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Icy’s Stories
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This is perhaps a silly question, but I’ve noticed that Yuzuru always wears a necklace under his costumes. Do you know what is is and why he wears it? Is it a luck thing like Pooh?
He does!
And they are a good luck thing. These are necklaces and stones that he wears for good luck and things such as confidence and balance etc. He also wears bracelets that are made of similar stones. Apparently his mom is really into this, and made him some that he’s been wearing since junior competition. I couldn’t be able to tell you what kind of stones/ necklaces they are exactly. I’ve been trying to figure it out but I can’t (if anyone knows what specific stones he wears let me know~).
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Free! The Final Stroke Part 2: English Subtitles!
Finally made it 😂😂
Keep reading
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Sendai Holiday 2019, Part 7: other Yuzu sightings
This is the last part about my trip. I arrived a few days before the weekend of ice shows, before the majority of fans arrived, so I could enjoy the sights with ease. It got really, really crowded later on. :D
Photos above and below:
Yuzu’s kimono, hakama, slippers and fan were on display at Fujisaki Department Store. It’s the actual set that he wore to receive the People’s Honour Award from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on 2 July last year (2018). The staff told me they borrowed it from Hanyu-senshu to put on display for a few days because they knew many fans would be here for the ice shows and would love to see it. The display was in a shop window along a busy shopping arcade. I went to see it on the very first day. Many people walking by stopped in their tracks, exclaimed in delight (Hanyu-kun!) and whipped out phones to take photos. :) The display was only from May 30 to June 4, and you could only see it during the store opening hours when all the shutters are up (10am to 7.30pm).
Below: The banner across the shopping arcade says ‘Celebrating the emperor’s ascension to the throne and the first year of Reiwa’. When I was here last year, the banners said ‘Celebrating the 2nd Olympic gold medal of Hanyu Yuzuru’.
Over the ice show weekend, there were huge crowds here. A fan showed me her video where she and a large crowd were standing in front of closed shutters, waiting for the store opening time (10am). And finally, the time came, and everyone was so excited, all with camera/phones out, and the store shutters rose s..l..o..w..l..y…. and the display was revealed bit by bit, starting from the royal slippers and slowly upwards…… I have never seen the opening of a shop window receive so much love and undivided attention….. :D
Photos below:
On the 2nd floor, the store has some items made from the Sendai Hira, a hand-woven silk fabric, that Yuzu’s hakama is made of. The sales assistant told us that the exact pattern of his fabric is not available but there is one that is very close to that pattern. There are wallets, cardholders, neckties and table centrepieces. She took out some wallets and a table centrepiece to show 2 Japanese fans and me. I felt the fabric…. wow….. it was so beautifully smooth and luxurious. I was so impressed!
On the 1st floor, there is a little tourist information corner where our Sendai travel ambassador welcomed us. I asked the staff: Why is it not the 2018 Olympics picture? They said because the 2014 one is what they already have and so they decided to re-use it. They also felt some fans might want to see the 2014 Yuzu again. Ah yes, arigato, Fujisaki-san. :)
Below: While shopping in another store nearby, I saw this! Kose Sekkisei! I was so happy and stood there watching the video for a while even though I have seen it a million times! xD
Last year, Yuzu said, “Please come to Sendai and spend some money.” I am such an obedient fan…. I bought so many things that I had to buy another big bag to carry them home! My shopping was mainly clothes from Uniqlo and all sorts of things from the discount shop Don Quijote ( – they sell everything! This was where I got my concert binoculars, mentioned in Part 1 of my holiday posts.)
I also bought some boxes of the lovely custard cake ‘hagi no tsuki’ from one of the shops in Sendai Station. It is a snack that Yuzu loves (translation here) and it makes a pretty gift for friends and family back home. It was one of the things that Yuzu gave to singer ToshI during the ice shows. (ToshI mentioned it in his blog).
On the day of departure, I was waiting for the shinkansen inside Sendai Station, feeling a little sad that I was leaving…… Guess who I spotted outside the book store?
