The AMF Bowling World Cup has enjoyed some sensational opening ceremonies during its 34 years, but nothing could possibly match the show in Kobe. A long parade of floats, called danjiri and carried aloft by dozens of people, drifted between Kobe's gleaming high rises. The people of Nada Ward, the neighborhood in which Grand Rokko Bowl resides, threw a huge outdoor "block party" to greet the bowlers. The Kobe Volunteer Fire Department belted out American march tunes.



And AMF's executive vice president Bent Petersen broke open a big barrel of sake with an over-sized mallet, the traditional way to start a Japanese party.

Sixty-eight nations sent their best to Kobe, an impressive feat in view of the financial and monetary crisis that had so recently swept throughout Asia. When spinner Cheng-Ming Yang, the reigning FIQ World Masters champion, signed in, traditional shooters knew they had a battle on their hands. Sure enough, the 34-year-old Yang led throughout the tournament with a 214 average and then cruised to a 233-152 victory over Mexico's Mario Quintero. Maxine Nable, a 21-year-old medical office receptionist from Sydney, Australia, defeated defending champion Su-Fen Tseng of Taipei in a much more dramatic 235-231 showdown.