C.J. Nitkowski pitched for several major league teams from 1995-2005. He's playing in Japan this year and will file periodic updates for The Associated Press on his experience. His stories will be archived on his Web site, www.cjbaseball.com

By C.J. NITKOWSKI

For The Associated Press

MIYAZAKI, Japan (AP) -After 12 spring trainings in major league baseball with seven different teams, I would have felt confident saying that I have seen all spring training could possibly have to offer. That was, of course, before I began my 13th spring training in professional baseball with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Pacific League in Japan. Japanese culture sharply contrasts that of the United States, and baseball is no different. Over here, it sincerely starts with the concept of team.

The Japanese players are very focused on the goals of the team. Individual goals are looked upon only as a way to help the team achieve its ultimate goal, winning a championship. When a player sets season goals here, it is for the benefit of the team, not for himself. One of the first things an American player would notice to be drastically different is the daily meetings the Hawks hold. Each morning at 7:40 all the players, coaches and staff meet outside of the team hotel in Miyazaki. Unlike in the U.S., all the players in major league camp stay at the team hotel.

With temperatures hovering around 38 degrees, not counting the wind that's coming from a couple of hundred yards off the Pacific Ocean, we begin with what amounts to a 2-to-3-minute stretch. Then one or two members of the team place themselves in the center among us and yell at the top of their lungs what their goals are for the season.

This ceremony, dubbed "the pep rally" by one of my American teammates, creates a serious level of accountability. The entire press corps, approximately 40 to 50 members, also is present at the ceremony, which is captured on video for the television stations back home in Fukuoka and around Kyushu Island.

When the players have concluded their declarations, we go back into the hotel and must be ready to board the buses to the spring training complex by 9:20. This type of tradition would certainly draw moans and groans and be dismissed as useless by many American players, but I have to be honest, it really isn't all that bad and the purpose behind it only benefits team chemistry.

Before you board one of the buses, you have a very important decision to make. This decision is one no American ballplayer in my generation has ever had to make - get on the smoking or nonsmoking bus. I was caught a little off-guard when I was presented with such an option. Around 40 percent of the players smoke, so separation is necessary. I opt to go smoke-free every day.

There is something about being trapped in a smoked-filled bus at 9:30 in the morning that just doesn't sound all that appealing. I guess that doesn't sound appealing to me at any time of the day.

I came here determined to experience all Japan has to offer. Whether it is food or local customs, I've told myself to be open-minded and try things I might otherwise never have the opportunity to experience. So when I was told the hotel had an onsen (Japanese hot spring), I decided I really wanted to try it.

My first thoughts were that a natural hot spring is just nature's hot tub. Having never been, I was briefed by one of the team's three interpreters they have provided for the four Americans. He told me that the Japanese use an onsen completely nude.

Now these are fairly large pools that could fit anywhere from 15 to 20 men, and I was having a hard time understanding why they wouldn't just wear bathing suits. He kind of agreed with me, so when I took my first trip to the onsen, I wore a suit.

There were two Japanese men inside the outer pool when I arrived, yes, both fully naked (the pools are only about 2 feet deep). Without making eye contact, I joined them. The hot spring experience was very nice and very relaxing, and a much different experience from a hot tub. The heated water combined with nature's minerals really provided a muscle relaxation experience I have never had before.

When I had relaxed enough, I dried off and made my way toward the exit. As I was leaving, I noticed a list of guidelines for using an onsen. Sure enough, as I worked down the list, I read that bathing suits are prohibited. It is birthday suit or the highway in the onsen.

I read somewhere that there is a Japanese virtue of "naked communion" where social barriers are broken down and you can get to know people in a relaxed atmosphere such as an onsen. As you may imagine, I was in quite the quandary. I had just experienced one of the really great things Japanese culture has to offer, but I am not completely sold on the "naked communion" part of it, especially with strangers of the same sex. However, after a long spring training workout, an onsen is an ideal way to finish the day.

What is an American to do?

Let me put it this way: Before the next day's workouts were even over, I couldn't wait to be a member of "naked communion." And so it goes, communion is no longer just on Sundays for me.

AP NEWS The Associated Press News Service