Hempstead, NY - Follow the Hofstra Men's Lacrosse Team on their eight-day trip to Tokyo, Japan for the 2016 International Lacrosse Friendship Games. The official International Friendship Games website in Tokyo can also be accessed. A daily blog from Hofstra staff, as well as daily photo galleries, will be posted below as they come in from Japan.
 
June 2 - Day 1:  (Photo Gallery) After a 14-hour flight from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Tokyo's Narita Airport, the Hofstra Men's Lacrosse team has arrived safe and sound at approximately 1 p.m. Japan time for the 2016 Friendship Games but carried some heavy jet lag.

For those of you who like the thought of time and travel, Tokyo is 13 hours ahead of New York time. Thus, when it is noon on Thursday in New York, it is 1 a.m. on Friday in Tokyo. This does not mean that we will know the Mega Millions winning numbers before you. So save yourself the long-distance phone call.
 
This is the program's second trip to Japan after a similar visit in 2012. The team was met by the Japanese Lacrosse Association (JLA) and Hofstra Head Lacrosse Coach Seth Tierney's college teammate at Johns Hopkins, Yusuke Sasaki. The team checked in at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel later that afternoon. The team walked around the Shinagawa area in the afternoon and experienced the Tokyo Subway System. More than one million people ride the Tokyo Subways daily. The team had dinner at Sushi Odaiba, a conveyor belt sushi restaurant, before getting some needed rest after the long flight.

June 3 - Day 2: (Photo Gallery) Today is both sightseeing and education day for the Pride. After breakfast, the team and our JLA hosts headed out by bus to Asakusa, which is a district in Taito, Tokyo, Japan, famous for the Sensoji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, which is a district in Taito, Tokyo, Japan, famous for the Buddhist temple, Senso-ji, as well as several other temples.

From there the Hozomon Gate led the team on to the streets of Nakamise, which is filled with local vendors with a variety of traditional, local snacks and tourist souvenirs. Hozomon Gate is a main gate that stands in front of the main path to a Buddhist temple's main hall, in this case Sensoji Temple. Today's Hozomon Gate is a double story structure with the lower story featuring three sections for people to pass through with the center section featuring a massive red paper lantern. The original Hozomon Gate is believed to have been constructed in 942 AD. The original gate and several reconstructions were destroyed by fires over the years. In December 1649, a new gate was reconstructed, which survived until the firebombing in March 1945.
 
After returning to the hotel, our players met their 'home stay' player. They are college players from Keio University, Waseda University, Tokyo University, Hosei University and Dokkyo University. A good time was had by both the Hofstra group and the Japanese group of players during these introductions.

Tomorrow (Saturday) is our first day on the field as we will conduct a youth clinic at 11 a.m. After lunch, Hofstra will play two, two-quarter scrimmages against the Japanese National Team and the Kansai (Osaka) squad beginning at 2:20 p.m.  

June 4 – Day 3: (Photo Gallery) Today was probably the most important day of our trip so far. After breakfast, we traveled to Rinkai Field for our 11 a.m. clinic with local players. More than 100 college players from Keio, Chiba, Tokya, Rikkyo, Tamagawa and Tokyo Science universities showed up for the spirited clinic with the Pride team and staff. Through Hofstra's great partnership with Warrior Lacrosse, every clinic participant was provided a gift. Warrior Lacrosse is Hofstra's office team outfitter and we are quite proud of that association. The gifts to the participants made for a splendid ending to a great clinic as you can see in the photo gallery. A great big thank you to our friends at Warrior Lacrosse.
 
After lunch, we moved over to Edogawa Stadium for two successful, two-quarter scrimmages, against the Japanese National second team, wearing blue in the gallery, and the Osaka squad, which wore red. Trevor Kupecky, Sam Llinares and Brendan Kavanagh each scored two goals while Dylan Alderman, Brian von Bargen, James Kitchen, Mitch Kingsley and Brier Davis each added single goals.

As with any international scrimmage or contest, the postgame exchange of gifts among the players and staff is always a highlight that creates new friendships.
 
Tomorrow (Sunday) is the official opening ceremony of the 2016 International Friendship Games at noon. Hofstra will face the Japan National Team in the second game at 3 p.m. at Edogawa Stadium. We are looking forward to a challenging contest.

