End of the Summer Dayz

Well, it's officially Autumn now and the temperature has just become bearable in the last week after a long, hot August that hovered around 35 degrees almost every day. I managed to get to the beach with Aki and family, in Chiba for one day, where I tried (unsuccessfully) to surf. It was great fun to get into some decent sized waves....must've been at least 2 years since I'd last been smashed by some big surf!!
Last weekend I went to help out at Bungee Japan in Minakami. My first job was to test a new bungee cord.....just to make sure it was the right length and wasn't broken or anything. Unlike the Auckland Harbour Bridge jump, the Minakami jump is over a rocky, white-water river, which is only a few inches deep under the jump spot....so, as you could imagine, I was absolutely crapping myself before I jumped!! Anyway, the jump was awesome, then Mark and I spent the day (and Sunday), retrieving the jumpers in a boat at the bottom (no casualties!). I'm looking forward to going back some time to enjoy some more leisure activities as canyoning, rafting and sledging are all on offer.
Finally, twenty years of waiting will be put to the test starting Saturday and you can be sure I'll be supporting the ABs along the way....here's hoping I'll have something good to write about in October. Until then...GO THE MIGHTY ALL BLACKS!!!

Liam turned 5 at the end of July and got a Transformer (which I thought was a rad movie!)

Day at the beach.....Heisaura in Chiba

Bungee Japan; From the top; Rafters galore; Hard at work; From the bottom; After a hard days work

Fuji Rock '07

100,000 people + 7 stages + dozens of bands + beautiful green mountainous surroundings = Fuji Rock. This year I converged with the masses to Naeba in Niigata to enjoy the biggest music festival in Japan. The event lasts 3 days, but only 1 day was required to have an awesome time (and the 3 day tickets were damn expensive!!). The Beastie Boys were the headliners on Saturday night and they put on a show that puts them among the elite live performers today.



No camping on the green......but the bunkers ok!


B & B ready to rock!; Big Rock (star??)


The Green Stage....30,000 peeps; Iggy Pop (60 years old!); The Beasties put on a real show

Got Meat? Beautiful sight at 3 in the morning; Party people

Okinawa

Destination: Okinawa. Japan's very own tropical islands awaited Aki and I last week and it was a trip to remember. We set off early on a rainy Sunday morning (and almost missed our flight due to the stringent security checks) and arrived at sunny Ishigaki Island about lunchtime. After checking into the hotel we wasted no time in catching a ferry to Taketomi Island to relax on the beach for the afternoon. The water was a beautiful turquoise colour like I've never seen before. We headed back to Ishigaki to enjoy the first of many delicious Okinawa meals and had an early night.


The next morning we set out early to Iriomote Island. We met our guide for the days trip and set off for a kayaking/tramping mission. The scenery was amazing, from the river flanked by mangroves, the waterfall in the bush and the rugged nature of the trees and mountains. Our guide cooked us a great feed of Okinawa soba and peach-pineapple at the top of the waterfall. After that we went to a secluded swimming hole to cool off. After the day trip we stayed on Iriomote but it was a pretty sleepless night due to the heat and lack of aircon in our room.


We left early again to go to Kuroshima (Heart Island). This island was very small (you could bike around the whole island in an hour), very flat (no mountains at all), and very rural (a lot more cows than people.....kind of like NZ), but it had the most amazing snorkelling spot which we enjoyed very much. It was my first time snorkelling so I spent hours in the water watching the tropical fish. We did a night tour to look for giant sea turtles but all we could find were giant crabs...bloody creepy things!! The next day we went snorkelling again then reluctantly left to return to the big smoke. I really want to go back again some time and stay longer than four days....a couple of weeks oughta do it!

http://wikitravel.org/en/Yaeyama_Islands

Trotter Home Movies

Liam riding a kids rollercoaster......"More!!"



Inspired by the Morganz bowling vid, I threw together a little something of my own

Brothers in Nihon

After a long time waiting, Steve and Roshanna finally arrived in Japan for a two week break and I was definitely excited to show them round. The excitement started about 5 minutes after they arrived as they shared their big news...they got engaged!!! Too bad I beat you to it bro, you'll have to wait til after my wedding! Unfortunately the weather didn't want to cooperate and so they were treated to only one sunny day. Nevertheless, we did our best to show them what Japan has to offer. Their trip was limited to the Kanto area (Yokohama and Tokyo) but there was still plenty to see and do. As for me, I was bloody happy to get a cricket bat and have a little hit in the park (Steve, we have to finish the series....it's 1-1).

Yoyogi Park, Shibuya; Shanz shows off her hashi skills; This is how alcohol affects your vision at 3 in the morning.

Sippin' Speights in Roppongi; The NZ Travel Cafe; Steve washes away his diseases with the magic smoke, Asakusa

Liam checks out dinner before it gets grilled; Half of the Trotter clan in Japan; AT is the Moon Light Strike Champion....but I'm still the Champion; Aki teaches Liam how to fish

All Good & げんき

The above title refers to pretty much everything in my life right now....all good. Let's start with the All Blacks - what a great performance to beat the 'Boks. I don't want to jinx them, but things are looking pretty good for the World Cup. When we win the WC, Henry will look like a genius for his call to rest the team earlier this year. Meanwhile, the same (but late) move by SA will backfire as they lose their continuity which was looking ominous. While I'm talking rugby I better mention the other game last weekend between the Junior ABs and Japan. The mumurs through the crowd mentioned a few late nights by the Kiwis leading up to the game and it showed in the first half, but the second half showed the vast gap between Japan rugby and NZ rugby. By the way, the haka was performed after the game when most of the crowd had gone......maybe the boys were too hungover to remember it at the start?
A few weeks ago I went to the Tokyodome to take in a nice little concert...some group who call themselves the Red Spicy Capsicums or something......oh yeah...the Red Hot Chili Peppers!!! Awesome concert and the venue is amazing. I'll try get some pics off Brad and post them. RHCP won't be the last summer concert though, as I'll meet up with Brad and Stan again for Fuji Rock at the end of July. Fuji Rock is Big Day Out x 5! Something like 100,000 people will attend the 3 day festivities at a huge outdoor area. We'll just be staying one night, but will be entertained by the Beastie Boys and much more!
Our Wedding plans are well under way and we are getting very excited. We'll probably be home for about a week either side of the wedding so it will be a very busy 2 weeks doing the final plans and also showing Aki's family a slice of Aotearoa.
Steve and Roshanna arrive in Japan this Sunday, so we're all pretty excited here. Aki and I will also go to Okinawa for a few days....it will be my first time to swim at a nice beach for over 2 years!!!!....so yeah, you could say I'm looking foward to that! After my holidays I'll be working at a new branch in Tsunashima with weekends off. Can't wait to enjoy real weekends for a change!
Finally, we bought a new digi-camera so we can take some decent pictures. You can expect to see plenty in the next couple of months.
じゃまたね！

A few shots from my neighbourhood....the middle one is Minatomirai

JAB's score another!; Who is that Dark Mysterious Boy?; The post game Haka; Boyz 'n da Crowd

Warm-ups; "God Defend New Zealand" (Nobody wants to hug Ma'a...time he lost the makeup!)

Some of the kids I taught at Omori and Yaguchi no watashi.......after one year I got them to say "Hello Brendan"