Lee

Gambling is fairly restricted in Japan, but as well as the very popular horses, there is keirin, and, a little more unusually, boat racing (kyotei). Yet despite the latter in particular being the sport of kings pitifully poor relative, on a sunny day it does at least offer a surprisingly pleasant setting.

The novelty of extremely powerful little boats whizzing round an oval course, however, does rather quickly wear off, and pretty soon it just becomes about the winning — of money. No soaking up the sun and enjoying the view. Not even a relaxing time communing with the koi. Just heads down, guide studying gambling.

The boat racing powers that be on the other hand are much more inclined to push the sport’s supposedly sexy side, with ads and promotional posters often painting it in a ludicrously glamorous light. Sometimes even in a futuristic, utterly unfathomable light too. Scenes that are about as far from the reality as it’s possible to get.

With the call to ‘be dynamite’ lost in way more than mere translation.

Obasan noun | o·ba·san | aunt; woman of a certain age; battle-axe?