Canada - Momentum Ski Camp

I've just returned from attending the Momentum Freeride Ski Camp at Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort. Yes, there's still skiing in the middle of June.

Japan - Swine Flu

On my Flight back to Los Angeles on Singapore Airlines we were given Swine Flu Prevention Kits as we boarded the plane. The kit came with three hand wipes, two face masks and one disposable thermometer.

Japan - Gundam Statue

A giant 1:1 scale Gundam statue is being constructed on Odaiba for the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Gundam animation series.

Japan - Nara

Japan - Deer in Nara

One of the really interesting things about Nara is that there's hundreds of small deer that roam the city freely. The deer are thought to be heavenly animals that protect the city and the country.

Vendors sell deer cookies that you can buy to feed the deer. You have to be a little careful when feeding the deer because if a group of deer sees that you have the deer cookies, you'll quickly be surrounded by a huge pack of deer. I saw several times where little old ladies would start feeding one or two deer, but then they would freak out when they became surrounded by twenty or thirty deer.

Japan - Kasuga Shrine in Nara

Japan - Tōdai-ji Temple in Nara

Japan - Kyoto

Japan - Kiyomizu-Dera in Kyoto

Kiyomizu-Dera Buddhist Temple in Kyoto.

Japan - Vending Machine

Everybody has probably heard that the are lots of crazy vending machines in Japan. This is a pretty unique vending machine that i saw in a train station in Osaka. It serves hot hot food like hot dogs, fries, squid balls and other cooked food.

Japan - Bathroom Stairs

For some strange reason many of the bathrooms in the train stations have stairs going into them. I've been trying to figure out a reason for this, but so far I haven't been able to to come up with a good one. Maybe they don't like handicapped people?

Japam - Las Vegas?

Las Vegas? I must have taken a wrong turn in Albuquerque. Or maybe not, it's the Las, Vegas Pachinko Parlor (I'm not sure why there's a comma in the name). Pachinko is sort of a Japanese slot machine that uses ball bearings as part of the game play. I'm not really sure how they work. It seems popular because the Pachinko Parlors seem to be everywhere, but I've never meet anyone who say that they play Pachinko.

Japan - Tama Zoo