![]() And way before that it had been a home to a Japanese prince. The entire surrounding area had been a military base that was destroyed in the Kanto Earthquake of 1927. Once the dome was complete in 1988 the main tenant became the Giants and the old stadium which had stood from 1937 was torn down and replaced with the Tokyo Dome Hotel. The Tokyo Dome was built on the site of the old velodrome beside Korakuen Stadium in the Bunkyo Ward and home of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team. Fujikyuko to Otsuki and Otsuki to Takao station and the rapid line to Shinjuku Tokyo. The two hour commute had two train changes. It was also the second most expensive private rail line called Fujikyuko off the main Chuo JR line at Otsuki station. I chose Yamura Station in central Tsuru as it was a serviced ticket office. At this time I didn't have my Honda scooter so it was roughly a 30 minute walk from Tsuru University to one of two train stations. I had been in Japan less than a year and was fairly familiar with the commute to Tokyo and back as I did it every other weekend, it seemed. Fuji Jazz Fests at Lake Yamanaka and another at Mr. As an aside, I would be invited to many events in the years ahead including two Mt. It was useless to argue so one did their best by buying drinks or doing what you could hospitality-wise. I immediately said yes and was prepared to pay but was told I was a guest so not necessary. And Mike Tyson was the most famous fighter in the world at the time defeating challengers in seconds. ![]() I had never seen a boxing match live so I was very interested. Best baked spaghetti in the world until I went to Garwood Grill in WinnipegĪnyways, that ticket I mentioned happened to be for the Mike Tyson versus Buster Douglas fight Sunday, February 11 at the Tokyo Dome. My old high school Yamura above being re-built and my favorite Italian restaurant Pips still standing over 30 years later. There was to be 6 concerts at the Tokyo Dome from March 3 to 13, 1990! I quickly learned that Paul McCartney would be performing for the first time in 10 years live and since his arrest by Japanese police for marijuana in 1980. I wanted to to see as much as possible on semi-weekly trips into the city. Once I settled in at my home and job outside, I subscribed to the Japan Times and got a number of magazines like Tokyo Journal and Tokyo Weekender. I give this background because as a new facility, the stadium was attracting every major concert or event in the world and my living just 90 minutes outside the city gave me a unique opportunity to see sports and performances. My familiarity with the Marunouchi Line helped me find the Tokyo Dome in the Bunkyo district. The Hard Rock at the time had King Kong peaking in the window of the second floor. The 49ers would in that season go on to win the Superbowl in a lopsided victory against Denver Broncos televised on Japanese TV. Now this is not the story I want to tell at this time but meeting the players and see quarterback Joe Montana, I ended up with tickets to the Auggame. The NFL teams were the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers. The 50,000 seat facility was like a sister to the 1986 built B.C. It was here that I met NFL players who were there to play the first American Bowl Japan game (although everyone I knew in Japan called it the Coca Cola Bowl) at the recently built Tokyo Dome Stadium. ![]() It also had western restaurants and bars including the Hard Rock Cafe which sat on the second floor over a Tony Roma Ribs. Thankfully I inherited my mother's sense of direction rather than my dad's or I would have still been lost in Japan till today.īy the second day and with clearer weather I travelled up and down the Marunouchi Line and transfer points to get me to the Rappongi area where many foreigners went because it had many of the embassies nearby including the Canadian embassy. It is why I was able to quickly learn the massive and sometimes befuddling Japanese subway, rail and transit system. I befriended a Saskatchewan person and one afternoon and each evening thereafter ventured into Tokyo when work assignments were over. The Manitoba and Saskatchewan contingent numbered just under 50 people. At Narita Airport, the Japanese English Teaching program participants packed the airport as people disembarked a few dozen 747s that had transported everyone from several countries. It was all neon and colour and umbrellas. My first views of Tokyo were like that of Blade Runner. I arrived on a rainy, desperately hot and sticky night at rush hour. Stayed there for a week in 1989 and was back for events in 1990, 19. It now looks like Manhattan but it all started out with that hotel. The picture above is the Keio Plaza being built on what used to be city land for the water filtration plant in 1970.
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