Ohtani was chosen. Shohei Ohtani and Yuzuru Hanyu share many characteristics, including good looks, great winning smiles, charisma, sense of humour, generosity, humility, total uncompromising dedication to their disciplines, 'hate-to-lose', always want to win mentalities, and being G.O.A.T.s in their respective sports. The article says that Kose derives about 40% of its revenue from overseas sales which it hopes to cover with Shohei. With Yuzu covering the home front and Asia with Sekkisei, Kose has a very profitable future indeed.

Ghislain is at the GPF in Torino working with Mie Hamada and Stephane Lambiel. About Yuzu's GIFT in February, Ghislain said, "Yes, I did hear about the MEGA show at the Tokyo Dome. IMPRESSIVE!"

HEAR, HEAR! Abbreviation for: "Hear, all ye good people, hear what this brilliant and eloquent speaker has to say!" Please note that the correct term is, "hear, hear!" Not the more commonly used, "here, here!"

@EisElle, that is the bow that I am referring to. Yuzu always did that bow with a flourish of his arm to Tracy. I called it “Sailor Moon style” because I had heard of it or read about it being described that way before. I’m like a parrot. If I hear it often enough, I start repeating it without knowing what it means. LOL!

There would be no competition. Yuzu would win every time in a fair world. Thank you @LAY! I wish that all satellites could meet Yuzu and see him skate live!

Thanks @Perelandra! I was just over 68 ½ years old when those pictures were taken on September 16, 2019.

