Photo: Maki Nibayashi

Occupation:
Fashion Forecast Designer/Manager of the Tokyo Crusaders All Women' s
Time in Japan:
4 years


Where are you from?
Taranaki, New Plymouth in New Zealand.

What do you do here?
Our company, REP Corporation, is a concept planning and design firm and we give presentations to large department stores in order for them to know what's coming in for the new season. We do the scout work for them all over the world. Sometimes we design privately for freelance designers or private labels. The people I work with are all Japanese but very international and we speak English in the office which isn't good for my Japanese but makes it easier.

Tell us about the Tokyo Crusaders.
We started about two years ago. The team is made up of girls from eight or nine countries, some of whom had never even seen a rugby ball before. Most people we met when we were out drinking in Roppongi! It's a very social team. This year we think we'll do very well; we've got some good players.

Why did you start it?
I played in New Zealand, so when I came here I tried to look for a Japanese team, but there wasn't much information around. So I put an advert in Tokyo Classified and after the first weekend ten girls had called me up. That wasn't a bad start. After that we started looking around for a league, found one, joined, and even played against the Japan National Team - and got our asses kicked!

Do you have to be very fit to play for the team?
When I first started it was only fun and games, but now it's a very physical game and all the women are athletes because we play full contact rugby, not touch rugby. It's a great way to release stress. Women's rugby is very different from men's in that we use more skill where men would use strength because we just don't have that strength - it's more teamwork and skill. They're going to hate me for saying that but it's sort of true.

What kind of people are on the team?
We have everyone - hostesses, stockbrokers, bar staff, executives, headhunters. Most of the women that play are very strong-minded people. Rugby is very demanding and physically very hard, especially for a woman. But it's becoming popular all over the world. The Japan Women's Team isn't bad. I think they're rated in the top four.

How can you become a member?
Just call. We welcome anybody that wants to play and it's really fun. We're hosting the International Women's Rugby Sevens next year and there's a lot of work to be done. We really need sponsorship. Mogumbo Bar in Roppongi has been sponsoring us for the past two years but we really need more support.

What's the weirdest thing you've ever seen in Japan?
I was sitting on the Chuo line - where else - late one night and a man sitting across from me reading a newspaper suddenly put the newspaper down on the floor, laid down and started humping it. I think it was open to the dirty pages. That was the first time I heard a train full of strangers laugh in unison. It was so funny. I think the guy wasn't all there. Before he humped it he was making these heavy breathing noises. Then, he just jumped up and ran off the train at the next stop. Hysterical.

What's your recipe for a happy and successful life in Japan?
Make the most of what you have because you're lucky to have it in the first place. Don't hold back; just go for it. Don't think about it; just do it.

Email Jaxs at rep@blue.ocn.ne.jp

Jaxs Roper spoke to Maki Nibayashi.

Do you know an interesting person in Tokyo? If so, email us at maki@tokyoclassified.com