Tokyo Ladies Hash
If your here looking for the photos you can find them if you scroll down down down down.
The Hash House Harriers is a world wideFind a hash in any country in the world club of people who like to drink, but unfortunately have an addiction to running.
There are so many places where you can get background informationThe Hash Bible on the hash it would be a waste of time for me to write that.
I'm a member of the Tokyo Ladies Hash in Tokyo (of course). I don't know the official statistics, but the Ladies Hash seems to be made up of about 50% Japanese and 50% foreigners, of the foreigners, there are probably 10 countries that are represented on a regular basis, and I'm sure there are alot more who just never come. We gather around a different train station in the middle of the city every Wednesday night 'round 7:30, change our clothes in the middle of a crowded restaurant next to people who are trying to eat, grab some chalk, and take off running through the crowded streets of Tokyo yelling, screaming, blowing whistles, pushing old ladies, darting across busy intersections, and marking up public property with chalk and flour.
After about 45 minutes (sometimes shorter, but often much too much longer) we wind up in a park or deserted alley, or even in the middle of a trendy shopping district, where we dink some beer to cool off, sing some songs with naughty language, and say mean things to make the organizer of the nights trail cry.
Some people can't take much more excitement and disappear around this time. Most people however continue on to an unsuspecting restaurant where we complain about not having enough beer or food until the waitress starts to cry. Once the waitress is crying, that looses all it's fun, so we start singing more songs and try to make each other cry, or at least get real drunk. Nine times out of ten no hashers start to cry, but we still take great pleasure in the fact that we have ruined the night for any surrounding tables full of business men and college kids who went out for some beer and fish with no idea they would be sitting next to a loud, swearing, group of sweaty, smelly foreigners.
It's actually all quite jolly.
I myself was actually introduced to the Hash by my little sister who ran in Kyoto. After hearing all about it for her, I decided that when I moved to Tokyo a few years ago without a job or place to stay, all I really needed to do was join the Hash. I was right, and through the Hash I was able to find a job, a place to stay, a TV, an iron, and alot more. At one point I wound up as part of the mismanagement team for about a year (I still don't remember ever volunteering). Anyway, when I started my current job, further from the center of Tokyo where most runs are, I started going less and less until poof, I disappeared totally for about a year. A couple months ago I realized I was bored, so I started going east of Shibuya more often. Because I am always trying to get as much use as possible out of my expensive digital camera, I try to take alot of pictures...