As Japanese as Baseball and Umeboshi

I took this picture last week. I was shopping in Sasebo on a random Tuesday. It was the Vernal Equinox and we had a day off from work. It also happened to be the same day that Japan was playing Cuba in The World Baseball Classic. People were milling about the sports store in the arcade, watching bits of the game as they were on their way to wherever. Japan won the tournament (10 - 6) much to the pleasure of the nation. I heard from one of my teachers that she thought the nation was especially happy because they were disappointed to have walked away from the Torino Olympics with just one medal.

Baseball is HUGE in Japan. With all the press it receives and the fan support it has, I'm sure from now on, when I hear the phrase, "Baseball is the national past time," I'll be hard pressed to confirm which nation exactly it is that's being considered.