CAROLLA NAGOYA

Today I visited Toyota Carolla Nagoya's Nishi Osu showrooms....

Toyota Carolla Nagoya are sponsors of my Sunday morning show, in particular a 30 minute special music mix called "Cruising Beats"...
Toyota Carolla Nagoya has 30 showrooms across Nagoya, and visitors can fill in request cards for driving songs to include in the mix... Yep, there's a couple of request forms in there...
So, visit your nearest Toyota Carolla Nagoya Showroom, you don't have to buy a car to make a request,....but the TCN staff would be happier if you did!

Speaking of the staff, they'd love to see you too!.....

KUNOUZAN TREASURES

A book arrived in the mail the other day from a helicopter pilot friend, who is also a Shinto Shrine priest. He works at the Kunouzan shrine, where the remains of the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu are kept. This book is a catalogue of the shrines' treasures...
Swords, clothing, armour,...all the treasures of the Kunouzan are listed up here... I went there on a TV shoot a few years back, must make another trip soon,...maybe by helicopter....

DJ TEPPEI

Sunday afternoons, following my ZIP-FM program Radio Orbit, comes the Hot 100! Hot 100's Music Navigator, Teppei is also into helicopters, and so for his birthday I gave him a radio control chopper! Methinks we will be going out for drinkies soon, and amongst talking about radio, helicopters will be on the menu too!

AUSTRALIA JAPAN GOODWILL PARTY

Friday April23,..MCing the Australia Japan Goodwill Party in the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo
This is what it looked like before the 600 + guests and attendees arrived...
Prime Minister Julia Gillard gave her speach,...you can just see me standing at my podium beside the Australian flag far left,...and the PM on her podium before the audience...

Australian Rescue unit chief Rob McNeil was there to show what Australia had done to help victims of the mega quake and tsunami,...a very moving presentation...
Aside from the Prime Minister, singer Kylie Minogue was among the special guests,...Didn't get to speak, I was too busy MCing, and she never came up to say hi,..guess she didn't remember me....LOL!

SARAH JANE SMITH

Elisabeth Sladen, who played Sarah Jane Smith in the early years of Dr. Who passed away at the age of 63 this week from cancer. Sarah Jane appeared with the 3rd and 4th Doctors between 1973 and '76, returning in 2005 with the 10th and just last year with the 11th Doctor. She was the only assistant to have had her own spin off series. News of her death made the top of the Yahoo (U.S.) Trending Now list, testament to her and the series world wide popularity.

It was so sad to hear of her death, a little of my childhood went with her. RIP Elisabeth Sladen.

INABA SAN

At lunch with former P-Kan TV host, Inaba San, for talks on an upcoming charity event,...details soon!

OKAZAKI SAMURAI

Hot on the heels of the Nagoya Samurai team, comes the Okazaki Samurai team.....
I was one of the judges during the recent auditions held in Okazaki to choose the members of this team...
The whole day was spent in auditions and the final 9 were announced late in the day...
The media were on hand to cover the story. These guys now have to learn how to move and act like a samurai,...any guesses to who their teacher will be? I'll also be teaching swordwork to the team...

Taking notes on each potential samurai...

EEL SNACKS

Eel flavoured snacks are a delicacy from the Hamamatsu region of Central Japan.... One of the guys from my staff at ZIP-FM brought these along to work the other Sunday morning...
Despite the image, they're not too bad...just like a long, hard eel...

5 AM

Although my new program on ZIP-FM starts at 10am, I have to be at the station at 5am. This is what Nagoya looks like from the ZIP studios at 5am! Why do I have to be there at 5am? Because the staff also do the previous program from 6am, and they want me there to go through the show's running order at 5am. The show is pretty straightforward, nothing difficult or dangerous, or untoward. But they like to have me there at 5am. Can you read the sarcasm?

EARTH DAY JAPAN

Sunday April 10, in Nagoya's Central Park for Earth Day Japan. With FM Aichi DJ, Takeyama San talking about our Earthquake relief projects. Takeyama San is collecting radios to send to the quake victims, while I talked about the HCJ helicopter group's efforts in supply flights.
Together with MID FM DJ Sano Eri (red) and ZIP-FM's Hirai Yumika, we also talked about the role of radio in times of disaster...
Actress Mizuno Yuko, FM Aichi's Takeyama San, ZIP-FM's Chris, Mid FM's Sano Eri, and Zip DJ Hirai Yumika in front of the Earth Day Japan Earth Ball...