2019 AUTUMN CLASSIC INTERNATIONAL IN OAKVILLE Our third live competition with Yuzu was the 2019 Autumn Classic International in Oakville, Ontario. First, I would like to say that we really enjoyed meeting other satellites from the Planet and having a couple of dinners with them. REUNITING WITH GHISLAIN We attended the 2019 ACI with Jason. On the Thursday practice day, we saw Ghislain and went to speak with him. On the following day, Ghislain came over with his youngest son to where we were sitting and chatted with us. On Saturday, as we were approaching the free skate, I spoke to Ghislain again. As our conversation was drawing to a close, I told him that we were going to go shopping in Toronto on Monday and wondered whether we could visit him at the Cricket Club. Ghislain agreed and gave me his business card with the Cricket Club contact information on one side and his personal contact information on the other. He asked me to email him to work out the details. ORIGIN 2.0 COSTUME REVEAL Again, a major highlight was the purple Origin 2.0 costume reveal and the audience reaction. Again, as in the previous year, we were in the wheelchair section directly across from the Kiss and Cry and the area where the skaters entered and exited the rink. We were in the perfect position to watch Yuzu’s manic lip-synching routine before the 6-minute warm-up. WE VISIT THE CRICKET CLUB On Monday morning, I sent an email to Ghislain to confirm the visit. He replied almost immediately. He said that the best time to visit was around 12:30 PM because he had a break between 12:45 PM and 1:15 PM. To our delight, he added, “Yuzu will be in for a short practice at 2 PM.” We arrived at the TCC at 12:30 PM and entered the front doors. When we arrived, the security person at the front desk told us that we were expected and that we could go directly to the rink which was straight down the hall. He showed us the wheelchair ramp which was located beside him. We went down the ramp into the hallway which had displays of trophies and other memorabilia. The Cricket Club seemed almost familiar as we went down this hallway towards the rink probably because we had seen it so many times in videos. At the end of the hall, there is a door leading to the rink with an “EXIT” sign beside it. Immediately to the right is the lounge with the large windows looking onto the ice rink. My wife opened the door and Jason pushed me into the ice rink area. Ghislain and Brian were standing right there close to the exit door. I called to Ghislain and he smiled and waved, saying, “Hi George!” Brian looked our way with a nod of acknowledgment. Ghislain ushered us back through the door that we had just come in and set us up in the lounge in the booth closest to the door. We had a great view of the area where the coaches and choreographers were standing as well as the ice rink. After making sure that we were well settled, Ghislain asked us to sit and enjoy the practice until he was finished with the class. He said that he would join us in a few minutes time. WE SEE JAVIER FERNANDEZ, EVGENIA MEDVEDEVA, JUNHWAN CHA AND JOSEPH PHAN PRACTICING AS WELL AS CHOREOGRAPHERS DAVID WILSON AND JEFFREY BUTTLE When I looked on the ice, I immediately noticed Javier Fernandez. Apparently, it was his first day back at the TCC since PyeongChang and he was there to practice his free skate for the Japan Open with his choreographer, David Wilson. I also saw Evgenia Medvedeva and Junhwan Cha going through their paces. Jeffrey Buttle was on the sidelines looking intently onto the ice. During breaks, I saw Javi come into the lounge and sit with a friend a couple of booths away from us. Whenever Evgenia took a break, she would come into the lounge and sit with her mother and her mother’s female companion. Joseph Phan was also practicing. He had recently started at the TCC to be coached by Brian. A SHORT TOUR OF THE CLUB At around 12:45 PM, the practice ended and the skaters cleared the ice. Shortly afterwards, Ghislain came into the lounge and took us on a short tour of the club’s facilities, including a view of the cricket field, swimming pool, weight training room and the dance room where we have seen a young 17-year-old Yuzu doing hip-hop with an even younger Nam in the NHK documentary, “Spirits of the Athletes”. WE MEET BRIAN AGAIN Following the conclusion of the brief tour, I told Ghislain that we had gifts and he took us back to the lounge where we sat down at our former place. Jason went out to the vehicle to retrieve the gifts. After we had given Ghislain his gifts, I told him that we had gifts for Brian, Tracy and Erin d’Eon, the skating coordinator, as well. He said, “Let’s go down to see Brian,” and led us down the hall to the small “Skating Office” that Brian shares with Tracy. Ghislain popped his head into the office and asked Brian to step out. Ghislain introduced us and Brian asked whether this was the first time we had been to the Cricket Club. I laughed and said that this was the first time we had been inside the Cricket Club. I told him that we had been to the Cricket Club the year before, but we had only seen it from the outside. I said that the only souvenir we had from last year’s visit to the Cricket Club was my wife, Emiko, getting stung by one of the wasps in the garden! I also reminded Brian that we had met previously at the 2017 ACI in Montréal outside the restaurant and because he had implied his availability for dinner, I had followed him around at the competition venue to the point that by the third or fourth encounter, I was afraid that he was going to call security on me! Both Brian and Ghislain had a good laugh. Tracy had not arrived so Brian said that he would accept the gift on her behalf and keep it for her in the office that they shared. Ghislain then took us down the hall to introduce us to Erin d’Eon with whom I had exchanged a number of emails in the past. We gave her a gift and chatted briefly. PICTURES WITH GHISLAIN Ghislain then took us back to our original booth in the lounge where we had some pictures taken with him. This is one of them. Ghislain then asked us to relax and enjoy the practices of the other skaters until Yuzu arrived at 2 PM. He then went back to the rink for the next practice session which included Javi, Evgenia and Jun. YUZU ARRIVES AND WE WATCH HIM PRACTICE At 2 PM, Yuzu walked in wearing a cap and dressed all in black pulling his gold hard-shell carry-on case. He walked past beside us and into the bench area behind the rink where we could not see him from the lounge. He reappeared a few minutes later greeting Brian and Ghislain by the rink. We had the honour and privilege of watching Yuzu practice for an hour, all from the comfort of a warm lounge. Almost all of his jumps and jump combinations were started from the other end of the rink so that they were landed right in front of us, just several feet away. It was all very breathtaking. As Brian Orson has said, "I have no words." At some point, Tracy Wilson joined Brian and Ghislain on the sidelines. I noticed her speaking with Ghislain and Ghislain pointing in our direction. I surmised that Tracy had asked Ghislain about the gift that we had left for her in the office that she shared with Brian and that Ghislain was explaining to her that it was from us. After the practice was over, Yuzu hugged Brian and Ghislain and bowed to Tracy Sailor Moon style. Ghislain came into the lounge and sat down with us. He told us that Yuzu would join us shortly. While I chatted with Ghislain, Jason noticed that Yuzu removed his Under Armour top revealing his bare back to anyone who might have been watching from the lounge as he changed into his street clothes. WE MEET AND CHAT WITH YUZU After a few minutes, Yuzu joined us. He was not wearing his cap. He was very slim and looked like the teenaged boy next door. He presented a totally different image from the superstar that we are used to seeing in the rink. Ghislain smiled as Yuzu and I greeted each other in Japanese, “hajimemashita” (pleased to meet you). I introduced myself, my wife and Jason. I asked my wife to give Yuzu one of our cards. I asked him in Japanese whether it was all right to call him “Yuzu” and he replied, “Hai yoroshidesu”. I am relatively fluent in spoken Japanese as I am a third-generation Japanese-Canadian born in Japan and raised in Canada since I was two and half years old. Furthermore, my wife is Japanese and the language we use at home is mostly Japanese. In fact, my Japanese improved 1000% after I married her! Unfortunately, Emiko’s English has not had the same degree of improvement because I accommodated her by speaking Japanese. Emiko shook hands with Yuzu and she later said that his hand was very soft and smooth. Since he could see that I was paralyzed and unable to use my arms and hands, Yuzu bowed to me and I bowed back with my head. In retrospect, I should have asked Yuzu for a hug! I am sure that he would have obliged. I have heard Yuzu’s voice countless times in videos, but I have never heard him speak as softly as he did when he spoke to us that day. It was as if I was hearing a totally different person. And, he was ever so humble, polite and respectful. Since I was in a wheelchair, he immediately got down on one or both knees beside my chair to my left so that we were side-by-side, facing the same direction, just inches apart, with him being at a lower level than me. We chatted for several minutes in Japanese. I asked him how his right ankle was doing and he smiled and replied, “daijobudesu”. We had gone shopping for gifts on Sunday and one set of gifts we had bought were two of the largest boxes of chocolates available at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory store for Yuzu and his mother. I showed Yuzu the gift wrapped boxes, explained that they were chocolates, and pointed out that my wife had labeled his “Precious Son” (in Japanese) and his mother’s “Precious Mother”. I explained to Yuzu that we had chosen chocolates for him because we had seen his Lotte Ghana chocolate commercials and knew that he really did like chocolates. I said that we had noticed in the “making of” videos, he was always taking bites out of the chocolate bars in between and after takes. I said I noticed that when the director told him that the commercial was finished, he expressed disappointment because he was not going to be able to eat any more chocolate. When I told him this, I was rewarded with a Yuzu scrunchy-face smile-laugh. We also gave him and his mother chocolate balls that had been decorated to look like various kitten faces. When my wife produced these chocolates, Yuzu’s eyes widened and he unabashedly exclaimed “Kawaiii!!!” – (So) cute!!! – in the most adorable voice. PICTURES WITH YUZU After chatting, I asked Yuzu whether it was okay to get a picture with him. Of course, he said. As the four of us – Ghislain, my wife, Yuzu and I – were lining up for the picture, Tracy came running up to me and said with a big smile, “Thank you very much for the lovely gift!” Realizing that we were in the midst of taking a picture, she immediately started to back away. I called out to her and said, “Tracy, come back and get in the picture!” She joined us and Jason took multiple shots of the five of us. After the pictures were taken, we thanked Yuzu in English and Japanese with bows and he left to go home. We thanked Ghislain and he gave Emiko a hug. Since I am unable to shake hands, Ghislain gave me a pat on my shoulder. I said, “Ghislain, give me a hug, man!” Ghislain laughed, leaned over and gave me a big hug. We said our goodbyes to Ghislain and said that we would see him at Skate Canada in Kelowna. On the way out, Tracy saw us and called out, “See you at Skate Canada!” When I checked my watch, it was past 3:30 PM. We had been at the TCC for over three hours and had spent an hour and a half watching Yuzu practice, chatting and taking pictures with him. Jason took multiple shots and each one is slightly different from the others. These are three different sizes of one of the pictures. Yuzu looks like the boy next door. PS: Emiko obviously did not get the memo regarding the colour of footwear. Everyone except her is wearing black and white footwear. Even Ghislain has white blade covers with his black skating boots. LOL! Although this took place over three years ago, except for close friends and a handful of satellites, I have not spoken of or posted about our visit to the TCC and meeting Yuzu. I have never posted the pictures that appear here before. I have chosen to do so now because Yuzu is no longer competing, Brian, Tracy and Ghislain are no longer his coaches and Yuzu is no longer associated with the Cricket Club. I wish to emphasize that I have not disclosed any confidential information. PS: I want to give credit to @yuzuangel for figuring out why I was unable to upload the picture of us with Ghislain and the pictures of us with Ghislain, Yuzu and Tracy using Imgur. @yuzuangel deleted the “#” from the title of the picture and Imgur allowed uploading. Apparently Imgur doesn’t like the “#” in the titles of images being uploaded! I have not tested it, but Imgur may not permit the uploading of images with titles including special characters of any kind.