He was also inside the book store. I was very happy that he was here to “see me off” and I felt a bit better….. hahaha. Goodbye, Sendai! Goodbye, Yuzu!
When I arrived at Tokyo International Airport (Haneda), I had another wonderful surprise. The departure area was filled with Yuzu! First I saw him above a beautiful spot of flowers. He made the place even more beautiful. Then, I saw 3 more Yuzu on my left and 3 more on my right!!! WOW WOW WOW! And when I went to the duty-free shopping area, I saw another big Yuzu outside the shops and 3 videos playing his Kose CM continuously….. WOW! I was so impressed! So glad I had arrived at the airport very early and had lots of time to stand and stare.
I had already tried some Sekkisei travel-size products and I like them a lot. So I planned to buy the regular size ones in Japan. Thanks to Ella for telling me to get them at the airport. What happiness when I saw that a beautiful Yuzu clear file was given with 6500 yen spent! I got one, of course. :)
‘Parting is such sweet sorrow…….’ Thank you, Japan. Thank you, Sendai. Thank you, Yuzu and Yuzu-fans. いろいろありがとうございました！
(Phew! I finally finished writing down all that I want to remember about my trip. Didn’t expect it to be in 7 parts! So long! Haha.)
Part 1 & 2: ice shows (FaOI Sendai)
Part 3: home rink and Olympic monuments
Part 4: Nanakita Park and schools
Part 5: an unexpected journey
Part 6: yuzu and zunda
(All photos were taken by me. Please do not use or repost.)
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In Sendai, I went to a restaurant that has Yuzu’s signed photo and a letter from his grandparents. .
Letter from Yuzuru’s grandparents: (my translation)
In Sendai too, it has become cherry blossom season.
We hope everything is well with you.
After the Olympics, the days went by so quickly and we are late to say thank you.
Our grandson, Yuzuru, is always warmly supported by you and we are grateful.
The medal this time, with the injury shortly before, we really could not think of it as anything but a miracle. He himself said that he was able to prevent the last fall only because of the strength of support from everyone.
At that time, even we who were there at the venue supporting him felt some great power, so for Yuzuru, he probably felt it even more strongly. Hoping for his comeback, how many people were sending him huge encouragement and cheers at the venue or through TV…… no matter how much we express our gratitude, it will not be enough. Thank you very much.
Now, quietly looking back, what we are happiest about, even more than the great achievement of 2 consecutive victories, is that Yuzuru said, “From here, this is the start of my life, I will do my best so that I can become someone worthy of being a gold medalist.”
As grandparents, there are no words that make us happier than this. We hope that he will not forget these words and will live his life humbly and sincerely. However, he is still at a young age of 23. Please continue to watch over him warmly and strictly from now on.
We pray for everyone’s good health and we thank you.
A day in March
—–[END of letter]—–
The restaurant posted about it on Instagram on 29 March 2018: (tsuki’s translation)
『 News about a pleasant gift at our restaurant in Asutonagamachi 』
This afternoon during opening hours, Hanyu’s grandparents came to the restaurant. Back when Hanyu did an ice show at Xebio Arena after his win(*), he ate with his relatives at this restaurant and specifically gave us a signed poster as a present. This time they came with a newly signed photo from Pyeongchang Olympics, and even with a photo frame!
Winning back-to-back gold is already an incredible feat, but Yuzuru also said “My life is going to start from here on, I will do my best to become someone worthy of the gold medalist title”, it seems like that comment is what makes his grandfather and grandmother happiest. They really wanted those who have been supporting him to see this, so they gifted this to us.😊 We’ve put it in the sign-corner, right at the entrance of the restaurant. Everyone, when you come back to our restaurant, please take a look at it 😄
——————-
(*) the ice show is ‘Together On Ice’ in 2014.
The restaurant is Hamaya Asuto-nagamachi and is next to Xebio Arena. I ate here during my Sendai trip and the photos are taken by me. What a precious letter from his grandparents!
