On Saturday, 8th September, the Society held its annual “Odaiba Day” events. The day began with a visit to Oedo Onsen Monogatari, a popular urban hot spring resort that some members may remember from the Centenary celebrations in 2005. This year, seven members and guests gathered to enjoy the unusual blend of old Edo atmosphere within the ultra-modern surroundings of Odaiba.
Following a proposal that the autumn match should take the form of an overnight outing, Mr Peter Itoh kindly investigated possibilities at the Nasu Country Club. Subsequently, however, a package tour to Izu including onsen (i.e. hot spring) and golf was favoured over the initial idea of an onsen and golf package in Nasu, which is located in the north of Tochigi Prefecture: the Izu Peninsula can be relied upon to be much warmer in the late autumn!
Oxford draw level in varsity competition
On Saturday March 31st, twelve C&O members exhibiting a wide range of golfing prowess gathered once again at the Hodogaya Country Club in Yokohama to take part in the varsity competition and enjoy a day at one of Japan’s oldest and most exclusive courses.
A seated dinner was organised at The Tokyo Club on Thursday, 19th October. The bar opened at 6:15 pm, an hour before dinner. Twenty-five gentlemen and six ladies enjoyed a full-course French dinner, accompanied by good Claret, Châteaux Cadillac 2003, the Club’s house wine, lasting 2 hours. Three new members were introduced: Pedro da Costa (Balliol, Oxford, 2000 and Wolfson, Cambridge, 2006), Daniel Gallimore (Christ Church, Oxford, 1984 and Linacre, Oxford, 1997) and Alex Miller (Somerville, Oxford, 1997).
The Society organised a special August event in 2006: a climb up Mount Fuji (3776m).
The group gathered at the Shinjuku Chūō Bus Terminal shortly before 11:00 a.m. Despite some traffic—especially approaching the mountain—we reached the Yoshidaguchi 5th Station slightly behind schedule at around 1:45 p.m. The weather alternated between sunshine and cloud, but we were able to see high up the mountain during clear intervals.
Following a tradition going back to the 1930s, the C&O Society’s annual golf tournament was held at Hodogaya Country Club in Yokohama. The date chosen for this year’s tournament was Saturday, 18th March.
My day started with a flurry of phone calls from people who had looked out of the window and decided they would take the 'dinner only' option after all. Rain was indeed forecast for the entire day, the first time the annual C&O Takao outing had not been blessed with clement weather. (The first such outing was in May, 2002.) Still, the forecast was only for light rain, so I felt no inclination to invoke the torrential rain cancellation clause!
The Star Bar, RHC 51st floor, Roppongi Hills,
Thursday, 22nd June, 2006 (18:30 – 21:00).
Mr Thierry Porte, President of Harvard Club of Japan and President and CEO of Shinsei Bank kindly made Shinsei Bank’s magnificent 20th-floor Reception Hall available for this event. The hall overlooks Hibiya Park and commands spectacular views of central Tokyo. It also has an excellent acoustic, which was fortuitous as we had the pleasure of the company of The Choir of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge for the evening.
On Saturday, 15th March, fourteen C&O golf enthusiasts, joined by two guests, travelled across Tokyo Bay (most of them beneath the sea via the Aqualine!) to Fuji Country Club Ichihara for the Society’s Spring Golf Meeting. This was the Society’s first visit to Fuji Ichihara — a well-regarded Robert Trent Jones course — and impressions were positive regarding both the layout and overall condition.