Tokyo Drift

Well I've uncovered a serious alien conspiracy here in NishiTokyo - right at the local government office! Roswell should consider using this strategy - white tape. Look closely at the picture here and you will detect an obvious coverup going on.

So I am an official member of Japan now... got my government funded healthcare and everything! So now it's time to plan the Mt. Fuji decent by mountain bike. Who's in?

A Visit to Nagano

We took a trip to Nagano -home of the 1998 Winter Olympics This temple is called Zenkoji Temple - inside we went through a very dark passage and could touch the sacred key - 500 yen of mystical craziness!.... can you guess who the statue is of?

The area around here is historically known for high quality ninjas! Also the Soba (buckwheat pasta) noodles here are the best in Japan, possibly the world. I suspect that in the daytime, ninjas could hone their knife skills while preparing Soba noodles without raising too much suspicion from the Shogun....

I was lucky enough to go skiing one day while we were there. Rockin the rental gear for all it was worth. Lots of snow, no lines and it dumped all day.... check out the old school lift they were running just for me -

And while I'm at it let's take a run. .. . feel the wind in your hair, maybe a York peppermint patty will help....

Maya Stays Happy

So we stopped by to visit the Mt. Fuji goddess' temple because she is the guardian of pregnant mothers and women in general. By visiting the temple during pregnancy Maya will have a healthy baby, she won't be grumpy during pregnancy, and will be more beautiful than ever after the baby is born. What will they think of next! This dragon fountain is where you cleanse before going to see the temple. The snow count is up to three snowstorms for those of you who are wondering... perhaps another chance to build snowmen tomorrow?

Random Japanese English 2

That's right Home Boys!

Mt. Fuji Hotsprings

We all took a trip to see Maya's Obachan (grandma) for her 84th birthday party - here are some of the highlights.....

The hotel was real nice, the hot tubs and rooms had excellent views of Fujisan and Maya, Cousin Mayu and I brought the average age down a few years... the hotel gardens are managed by the owner and they are beautiful - koi ponds and garden paths all around and nice lights at night. The taiko drum squad are also workers at the hotel and they jam pretty good.