Shan in Japan

Halloween was just a time for 'trick or treat' when I was a kid and stocking up on lollies. Never really a big thing growing up in NZ. Japan is the same - a few token decorations here and there. Jack Lanterns and a few Witches about. Well so I thought.

I went to the "Glitter Ball" which was more like a halloween cum S&M party. I was dressed as Catholic priest and had all kinds of naughty people accosting me and confessing their sins! With all-you-can-drink booze flowing, there were quite a few unstable monsters and vampires staggering around by the end of the night. I ended up losing my crucifix and unable to fend them away. Staggered home in the early hours of the morning..of course I was an Irish priest:-)

After an endless summer, I am looking forward to the chilly season. Main reason is the snow - jumping on the skis and board again.
I went to the opening of the Burton Snowboards store in Harajuku last weekend. All the pro snowboarders, Terje, Shaun, Kelly etc were there. Jake Burton the man himself made an appearance. Good thing about working for a magazine is that you get press passes anywhere. Even though I'm no journalist/photographer!
Ended up being quite a late one that evening. All this talk prompted me to pull out my gear and see what I need to do for this season. Heated up the iron to put on some wax, but couldn't find the wax.....
Set to go on a backcountry tour with the North Face crew in late November for a pre-season slide. My chicken legs need a bit of work, especially around the knees for riding telemark skis, so been getting into the gym most mornings doing squats. Feeling all the better for it already!

No more sweaty nights and mugginess~! Just had a typhoon roll by last week and give the atmosphere a good clean out. 3 day weekend has seen some of the clearest blue skies over Tokyo in a long time. Did a solo mission out to Okutama today. Bagged up the bike and caught the train this morning. Picked some trails that were closed off to the public as there were many hikers out today. Nothing worse than blasting around a corner and nearly giving some elderly weekend hiker a heart attack!
Just got back in to Tokyo and feel totally revived. Always amazes me this natural environment is only a 90min train ride away from my house. Great to even out the urban / rural balance.
Also, the Minakami Full Moon party was on again this weekend. Wanted to go, but no others available to revel with this time. Bummer, as this is the last one for the year. Will be making the most of this cool weather and getting out on the trails as much as possible - especially with the autumn leaves changing colour.