Japan's curling team makes a charm offensive

The Japanese Olympic women's curling team is better known as Team Aomori -- a successful outgrowth of the Aomori Curling Club established in 1986. In 2006, this cheerful story of four young women from a rural prefecture in Northwestern Japan competing at the Olympics captivated the hearts of the nation.

Now with four years of international competition under their belts and a new line-up, Team Aomori is back and badder than ever. At the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, Japan is proving to be a formidable competitor, currently in fourth place with a 3-2 record in the round robin portion of the competition.

While their athletic skill has greatly improved, the women of Team Aomori have also launched an auspicious charm offensive. Mari 'Marilyn' Motohashi releases her own model DVDs and stars as the spokeswoman in various commercials. Team captain Moe Meguro has traded a short boyish crop for long luxurious hair. Newcomer Anna Ohmiya -- just 20 -- wins the wholesome award for spending her non-curling days working at the Aomori City Hall.

For those who want to learn more about the five athletes of Team Aomori, check their official profile page. There you will learn that Anna Ohmiya's special skill is "having interesting dreams" and that Motohashi happens to be very good at "curling and waking up early." Both of those must come in handy.

Click the photo gallery above for more pictures of Team Aomori.

W. David Marx was CNNGo's initial Tokyo City Editor. His writing has also appeared in magazines such as GQ, Brutus, Weekly Diamond, and Nylon, as well as his web joural Néojaponisme.

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