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.