If you can't see this, or it drives you nuts, let me know.

So I got to thinking - this makes this motorcycle #7 for me. I've of course been reminiscing about all the bikes I've had up to now. My first was back in 1992, a 1974 Honda CB360 I bought from some guy in Ballston Spa, NY.

Then, in San Diego, I got this 1986 Virago XV700C (I think there was a C anyway). This was a very special version of this model, in a rare blue color with no "Virago" emblems on it. This was the first bike I went on a long trip on (San Diego to Toledo). Best bike I ever had.

I sold the Virago (not a good move, in retrospect) before I moved to Iceland. Then, when I got back from Iceland I found this 1979(?) Honda CB750K. The engine needed to be rebuilt, but this guy took me from Toledo to DC and back, then all the way up into Manitoba and back down through Vancouver to San Francisco. Here it is in front of a Viking statue in Gimli, Manitoba

The CB750K didn't last too long once I got to San Francisco. I had to have a bike. Anything. So a friend of Sam's, a major(?) in the Marine Corps sold me this 1982 Kawasaki 750. Man, this thing lived a long, eventful life. Almost 2000 miles in one of the first weekends I had it, then I painted it gray. One of the mufflers came off in a trip to Las Vegas, coming very close to hitting a couple of my friends. Then it went down to LA once or twice, and since I've owned it, it stayed in good hands, with many other adventures to follow.

Then I got the FZ-1. Incredibly fast. I got it up to 162 mph. I went on some great trips with this one, too. I have no need to ever go that fast again, though.

The FZ-1 met an untimely end. But I still needed to ride. So I got the V-Star. It was really, really loud. I enjoyed it at the time, but looking back, that might have been kind of meiwaku. Took some great trips, including up to Crater Lake and Portland.

2009-08-29 東京

I think I have seen enough dance festivals in the summer. It's too damn humid to be outside in the summer, especially with so many people. Anyways, Sunday was a very important election, so you could see a lot of election posters.

And I went to Tsukuji Fish market.

So that's my story.

It was a fantastic day, up in the mountains so it wasn't quite so humid. There were about 20 of us or so from Nagoya who met up there. Some of us got there early in the afternoon so we got to take a dip in the cool, swift current of the river (don't know what it's called - it's a tributary of Nagaragawa).

郡上八幡の盆踊り

It's really an amazing event, something that's been going on for hundreds of years, and everyone participates. Hopefully these pictures and videos can give a glimpse. On the fringes of the area where people are dancing, though, it really reminds me of a summer carnival in the states. Delicious greasy, salty food, silly games that no one can win (Unagi-tsuri), teenagers sneaking around trying to avoid getting caught, doing whatever.

As you can see, I wore a yukata again. I'm getting good at that now.

If you come to Japan, you should try to make it to a bon-odori like this.

My next one is Haruki Murakami's first book, "Kaze no Uta wo Kike", which is translated as "Hear the Wind Sing". The goal is to get through this one in three weeks.