Tale of Two Big Feet I've managed to find a store, though it did require asking directions from a Spanish couple. That's the thing about the Olympics: people come from every corner of the world. And you can see they're happy to be here, too. Which makes for a great deal of friendliness. They may be North American, Australian, German, or even Japanese, yet every last one will try to help you out. All it takes is a bit of sign language and some patience. It's amazing how the happy atmosphere makes it such that the diversity of languages is no bar to communication. Organized chaos: there's no other way to describe it. Oh, yes, the boots. With the amount of snow the region has been getting, boots have become a necessity. That's unless you intend to travel everywhere by cab, which you couldn't do anyway because hailing down a cab in this city requires almost that you throw yourself in front of it. When it comes to fashion in Japan, North American style is the hippest. Blue jeans, chunky shoes, dyed hair etc. - it's all the rage among the youth set. Anyway, I feel pretty confident that this will be a quick errand. Wrong. After walking in and out of three stores , I quickly realize that finding anything in a size 12 in this city is very difficult - okay, impossible. Hang in there Fluevogs. Culinary Interlude I'm looking for a good lunch and I'm craving something familiar. Pizza Hut will do. I go in and notice that the taste buds run in the family. Standing right behind me in line is my Dad with two new buddies - Ron Yzerman and Hubert Brind'amour. The three of them have been hanging out, attending practices and enjoying the whole Olympic Dad experience. Friendliness Part 2 After lunch, I head down to the rink to hook up with some of the guys but I come to accept that I really don't have a clue where I'm going. Lucky me, I end with a "Police Escort" - four Japanese policemen who understand quite clearly that I want to go to Big Hat (I mean, how many ways can you say "Big Hat") but who alas cannot explain in English the way to get there. So, get this: they walk me to my destination. Talk about Japanese hospitality. Nike's Car Town After a 2:15 PM skate and a shoot for Letterman's Top 10 list, the U.S. players head across the street to Nike's Car Town. Let me explain. Nike has rented out a car dealership, which it completely transformed into a hospitality lounge. And when I say lounge, I mean a big lounge - Nike style. There's tons of food and Starbucks coffee, in addition to couches, big screen TVs, air hockey, and video games. Ya know, a lounge. Awesome, that's what it is. The idea is to offer a refuge for athletes from all sports to chill out, have some food and relax. Visitors so far have included the Kenyan ski team, U.S. skier Picabo Street, Sergei Fedorov and most of the men's hockey teams. Jeremy Roenick and Tony Amonte have dropped in, and at the moment another member of Team USA is there: John LeClair. He tells me that the team seemed at ease as a unit from the very start when it met in San Francisco and then boarded a charter. (He always notes that the plane had to make a fuel stop in Alaska before heading for Japan and that upon arrival at Nagoya they boarded a bus. Only trouble was that the bus had no washroom. A few pit stops later, they finally reached the Olympic village, after midnight on Monday. And what about LeClair's impressions of the Olympic experience? It's different from the two world championships in which he took part, he says. As he puts it: "It really hit home when we got to the Olympic Village." He thought it was cool to see athletes from around the world wearing jackets bearing different national colors and emblems. As for the accommodations, they seem fine, thank you. He's sharing a five-room suite: a bathroom, a double room, a single room and a common room with a TV that has a direct feed of all the Olympic coverage.
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