In the beginning of May we went on a hot air balloon ride. We couldn’t take pictures from outside of the balloon so here are some pictures by Megan. I hope I remembered her name correctly. She is the photographer and coordinator at Sunrise Balloons. She took these pictures below.

This is the second time I’m in Japan during the summer. A large contrast between summer and winter due to the humidity of Japan. Due to the sprained ankle I spent much of my time crutching around. Batchimeg came with us on this trip to Japan. One of her dreams was to go to Japan. I’m glad that Hiroko and I were able to help here fulfill it. I mentioned once that I’ve never had a BBQ on the roof of our place in Japan before, so the first night’s we BBQed on the roof in the rain. Koji-san was kind enough to build us a rain shelter so that we can still have the BBQ. Though it rained quite often in Japan, we were mostly blessed with good weather when we walked outside. The sprained ankle made it difficult to walk in a city of walking. Things took longer to do and places took longer to get to. I was luckily to use the wheel chair in a few places like the Tokyo tower and Disneyland. Disneyland on wheels is such a great experience. Long waits become no wait and seating at restaurants are quick. I highly suggest hurting your leg or ankle to take advantage of the benefits at theme parks. Every trip to Japan we go on a little road trip. This time we went to a nice onsen (hotsprings) area called Nikko. This trip was also a first in whale meat. I tried it just to spite the folks at PETA. Honestly though, it was alright at best. Its like tuna but tougher and more expensive. I would just stick with tuna in the future. I also had horse meat. Its taste okay, but it was tough as rubber. Here are some pictures that I took. There aren’t to many because a many only has two hands for two crutches. I’ll post some pictures from Batchimeg’s camera when I get it. She shot more photos than bullets Rambo shot, in Rambo one, two and three.

Ya-kun BBQin’ in the rain.


Papa, O-papa, Nobu-kun and Nene toasting.


Nobu-kun, Nene, and Koji-san


BBQ in the rain on the roof in the night


BBQin’


Its getting dark.


Meiji Jingu gate


At the Ghibli


Mama and Papa at practice