2018 AUTUMN CLASSIC INTERNATIONAL IN OAKVILLE The second time that we saw Yuzu compete live was at the 2018 Autumn Classic International in Oakville, Ontario. My wife and I attended this with Jason. This is the same Jason who could not make up his mind whether he wanted to join us the previous year in Montréal. He had declined even though he knew that we would be paying all of his expenses including airfare, accommodations and food. This is how disinterested he was in figure skating. Between the 2017 ACI and the 2018 ACI, we showed him videos of Yuzu and although Jason had no previous interest in figure skating, he immediately became a Yuzu fan. WALKING KILLER I love this video. The only connection this video has with 2018 ACI Oakville is the opening scene where Yuzu gets out of the van and enters the skaters-athletes entrance of 16 Mile Sports Complex with his bodyguard behind him. I am familiar with this entrance because we made the mistake of using it when we first arrived at the venue. We parked in the lower level parking lot not knowing that the main parking lot was at the front of the building because we approached it from behind. Luckily, we ran straight into Lisa, the Skate Canada manager in charge of ticket sales whom we had met the year before and she kindly escorted us upstairs and to a prime wheelchair section across from the Kiss and Cry. WE MEET GHISLAIN BRIAND The major highlight of the 2018 ACI was becoming acquainted with Ghislain Briand. We noticed Ghislain making himself available to fans in the public seating area. Since other fans, particularly Japanese fans, were going up to him to have their pictures taken with him, we also looked for an opportunity and approached him. After having pictures taken with him, we gave Ghislain one of our cards and told him that if he was ever in Vancouver, we would be happy to take him out for dinner and show him around town. He replied by saying that they would likely be in Vancouver in December for the Grand Prix Final. I said that we would look forward to seeing him at that time. Little did we know that Yuzu would suffer a serious right ankle injury at the 2018 Rostelecom Cup and that he would not compete at the GPF in Vancouver. I had the opportunity to speak to Ghislain two more times at the 2018 ACI. On the last of these occasions, it was after the free skate practice and before Ghislain had to go down to join Yuzu and Brian for the free skate. After chatting for a few minutes, I asked him whether Yuzu was all right since he had taken a hard fall during the free skate practice and fans were speculating as to whether or not he had left the practice early because he was hurt. Ghislain reassured me that Yuzu was all right and that the only reason he left the practice early was because he felt he had done enough. “Besides,” said Ghislain with a wry smile, “if Yuzu did not fall once in a while, I would not have a job.” I looked at him and said with mock seriousness, “Are you sure that when Yuzu falls, it’s always an accident and not something you caused?” Ghislain replied with a laugh, “Not that I would ever admit to!” ORIGIN 1.0 COSTUME REVEAL A highlight of the 2018 ACI was the Black Origin 1.0 costume reveal and the audience reaction. We were seated in the wheelchair section directly across from the Kiss and Cry and where the skaters entered the rink so we had a view of Yuzu’s iconic “I don’t care who is watching, standing around me or listening” manic lip-synching before the 6-minute warm-up. I love Yuzu’s nonchalant attitude during his costume reveals while the crowd goes wild. Check out the quad toeloop-triple Axel that Yuzu lands in the corner of the rink. PILGRIMAGE TO THE CRICKET CLUB We stayed extra days after the ACI in 2018 to do shopping and to visit Niagara Falls. We were staying in Mississauga in a high-rise condo AirBnB across from the Square One Shopping Mall, the second-largest shopping centre in Canada behind West Edmonton Mall. On the day that we went shopping to downtown Toronto, we made a pilgrimage to the Cricket Club. My wife and I had a number of pictures taken of us outside the club. As we were having our pictures taken by Jason, my wife suddenly said, “Ouch!” She had been stung on the back of her hand by one of Yuzu’s beloved cute bees! That is the only memory we have of the Cricket Club that year other than pictures. I should also clarify that what Yuzu refers to as “bees” are actually very aggressive wasps! Fortunately, my wife is not allergic to bee and wasp stings. Here is a picture of us by the garden in front of the Cricket Club.

