down the ycac

photo & caption borrowed from ycac website

When we returned from holiday in our mail we found that our membership to the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club (sponsored by O's company) had been accepted and our attendance was expected at a new member's reception this past Saturday. The club, which started as a cricket club, was founded in 1868, which is very early days indeed. Japan had only 'opened its doors' to foreign trade and foreigners about 12 years earlier. The letter informed us that if our sponsor and our seconder were unable to attend, the board of directors would act as balloting committee to approve our membership. Naturally we haven't the faintest who our sponsor and our seconder are, so I donned what I consider an appropriately cheerful skirt, pink cardigan, my (faux) diamond earrings, and in horizontal sheets of rain we undertook the 45 minute train journey out to Yokohama, and up an arduous winding hill to the club 'on the bluff' .