June 5 – Day 4: (Photo Gallery) It was a great day in Japan Sunday as the 2016 International Friendship Games began. The day began with a little surprise for the team as they were presented special Hofstra uniforms for the event. A great big thank you to Downstream Outfitters, who donated the Pride uniforms which feature flags of Japan and the United States on each sleeve, flags on the back top of the jerseys and the Hofstra Athletics logo below the number. Check them out in the photo gallery.

More than 5,000 spectators watched the opening ceremonies that included Hofstra Coach Seth Tierney addressing the crowd (view the video) before two spirited contests.

As for the contest, the game against the Japanese National Team was quite competitive with the Pride leading 6-4 at halftime and 9-7 after three quarters before Hofstra tallied six goals in the fourth quarter for a 15-10 Pride victory. Junior Zachary Franco tallied seven goals for the Pride and was named the Most Valuable Player of the International Friendship Games. A presentation of a Warrior Warp head was also made to a member of the National Team of Japan, courtesy of Warrior Lacrosse.

In addition to Franco's seven goals, Brendan Kavanagh tallied three goals, Brier Davis added two goals and Trevor Kupecky, Brian von Bargen and Alex Moeser each added single goals for Hofstra. Both Franco and Tierney addressed the crowd, through a translator, following the game.

The Hofstra Men's Lacrosse program would like to recognize and thank their team host player Yuki for his hospitality and friendship. As is the theme of these games, Lacrosse Makes Friends.

Tomorrow is an off-day with sightseeing planned and just a relaxing day. The Pride will take on four university teams on Tuesday at Tokyo University's Hongo Campus.

June 6 - Day 5: After a busy first four days to the trip, the Pride were able to wind down today and had the option of visiting local tourist attractions, sleeping in or spending the day with their host. Needless to say there were groups of players that chose every option.  Sometimes you learn more about the local culture by exploring and we are sure our guys did just that.

The team did meet as a group for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in Roppongi. Roppongi is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, famous as home to the rich Roppongi Hills area and an active club scene popular with the younger community. Many foreign embassies are located in Roppongi, and the night life is popular with locals and foreigners alike. It is in the central part of Tokyo, south of Akasaka and north of Azabu.

Tomorrow (Tuesday), the team hits the field for the last time on the trip with games against Tokyo, Waseda, Keio and Nippon Sports Science universities beginning at 2 p.m. Tokyo time.

June 7 – Day 6: (Photo Gallery) After a lazy day on Monday following the International Friendship Game against Japan on Sunday, the Pride returned to the field for a four-way scrimmage at the University of Tokyo today. It was the last time on the field in Tokyo for Hofstra.

The first scrimmage was a four quarter, running time contest against our hosts from the University of Tokyo. We then followed that up with two-quarter scrimmages against Waseda, Keio and Nippon Sports Science universities.

The day was filled with much appreciation from our lacrosse friends. The Japanese college players viewed the scrimmages as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The day ended with players trading clothes. The excitement was overwhelming.

We were able to get some photos from some of the players from their "lazy day" on Monday that took some to Tokyo Disney, while others traveled around the city with their new friends, and several more hung out with their host families and friends.

While "Lacrosse Makes Friends" in the theme of the trip, spending time with our hosts and families solidifies that friendship.

Hofstra heads out to Kamakura for some more sightseeing on Wednesday before taking in a Japanese Professional Baseball game between the Chiba Lotte Marines and the Hanshin Tigers at Chiba Marine Stadium.

June 8, Day 7: (Photo Gallery) The trip to Japan is winding down now but not before a final and busy two days of sightseeing. Wednesday began with a bus ride to Kamakura, which is a seaside city about an hour south of Tokyo very popular with tourists.
 
The Pride started at a purification fountain with ladles for purifying with water before entering the Kotokuin Temple. Kotokuin Temple is a Buddhist Japanese temple of the Pure Land sect. The Kotokuin Temple is renowned for the statue of the Great Buddha, which is one of the most famous icons of Japan.

The team then moved over to the Great Buddha, where we took a group photo as we did in 2012. The Great Buddha is a monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amida Buddha. The statue stands 13.35 meters high and weighs approximately 93 tons.