INUYAMA TAPESTRY

At the Inuyama Jo Taiga Gallery, with my name plaque as a supporter of both the gallery and it's prized work,...
...this huge tapestry that was to have been scrapped along with the stage venue where this was used for many years as the stage curtain. A local businessman saved the tapestry, had it properly cleaned and preserved, and it's now on display in Inuyama.

RELIEF FLIGHT 4

Very tired, coming home from Tokyo Heliport on the Bullet Train to Nagoya.

RELIEF FLIGHT 3

With Nishimori San at Sugo, our base just outside of Sendai. Nishimori san and I flew the Australia to Japan Friendship Flight 2005 project together. Nishimori San probably flew the most HCJ missions of all in the quake zone....

The chopper I flew at Sugo, 44HP, a Robinson R44.

Off the coast near Sendai was this small fishing village that had been pretty much wiped out by the tsunami after the quake. The sand colored area was the town. Only a few destroyed buildings remained. Littered amongst the debris was wrecked boats of all sizes.

RELIEF FLIGHT 2

A Swedish rescue helicopter had been dispatched. The Bell 204 and it's crew had been put inside a Russian Antinov heavy lifter airplane and flown directly to Japan to help in the relief efforts. Naturally, they were able to carry much more stuff than our small R44 choppers... Here, the 204 was loaded with cans of tuna and sweetcorn, bottled water, a few push bikes, medical supplies and more.
With Swedish pilot Carl Hakensson... Carl told me that his Bell 206 was built in Nov. 1966, and was originally flown by American troops in the Vietnam War before being sold in the late 70's to various companies.
In the chopper I flew were some of the radios collected at the various events held around Nagoya including a number of radio DJ friends....
On the wall of the HCJ Helicopter crews' base in Sugo was this poster drawn by 7 year old Ryugen Kun, the writing says, "Good luck HCJ, Good luck Northeast Japan"

RELIEF FLIGHT 1

RELIEF FLIGHT 1

Early take off from Shimizu Heliport in Shizuoka for Tokyo Heliport. Clear skies gave us a great view of Mt. Fuji just after liftoff.
Conditions over Tokyo were clear too. All you could see right to the horizon is Tokyo City!!!
During the big quake March 11, Tokyo was rocked quite badly too, so much so that the top spire of Tokyo Tower was bent from the whiplash...
Arrived at Tokyo Heliport early in the morning before operations began, so we refueled and set off for Sendai City, in the North Eastern Tohoku region.

SAMURAI PARADE DONATIONS

After the very first Radio Orbit show, I went to Inuyama City for their Spring Festival. Part of the festival includes the Samurai parade. I usually take part in full armour, but with the live program before hand, there wasn't time to change. This time, the Inuyama Samurai team decided to use the parade to collect donations to fund the HCJ Helicopter groups Tohoku Earthquake relief flights.
I wore a Jinbaori, samurai surcoat and eboshi headwear, and with Honda san, a descendant of the famed Honda samurai family, lead the Inuyama samurai parade.
All along the route, people were coming forward to donate money to help the HCJ continue to run supply flights direct to victims. Thank you Honda San, thank you Inuyama!

RADIO ORBIT

Sunday April 3, In the ZIP-FM studios, live On Air with new partner Narita Masami for the very first Radio Orbit program.

NAVIGATORS

Sat. April 2. Most of the ZIP-FM Navigators (DJ's) gathered for drinkies at a local restaurant. This is probably the first time the team have gathered for an non official event. Gone was the rivalry that once marred such a happening. Instead, it was a fun night, peppered with laughter and good conversation. So nice to actually relax for a change!

18TH FLOOR NAGOYA

Once again, after a 7 year break, I can enjoy the view of Nagoya City from the 18th floor studios of ZIP-FM....
There have been a number of big changes in the 7 years I was away, but the city still feels like home!

INTERNATIONAL CHERRY BLOSSOM

This year the Australian New Zealand Chamber of commerce joined forces with the American and Canadian chambers to hold one BIG hanami, or cherry blossom viewing party in Nagoya's Tsurumai Park. Took pics of the people, forgot about the cherry blossom...

NEW PROGRAM TEST

Back at ZIP-FM, going thru' the new programme formats for Sunday Morning's RADIO ORBIT!
Back in the studio for a run thru' and ready for Sunday April 3's show! Starts at 10am....!