2017 AUTUMN CLASSIC INTERNATIONAL IN MONTRÉAL Since there has been a definite end of an era for Yuzu with his announcement in July and the start of a new era with his first professional one-man ice show “Prologue” recently, I thought that it was time to share some of my personal memories of seeing Yuzu live during his competitive career. I fully support Yuzu in his decision to quit the farce of the ISU competitions and completely understand his reasons for doing so, but I cannot help but miss the sense of anticipation and excitement that I felt when he was competing, particularly when we attended his live competitions. As I have said before, I started down the rabbit hole of Yuzuru Hanyu when I serendipitously happened upon “Parisienne Walkways” while channel surfing during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. It wasn’t until September 2017, however, that we attended our first live Yuzu competition at the ACI in Montréal, Québec. A MEDICAL EMERGENCY ON THE PLANE FIRST “YUZU EXPERIENCE” AT MONTRÉAL AIRPORT MEETING PLANET HANYU SATELLITES FOR THE FIRST TIME NO TICKETS FOR THE SHORT PROGRAM RECORD-BREAKING SHORT PROGRAM BEFRIENDING A NICE LADY FROM SKATE CANADA YUZU SMILED AND WAVED AT US YUZU AND HIS 2 SAME-SIDED GLOVES Another memorable moment that we witnessed was YUZU AND HIS 2 SAME-SIDED GLOVES. WE MEET BRIAN ORSER On the evening before the practice day, six of us had dinner at a restaurant in Montréal. Four of us were from Vancouver and I had arranged to meet with a lady Fanyu and her husband from Montréal. We were probably the last group to leave the restaurant and upon exiting it, I noticed Brian Orser and a blonde lady (probably Tracy Wilson) standing on the sidewalk apparently waiting for a taxi. Without any hesitation, I called, “HEY BRIAN!” Brian immediately looked at me and walked over. Brian was very friendly and accommodating and we chatted for a couple of minutes. I asked him whether there was any chance that we would be able to take him out for dinner during the competition. He implied that it might be possible and as a result, I kept looking for excuses to run into him at the venue. This is difficult to do surreptitiously because I am in a wheelchair with my friend pushing me! By the third or fourth attempt, I was afraid that poor Brian was going to call security on me for stalking him! LOL! In any event, we did not go for dinner with Brian Orser at the 2017 ACI, but we did get this picture of the group of us outside the restaurant.

