GOOGLE TRUCK?

Saw this vehicle rolling down Nagoya's Airport road (Route 41) fitted with cameras pointing in alsmost every direction,...could this be the famed Google Map / Earth van taking pics? I must look up the area and see if I can see me!

THAI TALK SHOW

On stage at Nagoya's International Airport, Centerair, for a talk show for Thai Airwarys International. Did a 30 minute talk and big screen slide show promoting tours to Thailand!

Not bad considering I've only been there 4 times!
At the same promotional event, my friend Ai Chan, who is one of the world's top Fruit Carvers (bet you didn't know there were professional fruit carvers, did you?!?) carved this out of a single watermelon. I want to know where she got a watermelon at this time of year,...
And another friend manned the Thai boot, Hattori San,... Wonder if he's related to the famous Hattori Ninja clan,... Must ask him about that!

KABUKI TALK SHOW

After the Quake relief donation collection, while the PPF staff were collating and re-packaging donated items, I had to do a talk show on the Japanese performing art of Kabuki. Local kabuki specialist and friend Oguri San had set up some kabuki costumes and items from many hundreds of years ago around an old 1800's home, now used as a civic centre of sorts. In one room, in front of a public gallery and cameras we talked for about 45 minutes on Kabuki, Japanese history and culture. The stories behind the costumes was fascinating, with hints as to who the stories were about, determined by the patterns and subjects on the costumes,...

QUAKE RELIEF EFFORTS

Saturday March 26. Below Nagoya's TV Tower collecting donations and goods to be shipped to the quake and tsunami ravaged north eastern districts. Once again TV and newspapers were on hand to cover the collections. This event is growing. Last week was just me and the PPF team, this week, we're joined by many media people supportive of my work with the helicopter team.
In front of the PPF offices,...and this is just half of what we collected! It took a one-ton truck to get all the donated items to the Hope International Charity's collection point! First time I've ever driven a truck too!
The radio DJ team from various stations gathered to help collect radios to be airlifted to the survivors. This is probably the first time ever that rival station DJ's came together, despite what radio station management thought!
A big media turnout this time, with FM Aichi's Takeyama san and Kuro Chan, Mid FM's Sano Eri, Soon to return to Zip-FM, Chris, and TV Aichi's Kaino Yuka...

QUAKE CHARITY COLLECTION, ICHINOMIYA

Friday March 25, up early for a 1 hour drive to Ichinomiya just outside of Nagoya for another Earthquake relief donation collection event,....
This time, helping raise funds for the helicopter association was former model and TV personality, Mizuno Yuko (crouching in front of me). Mizuno San saw what I was doing for the victims of the mega-quake and tsunami, and wanted to take part, and so she organised a collection event, similar to what I was doing in Nagoya city central.
Mizuno san enlisted the help of her friends from the Ichinomiya area to help collect funds to keep the helicopters flying, and to gather necessary supplies to take directly to the victims in the North eastern Tohoku region.

NO MORE SANJI!

TV Aichi is updating is programming, and so today was my final regular appearance. At the end of the show, I received flowers from host Arai, who's also leaving, and main host, Tsuboi Norio.
Regular director Yamaguchi Yuko is also moving on to a different show... Oh well, All good things must come to an end....

NAGOYA TALENT

TV Aichi's Kaino Yuka, my partner for Sanji No Tsubo turned up at the charity event...
As did radio personality Kawamoto Eko. Good to see so many friendly faces come along to help a good cause!

TCN CM

After loading helicopters for the mercy flights into the quake stricken North Eastern districts, it was a quick dash back to Nagoya to record some radio commercials for Toyota Carolla Nagoya.... covered in dust and not having slept for almost 24 hours, must have looked a sight!

QUAKE CHARITY COLLECTION

Below Nagoya's TV Tower with pilot, Hashimoto San (in yellow) and the PPF Radio DJ School students, collecting donations and supplies to be airlifted by chopper to Sendai. A Nagoya TV news crew was there filming us too.

EMERGENCY SUPPLY RUN

With Hashimoto San and The Meat Guy, Jason Morgan at Minokamo Heliport after delivering the first load of emergency supplies bound for the quake damaged Tohoku region.
The first load was the items donated at Sunday morning's event, a few hundred kilos worth, and 3 foldable bikes...
Load 2 picked up from the Hope International charity run at the Hilton filled the truck completely!
Thanks to the Meat Guy, Jason, for his time and his truck and all the all the bad jokes there and back!

HELICOPTER QUAKE RELIEF 2

Tues. March 22, 11 days after the mega-quake, up at the crack of dawn and out to the Minikamo Heliport to load the helicopters with medicines and emergency supplies for direct aid flights.

