Episode 93: The Kyoto Rule
June 19, 2026
The day after the Osaka-jo Hall event, I stepped off the train at Kyoto Station. Traveling by Shinkansen, it’s just one stop away from Shin-Osaka.
Upon arriving at Kyoto Station, I checked the address the staff had provided me. Let’s see... a 5-minute walk from the station. I was incredibly relieved it was so close.
Kyoto is the place where I spent four years of my university life. If time had permitted, I would have loved to visit Senbon Imadegawa, where I used to live by myself, or the Kinugasa Campus of my alma mater, Ritsumeikan University. Sadly, I had to pass on that this time with a broken heart (though that might be a slight exaggeration).
I arrived at the venue and snuck a quick peek at the audience gathering in the hall—all members of the Kyoto Prefectural Police. Wow... they were all exceptionally well-built, rugged individuals.
Since this particular session was structured as a Q&A dialogue with a master of ceremonies, I hadn't prepared any presentation slides or lecture materials like I usually do. It was going to be a battle fought purely on split-second improvisation.
And then, it began. While I’ve done similar types of events in the past, I made my entrance that day with a very tense look on my face. However, contrary to my expectations (which was a bit rude of me), I was welcomed with surprisingly warm applause and gentle smiles. As the saying goes, truly strong men are always kind.
Through my interactions with the MC, the crowd laughed at times, and I spoke passionately at others. Before I knew it, the time flew right by.
At the very end, what I made sure to convey once again was my deepest gratitude. Back when I was a student, I used to ride a motorcycle (a Honda Clubman), so I actually got ticketed for traffic violations a few times—but my gratitude wasn't about that kind of thing.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to realize that when it comes to both traffic and crime, the very existence of the police force acts as a massive deterrent in itself. I explicitly expressed my gratitude by telling them, "The reason Japan's public order is maintained so safely is entirely thanks to all of you." It’s a completely obvious fact, but I wanted to deliver those words of thanks in person.
After all, in professional wrestling too, the rules wouldn’t be upheld if we didn't have a referee in the ring.
It turned out to be a truly invaluable experience! ...Though, realistically speaking, is there really anything a guy like me can actually "teach" a room full of rugged police officers, most of whom are older than me??
During the lecture, when I dropped my classic line, "I've never felt tired once since the day I was born," it actually got a great laugh out of them. So, I think I'm going to keep milking that joke for all it's worth moving forward (laughs).
P.S. My hotel checkout time was at 10:00 AM, and the lecture wasn't scheduled to start until 6:00 PM. That left me with a whopping... eight hours. It was my very first time spending eight consecutive hours straight inside a coffee shop (I had six cups of coffee, a plate of Napolitan pasta, and a sandwich).