Olympic diary: Even from a bus window, Tokyo is spectacular
This has been a rough Olympics in many ways, but there are pockets of positivity abound.
TOKYO — In many ways, this has been a pretty rough Olympics. Simone Biles withdrawing. Naomi Osaka getting upset. Katie Ledecky finishing fifth in an Olympic race. The pandemic restricting access to a great city. Positive COVID tests. Etc.
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When I was speaking with new Twins pitcher Joe Ryan, who is playing for Team USA, he said something that struck me: Getting to see Tokyo even from a bus is what we Minnesotans like to call a pretty good deal.
In London, during better times, I could use public transportation to go anywhere in the city at any time, and I miss that. But even from a bus window, Tokyo is spectacular, and the Japanese people we interact with most — hotel workers, volunteers, security guards and military manning the gates — have been uniformly pleasant and helpful.
If I were a professional athlete, I'd want to spend a year or two playing in Japan, just to explore Tokyo, and the rest of the country.
Snoop Dogg and Simone Biles turned their Olympic bond from this summer's Paris Games into a new challenge: The superstar tandem will team up on NBC's ''The Voice.''