We then went to the Hachimangu Shrine, which is the red, Buddhist Temple in the photos and several other sub-shrines and temples. The team did enjoy the education they received about the history of Japan, its shrines and landmarks and its culture.
 
In addition to the historic part of Kamakura, there was plenty of gift shops and restaurants that the team was not shy about visiting. There was plenty of time given to shopping before we headed out for our final destination of the day.

We boarded the bus for QVC Chiba Marine Stadium for a Japanese Professional League baseball game between the home team Chiba Lotte Marines and the Hanshin Tigers. We were all fascinated by the spirited fans, fireworks and 7th inning balloon release. Japanese baseball can be viewed on the Japanese channel on many cable systems in the New York metropolitan area. It certainly was an exciting experience.

Tomorrow, we were planning on stopping by the Tokyo Tower but many of our players visited there with their hosts earlier in the week. Standing 333 meters high (that's 1,092 feet) in the center of Tokyo, Tokyo Tower is the world's tallest, self-supported steel tower and 13 meters taller than its model, the Eiffel Tower. Tokyo Tower was the country's tallest structure from its completion in 1958 until 2012 when it was surpassed by the Tokyo Skytree. In addition to being a popular tourist spot, Tokyo Tower serves as a broadcast antenna.

The tower's main observatory at 150 meters is reached via elevator or a 600-step staircase A second set of elevators connect the main observatory to the 250 meter high special observatory, from where you can get a bird's eye view of Tokyo from high above the surrounding buildings. The special observatory is the third highest observation deck in Tokyo. When visibility is good, visitors can see the Tokyo Skytree and Mount Fuji in the distance.

So, instead of the Tokyo Tower, we will be stopping at the Imperial Gardens on our way to the airport and the long flight home.

June 9 – Day 8: (Photo Gallery) In the words of Kenny Loggins, This is It! Our final day in Tokyo that wraps up a fantastic trip. We made one final stop before heading to the airport but more about that later.

No wonderful trip is done alone and the Pride team want to give a great big thank you to several people. First and foremost, to the Fried Family whose generosity made this trip possible again. This trip was not only fun with the lacrosse games, clinics and sightseeing, it was educational. Our team learned about Japan, their culture and history and, in the process, made new friends. For this, another thank you to the Fried Family.

The theme of this trip was "Lacrosse Makes Friends" and the entire Hofstra Men's Lacrosse program has made a really good new friend in Yuki Nakagawa from the Keio Lacrosse team. There are tour guides/hosts who go through the motions, and then there is Yuki. This young gentleman was our chaperone for the entire week and took great pride in doing so. He was proud of his university, proud of the Japanese Lacrosse Association and proud of his country. All of that pride was given to us in many ways and made for a great tour. He has a bright future ahead of him and we look forward to seeing him when Keio makes their return trip to the United States this fall. Thank you, Yuki!

A final thank you to Yusuke Sasaki, the entire JLA and the host families for their continuing efforts to grow lacrosse in Japan. This effort, through the International Friendship Games, has brought Hofstra teams, in 2012 and 2016, to Japan for experiences and friendships they will never forget. Thank you.

Alas, it is time to head home. While we saw many great things in Tokyo and the surrounding areas, our final stop on Thursday was the Imperial Gardens. Part of the Imperial Palace, it is a magnificent park set in the center of Tokyo.

The Imperial Palace, where their Majesties the Emperor and Empress reside, is surrounded by a water-filled moat and tree-covered grounds - a precious taste of nature within the bustling metropolitan city. Kokyo Gaien (Imperial Palace Outer Garden), Kokyo Higashi Gyoen (Imperial Palace East Garden) and Kita-no-maru-koen Park are all beautiful areas.

We visited the beautiful Niju-bashi Bridge that stretches over the moat in the outer gardens near Tokyo Station. In the vast Imperial Palace East Garden stands a stone wall that has been there since the time when the Imperial Palace was known as Edo Castle, a place where samurai warriors lived from the 17th to 19th centuries.

By the time you read this, we will be more than halfway back to New York after a wonderful trip. We thank you for allowing us to share this fantastic experience with you through the blog and photo galleries. We hope you enjoyed them as much as we did.