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My Sendai Holiday (April 2018) - Part 3: Weekend Sendai
Part 1 was about Yuzuru’s Olympic Victory Parade and Part 2 was about Ice Rink Sendai (links are at the end of this post). This part is about the rest of my trip.
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I flew into Sendai by ANA; the cute plane below was my connecting flight from Tokyo Haneda to Sendai.
Entering the airport, I saw a poster of our dear 若様 (’waka-sama’ = young master). What a beautiful start to my holiday. :)
Sendai Airport is small and beautiful. The roof is like the waves of the sea. And it’s very convenient too. A linkway connects it to the train station just across the road. (Pic below taken from linkway.)
After a short train ride, I reached Sendai Station, the main station of the city. This is also the shinkansen (bullet train) stop.
I love Sendai Station. It’s so pedestrian-friendly due to a huge walkway that sprawls over the roads and traffic outside, connecting the station to the malls and buildings around it.
Inside, there are many shops and eateries. Pic below: shops selling ‘zunda mochi’ and ‘hagi no tsuki’. (further down this post, you will see more zunda mochi.) (hagi no tsuki is a snack that Yuzu loves.)
In the station, there is an awesome tourist information centre.
Young master Yuzu is there saying “Welcome to Sendai”….. and sometimes there are samurais there as well! When I took this photo, instead of saying “cheese”, these guys said “zunda mochi!!!” XD
The tourist centre was giving out beautiful leaflets with suggestions on places that fans can visit, like Goshikinuma Pond, Ice Rink Sendai, Nanakita Park and Yuzu’s monument at International Centre Station. The words on the right-hand leaflet say “Sendai City supports Hanyu Yuzuru-senshu”.
The centre also had big stacks of ‘Weekend Sendai’! (the travel magazine with Yuzu; it’s free) I already have a copy at home but I took one for a friend.
Yuzu is eating zunda mochi in the photo above. It’s a Sendai specialty, mochi covered with mashed edamame, and it’s sweet like a dessert. I love it!
“Itadakimasu.” (See the white mochi under the mashed edamame?)
The photo below is the take-away cup; the mochi inside is smaller but it tastes just as good. Ate it a few times during my holiday, and also tried zunda shake and zunda pudding. They were all nice, but I like zunda mochi the most.
Next to Sendai Station, on the 4th floor of Parco shopping mall, Yuzu’s signed skate boots were on display. He donated them for an auction in March this year to raise funds for Tohoku earthquake recovery (3.11). The successful bidder was Japanese fashion house, Samantha Thavasa Japan Limited, and the final amount was 8.5 million yen (about US$76,000). According to Oricon news, the money was from the staff of the company inside and outside Japan who donated their money to support this good cause. [thanks to fan Shuko for the info] [pic below from Yahoo Japan]
After the auction, the company decided to bring the boots to different parts of Japan to be on display and they were in Sendai during this period.
Here are the boots that raised 8 million yen: (8,501,000 to be exact)
Near the boots display area, Yuzu’s parade T-shirts were on sale. I had already bought mine online and they were delivered to the Sendai hotel that I was staying in.
My first dinner in Sendai…. gyu-tan of course! Grilled beef tongue is a Sendai specialty and oh so delicious! Had it at a restaurant in the station.
The gyutan in the middle is the usual one flavoured with salt, the gyutan on the right is flavoured with miso. The white thing on the left is another Sendai food, sasa-kamaboko which is grilled fish cake (kamaboko) in the shape of a bamboo leaf (sasa), believed to be inspired by the design in the family crest of the Date clan who ruled Sendai Domain in the Edo period. It can be eaten on its own as a snack. The rice was also very special; it had some barley mixed into it, giving it a different texture and fragrance. Everything was very, very oishiiiiiii~~~~~
I ate this with my friend Ella who was in Tokyo just the weekend before to watch ‘Continues with Wings’, so you can imagine what our chat was about. The last time we saw each other was one year ago. So much Yuzuru to talk about. :D
The next day was the first day of sale of parade wristbands. There were several sale locations and I went to one near my hotel. On the way there, I saw some Yuzu-banners. This one below says:
“Hanyu Yuzuru senshu, thank you for touching and inspiring us.