Above, Friendship Flight 2005 partner Nishimori San and one of his staff, with the other 2 choppers behind. A 4th chopper joined them mid flight from Gunma.
The choppers were packed full of supplies I collected over the weekend at TV Tower and Hope International collected at the Hilton...
The Robinson R44 choppers are small, but it's surprising how much you can fit in one if you try!
A Nagoya TV crew was on hand to film us loading the helicopters and interview us too.

QUAKE HELICOPTER RELIEF

The Japan Helicopter Owners and Pilots Assoc. have been making relief flights into the quake zones. Above, Hashimoto San, with whom I fly regularly, and Nishimori San, who flew with me on the Australia-Japan Friendship Flight 2005. I've been coordinating things from Nagoya, and will be doing a drive for supplies and donations tomorrow. The private owners and pilots have donated machines and pilots. We still need money to cover fuel costs to get medicines and emergency supplies direct to the hardest hit, and accessible only by air regions. Contact me for more details!

TUNNEL VISION AGAIN!

Trying some roast beef while on location for TV Aichi's Sanji No Tsubo programme...
Not long after, we went down this long, dark, cramped and humid, tube-filled tunnel some 10 meters below the city streets...
The tunnel runs from where I'm standing to directly underneath the building with the yellow sign behind me, and then to other major buildings in the vicinity! Find out what it's for and why on Tuesday afternoon from 3 on TV Aichi!

THE REAL DEATH STAR

The new Nagoya Science Center and world's biggest Planetarium opens this month,...it looks just like the Death Star from Star Wars....
To further illustrate the point, I quickly drew up a small Death Star / Darth Vader illustration for the TV show Sanji No Tsubo on TV Aichi...
You can see the science Center, the Planetarium, and the illustration this coming Tuesday from 3pm on TV Aichi,...and why I almost died in the Death Star wearing these clothes!

HONNOJI REVISITED

Hotel Honnoji! The Honnoji was the temple the great warlord Oda Nobunaga was staying at when one of his generals turned traitor and killed him in 1582,...so I guess, expect friends to attack and burn you alive when you stay here?
Behind the hotel is the Honnoji Temple itself. The original site is now an old folks home, while this Honnoji was rebuilt about a kilometer away after the assassination of Nobunaga. As it was, I was 30 seconds late,...as I neared the temple, the priests were shutting the big wooden gate... If I hadn't taken that hotel shot....D'Oh...

SAMURAI SEMINAR 1

High on the eastern mountainsides overlooking the ancient capitol of Kyoto stands the Shohouji Temple. Not famous by Kyoto standards, this many hundreds of years old temple was to be the site for a Samurai Seminar for a foreign tour group.
Before we began, preparations included lugging my 20kg armour up the 140 stairs to the top, and the armour stand, and my swords, and... everything else... The temple has electricity, but no flowing water, that still comes from a deep well behind the main prayer hall...
Looking west over Kyoto City while waiting for the participants... As you can see, it was still misty in the western regions, and freezing cold that morning.
The 15 Australian participants turned up, and so we got them into the mood and into some samurai wear, kimono and hakama.... (continues)

SAMURAI SEMINAR 2

With the Australian "samurai" ready, the talks began. Part 1 consisted of an explantion about samurai armour...

Later, an informal chat about Japanese swords...

The guys then got the chance to go outside (in the bitterly cold Kyoto morning) and try their hand at swordsmanship... (looks like a scene from the Last Samurai, doesn't it!?)

The Japanese samurai team provided a short demonstration...

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...and then to wrap things up, we all did the kachidoki samurai war cry together. It was great to see the Australians so interested in Japanese culture and history. Looking forward to presenting more of these simple and fun seminars.

HARMAN-Y

At the Nagoya Hilton MCing a special event for sound system engineers, Harman Automotive and Mark Levinson who hosted the Lexus personnel. A Lexus type sound system was set up around the event hall to give the Lexus people a chance to really hear the sound system they will be (hopefully) fitting into their cars.
Apart from listening to music and sounds, Harman local director, Bruce and I did a talk presentation showing the history of the Mark Levinson brand, the $10,000 speakers behind us and the Eagles too, who debuted in 1972, and whom the Harman team took the Lexus team to see in Nagoya Dome prior to this show.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME...

It's been a very busy month and right at the end of Feb came my 43rd birthday！PPF Radio DJ School member Shirakawa Yo gave me some Japanese Samurai battle prints, and a Paul Simon biography! Thanks Yo!

BOOK OF 5 RINGS

SCREEN SHOT...Just been watching a TV special on my hero, the master swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, the book on warfare and tactics he wrote, and that books' modern day meanings,...It's been interesting to watch, but shocking how so few Japanese know about the Go Rin no Sho (Book Of 5 Rings)

ART DVD

Out now! A DVD made to promote the visual and performing arts of Nagoya to the world! Hosted by,...Ta Daaaaa~ yours truly! ....Available in Japanese, English, Spanish and Chinese!