Sunday, December 19, 2010

Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel

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I used to read like every Japan related blog out there. Most sites link all sorts of videos and what not, to which I saw this one a few years back of an overpriced SUV driving underneath Tokyo.


Of course, there's no underground cavern like this in existence in Tokyo. But Saitama ain't Tokyo! Let's go!

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The concept is pretty simple.

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In the case of impending floods, pump the water from the low lying basin into the mighty Edo River. Use big machinery.

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It's a concept that I just explained in less than 5 seconds. But the "information" part of the tour lasts about an hour. It would have been pretty lame if it wasn't for this awesome sign!

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If you didn't think it was awesome, look again.

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It's mostly old people who come to check this sort of thing out, so they actually warned us that we would have to walk down over 100 steps.

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The payoff is a giant room.

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You can walk around and take pictures.

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Check out some cool water stains.

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It's only a couple hours out of central Tokyo, and it's free. So there you go. I guess if you are into 工場燃え then this is great. You welcome? Normal people, I guess you could ride a bicycle there along the Edo River, that would be a nice way to spend a summer day.

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If you really want to go, you can sign up on their webpage.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Tokyo Toy Run 2010

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First off, thank you so much for the donations. My high school students and teachers came through with a massive pile of stuffed animals for my motorcycle club's annual charity event.

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Which I strapped to the CB1000.

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I'm amazed that my shoddy knot skills didn't come flying apart on the expressway.

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A big thanks to Aaron, Pushpa, Dave, and NY Cards for your cash donations. I thought long and hard about what to buy the children. And it really comes down to education. These young minds lack many things in life, and access to knowledge shouldn't be one of those things. So I got them an encyclopedia set.


Naw, I'm just messing with you.

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I didn't take as many photos this year. We had a few more rules this time, like no stunt riding and only 1 official photographer at the orphanage. Though I didn't get any cool shots of the kids (which I wouldn't let you see anyways), here's some of the ride. Not all these shots are mine. I grabbed some from Yamashita-san's blog, which you can check out here. I think I also stole some off our forums here. I'm not sure. I was really drunk last night and did a bunch of random things, like write text messages to some girls I know, buy tickets to see Tron this weekend, and edit a time lapse video. Talk about a higher functioning drunk! Anyways, enjoy.

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Crashing the Ricoland parking lot in Odaiba.

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I know, I need a new chain.

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At the orphanage.

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There was a look of terror on the toll gate dude's face when we all pulled over to wait on the side of the expressway.

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Naps in Yokohama totally hooked us up with their parking lot and free toys.

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My buddy Anthony's new Ducati. He's in the bike business, so every month or so he picks up something rad on auction, rides it for a bit, then sells it for a profit. Not a bad deal.

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The extent of stunt riding this year.

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All kinds of bikes. From broken down CB1000s to Moto Guzzis.

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Ducatis.

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Hayabusas.

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The route from Tokyo took us through Kamakura. People's reactions to a hundred or so Santas on bikes was great.

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I think they are going to a graveyard.

Thanks again for the donations.

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

November 2010

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4 hour waits at the Tokyo Ramen Show 2010

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APEC > my juice needs

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Tomb of Rikidozan

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