PyeongChang Olympic Gold Medal, 2 consecutive victories, you are the pride of Sendai, Miyagi and Tohoku.”
This banner below is about Yuzuru’s photo exhibition coming to Sendai at the end of June.
And this is the line I saw when I reached the sale location at 7.45am, not too bad! The start of the line is on the left where people are sitting on the ground, near the closed shutters of the department store. Sale would start at 10am.
The wristbands were sold in sets of 2 at 1000yen per set. Only 10,000 sets were made (compared to 80,000 tees). So these early birds like myself just wanted to be sure of getting them. :D My friend Ella was at another sale location and she said the line was snaking up and down stairs and around the building! xD
While standing there in line, I ate my breakfast and also shared my food with the woman in front of me and the man behind me. They were both of middle-age and were local people living in Sendai, and since we were waiting together for more than 2 hours, I chatted with them to pass the time (and to practise my Japanese, haha). Some things struck me from the chat that morning.
I was telling them a bit about myself, that I have been a Yuzu-fan since 2014 Sochi Olympics, and I naturally asked them, so when did you become fans? They didn’t reply….. I was a bit surprised as I waited for their answer. They were both thinking very hard, with a slight puzzled look on their faces, like they were trying to recall….. And then I realised, they live here in his hometown! Which means they would have seen him in the local Sendai news since he was very young and they have been watching him grow as a skater and they have been naturally supporting him since who-knows-when! There is no clear-cut point like us who happened to see his performance one day and got zapped. With that sudden realisation, I quickly said, oh you live here, so you have known him from way back! They both nodded and looked pleased that I understood. I guess no one has ever asked them that question before! The man added that when Junior Nationals were held in Sendai in 2007, he went to watch and he was so impressed by Yuzu’s performance. (Yuzu was only 12 then; his SP was ‘Sing, Sing, Sing’ and FP was ‘Firebird’. I translated about this competition from his biography; will include the link at the end.) I told them I was so envious that they live here and have known him for such a long time! You lucky Sendai people!!!
Besides asking that stupid question, I also made some stupid assumptions. I told them, I plan to go to Nanakita Park to sit on ‘Yuzu’s bench’ and then go to Ice Rink Sendai to skate and then have dinner at the gyu-tan restaurant with his signature…. you two must have been to these places, right? They both smiled and said no. (What????) The look on their faces seemed to say they never thought of doing that and there was no such need. But they were very impressed that I knew these places. The man took out his phone to try to help me with directions. He wanted to make sure I knew the right route to take. Really nice people. :)
At 9.30am, staff of the store came to set up the area and we got really excited! Soon we would have Yuzu-bands on our wrists! The Sendai lady asked, how many sets of wristbands are you buying? I said two of course! But the man said ONE. (What???) I assumed everyone would get 2 sets each (maximum). Especially after lining up for so long and it’s in limited stock. I said, ONLY ONE? REALLY? He said, yes I just need one set because there are 2 bands, one for me and one for my wife, just nice. Oh……… somehow I was touched by that. Their support for Yuzu is so sweet and simple. They don’t need to go to his home rink nor all the places that he has been to, but they will line up for a few hours to buy just one set of his parade wrist bands….. These Sendai fans touched my heart….. :’)
Since he was only buying one set, I asked if he could buy one more set for me. I wanted to send them to overseas fan-friends who couldn’t come to Sendai and he was very happy to help. :))
Besides wristbands, there were also parade tees on sale (only S size left). Some reporters came to interview the people waiting. The line had grown really, really long by now, looped to and fro a few times, but still very neat and orderly.
