For the longest time I haven’t seen a live basketball game. So, when my husband informed me that there will be a FIBA 3×3 game that would be held in Utsunomiya, I was so happy and excited to watch it.
On April 27th – 28th, a two-day basketball Fiba 3×3 tournament was held in front of the historical Futaaraya Shrine. A temporary covered basketball court was built with surrounding bleachers. We were lucky to watch it free!
The fun didn’t end there because the following week, on May 3rd – 5th, a Universality Olympic Qualifying Tournament was held at Light Cube Utsunomiya. It was great to finally be able to watch Olympic level basketball. We learned about the tickets late but fortunately my husband was able to purchase them before they sold out! How lucky we were!
Before watching the games, we made sure that our stomachs were full from the sumptuous lunch. We ate at the restaurants along Orion Street and Utsunomiya Station. The food was tasty and affordable. We liked the lunch buffet served at Kitchen Kaneya, the pork steak at the station, and the fried chicken across the Futaaraya Shrine.
My son also happily cheered the players with me and my husband. On the final day, we asked notable players if we could take photos with them and they granted our request. I also took this opportunity to have a photo with my favorite Japanese 3×3 basketball player . I cheered so much on their game against Austria and Germany. I also had a photo from my favorite player on the winning team.
It was also great to meet the emcee of both games who was also from the Philippines! He was very nice and he talked to us about his journey. After his introduction, my husband recognized him as a former DJ from the Philippines who also had a famous rap song!
I would say that by far, it is indeed our best Golden Week!