They are Phiten Yuzuru Hanyu Gold Wing necklaces gifted by Yuzu to Ghislain and each of his three sons.

Holy moly! Welcome back, @meoima! Where the heck have you been?

Ghislain is currently working with the Kinoshita Academy in Uji, Kyoto. He has started working with Young You. Ghislain's next competition is the Grand Prix Final where he will be coaching three juniors. Then he will be returning to Japan to get his students ready for the Japanese Nationals. He will be missing Christmas at home, returning on Boxing Day. Ghislain had a very nice surprise from Yuzu when he arrived at his hotel on this trip. Yuzu gifted him his new photo albums along with a very nice card.

How many are "REALLY many tabs"? I currently have 26 tabs open on Google Chrome and half of them are YouTube channels. I often have more tabs open.

Thanks! I just turned on automatic translation in settings on my Google Chrome.

For @Beatrice's info, are you referring to the 'right-click' bring up menu "translate to English" function?

You are missing the point of my post. I was responding to the post by @SaluYuzu which was "Curious to know why there hasn't been any big sponsorship by UA. The image of Yuzu practicing in his UA black is iconic..." We know that he doesn't get sponsorship by UA or Disney, but I'm sure that he sells a lot of Under Armour just because Fanyus buy whatever he wears or uses. He chooses to wear Under Armour because he likes it. Fanyus have bought thousands of Winnie the Poohs – both to gift to Yuzu and as souvenirs for themselves. Disney even has the nerve to call the model of Winnie the Pooh that Yuzu has been carrying since he left Old Man Pooh in Toronto "Yuzu Pooh" and gets away with it because it is holding a Yuzu fruit. We do not know the reason why Yuzu is not sponsored by Under Armour or Disney, but both these companies are making a lot of money by the fact that their products are being worn, used or gratuitously endorsed by Yuzu. If someone as popular as Yuzu is voluntarily wearing your product or otherwise identified with your product, why go to the expense of sponsoring that person when you are already reaping the benefits anyway? There is no better endorsement for a product than an athlete, celebrity, star, idol or other famous person using or otherwise gratuitously endorsing a product because they genuinely like it and not because they are being paid to pretend that they are using it.