At 10am, sales started and the staff was so efficient. Very soon, I got my wristbands! Plus an extra set from the really nice Sendai man! I was so lucky to be standing in front of him! And much thanks to him and the lovely lady for a good chat!
I took the above photo after I bought my bands. There was a staff holding a big sign with the words “end of line”, so it was clear to all where to join in if they wanted wristbands. He also held a tally counter to count the number of people in the line. As it approached the number of bands that was available in that store, he would tell people who came to join the queue that they might not get the bands but they could try if they didn’t mind waiting in line. I love Japan, these things are always so well-organised!
After this, I met up with Ella and we went to Sunao Noto-san’s photo exhibition which was held nearby. (Admission was free.) It was a very small exhibition but the outside already took my breath away.
Pic above: the Japanese words over “Stay Gold” say “Congrats and thank you”. (We could take photos of the outside but photography is not allowed inside.)
In the small room, there were some beautiful photos of Yuzu from PyeongChang Olympics. There was also one photo that I had not seen before and it brought a lump to my throat….. Yuzu was standing with crutches and looking at his own photo exhibition. It was the exhibition held in Sendai from November 3 to 21 last year. On Nov 9, he injured his ankle and withdrew from NHK Trophy the next day. Then it was reported that he went back to Sendai and visited this exhibition after it was closed for the day. He also wrote a message thanking fans for their support, dated 12 Nov 2017, and it was displayed at the exhibition. (I posted about this last year; will include link at the end.) This photo must have been taken that evening, just 3 days after the injury. Looking at him in crutches at that November exhibition, the emotions of those few months rushed back into me. How high was the wall that he surmounted…. I felt so keenly the heartache….. and also deep, deep admiration and respect. Tears started prickling my eyes. Oh Yuzu…. you made me cry again! Later, Ella said to me, Sunao Noto-san’s photos always tell a story. Indeed.
That was my first Yuzuru Hanyu photo exhibition. Thank you very much, Noto-san.
When we left, a girl approached us and gave us this beautiful newspaper:
She is a Waseda University student and was carrying a backpack full of her school newspaper to give away to Yuzu-fans! She said she gave us the paper because I was wearing a CiONTU tee! Much thanks to dear Ella who gave me the tee last night and I wore it as soon as I could. xD And thank you, dear Waseda schoolmate of Yuzu! You made many Yuzu-fans very, very happy!
So much emotions…. and it was not even 12 noon yet! xD
From this lovely shopping area near Sendai Station, we went for a walk. Along the way, we saw the most beautiful 7-11 store.
Many shops had signs like that, saying ‘Hanyu Yuzuru senshu, congrats!!’
勾当台公園 Kotodai-koen (park) was beautiful. There was a farmers’ market, cherry blossoms were still in bloom, and someone was playing the guitar and singing!
More photos I took along our walk, from the park to the next subway station.
(Above: another “Omedetou!! Hanyu Yuzuru senshu”)
Then we took the subway to 泉中央 Izumi-chuo Station (N01). From there, it’s a 20-minute walk to Ice Rink Sendai or you can wait for the bus.
For people who like to look at maps, 2 photos here:
(We were at Kita-Yobancho station, N07.) (The main Sendai Station is N10.)
I wrote about Ice Rink Sendai in an earlier post (link included at the end). After our visit, the queue for the bus was very long (all Yuzu-fans, haha), so we made the 20-minute walk back to Izumi-Chuo Station and took the subway one stop down to 八乙女 Yaotome. A short walk from the station was 利久 Rikyu (Izumi main branch), a restaurant with Yuzu’s signature.
Grilled liver (square plate) and gyu-tan (round plates). The meal was soooooo delicious, especially the liver. I told myself that I must eat here one more time before I leave Sendai. Yuzu, thank you for your recommendation! :)
When we were leaving the restaurant, there were some people coming in and I suddenly realised one of them was another good fan-friend K-chan! She saw me at the same time and we screamed (or maybe only I screamed, haha) and we hugged each other! It was so good to see her again! And I wonder if the restaurant was just filled with Yuzu-fans that day. :D
On the subway back to Sendai Station, we saw Vegatta-kun. (If you have not seen the video of Vegatta and 15 year-old Yuzu, please search for it. xD)
Coming out of the subway exit at Sendai Station, we saw handsome Sendai travel ambassador Hanyu-kun. :)
End of a marvellous day. The highlight had yet to come! Next day = Sunday 22nd April = Yuzu’s parade day!! (link at the bottom of this post)
A bit more on food: at the end of parade day, I met up with K-chan and, thanks to her suggestion, we had the softest, puffiest pancakes I’ve ever tasted…. they were light and puffy like clouds! The fruity topping was sold out, so we had the plain version. Very yummy!
…. in this cute little bakery-cafe near Sendai Station.
I will end this post with Sendai Station at night plus the walkway that crosses roads and connects it to the surrounding buildings:
Will do a Part 4 because it’s too long to put it all here. :D
Last part: 2 places with Yuzu’s signature (restaurant and sports shop), a shrine that he has visited before, his monument at International Centre Station, a historic pond and a castle hill….. coming next. :)
(Please do not use or re-post my stuff without permission.) (Photos are taken by me.)
Some links mentioned:
Part 1: Yuzu’s parade day
Part 2: Ice Rink Sendai
2007 Junior Nationals and 12 year-old Yuzu
Nov 2017 photo exhibition: news pix and fan account
Update: Part 4 is now done.
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2022 Winter Olympics!
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After a long wait and the COVID-19 issue started to toned down a bit. For almost a year, I finally got my first Jackson debut 2430 and legacy 8 blades mounted. BUT I found out the shoes was soo tight to the point that it’s pretty painful. It felt like to is too narrows and my right toe had slightly tough the tip of the skates; the left toe didn’t tough the tips but still little uncomfortable.
A walk around the shop with them feels truly unpleasant and once I took them off I could feel my blood runs down into my feet because it was squished for quite a while. Good thing that there is still a small room for my toes small movement.
The shop keeper helps me to re-measured my size and suggested that my right size should be around 6 (I bought 5 😨 Yikes!!) but they find it strange that I could easily slip my foot in and out of the shoe without untied the lace to the third holes. So they took off the inner sole and asked me to step my feet on it. And it’s still in a safe range to put them on.
I was worried about my future with my new pairs but I ran across this article and decided to give it a try. I bought them with my saving and waited this long; it won’t be acceptable to returning them this late anyway.😂
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Yuzuru Hanyu’s 3A (GOE + 3.77) | 4CC 2020
*mentally screaming at the height and time he spends in the air and will continue to do so until he achieves his 4A goals*
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Go for it!!!!👊🏻💥
2019-2020 Grand Prix Final Qualifiers - Men
#Yuzuru Hanyu#nathan chen#alexander samarin#kevin aymoz#dmitri aliev#boyang jin#figure skating#gpf 2019
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WTH Yuzuru-kun!?!?
Yuzuru Hanyu x The Office Quotes (3/?)
(ft. Evgenia Medvedeva)
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Yuzuru Hanyu | Phone Wallpapers 16:9 (19:9) | Ghana CM Nov 2019 (x,x)
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I scream at the moment I saw it😍
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Yuzu WTH!?!?!?😂😂
Yuzu has a naughty hand
Poor keiji 😭
Video
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A “quick” stats infographic for the side of Yuzuru that loves numbers.
(Click here to view it as intended; alternatively, click on each image to view high-res.)
(**Please also view the original post in case I revise errors and replace any of the images!)
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VERY LATE post. Some photos I love from AUTUMN CLASSIC Sep 2019. Credit and thanks to media sources (sponichi, sports navi, hochi news, sports.ru) and as marked on pics.
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Kawaii💕💕
Yuzuru Hanyu | Twitter Headers (1500x500px)
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