First of all I have to thank my many (old and new) friends without whom this adventure would not have been possible - or at least not in such an efficient and enjoyable way.
Domo arigato gozaimasu!
- to my wife Ruth, for everything! 'Letting me go'; getting along at home without me during my absence, taking care of everything there, etc, etc;
- Rick (and Leanne): for providing invaluable infromation and support about Kyushu flying sites and whom to contact;
- Yuko for being not only a good translator and driver, but also for making the sometimes long drives enjoyable, finding good restaurants/ onsen and providing interesting information about Japan;
- Peter and Tekko: for having 'found' Yuko as guide;
- Saichiro-san for invitig Atsushi and me to an to an oppulent dinner in Osaka and his wife for the nice presents.
- my friend Atsushi in Osaka for translating at the dinner with Saichiro-san and driving me back from Iwaya (also thanks for lending me the radio);
- Tak-san and his son Shoichiro from Iwaya for providing a nice sightseeing tour after flying had to be stopped; Shoichiro for repairing my cockpit;
- Chikako for spending the afternoon in Osaka with me and later helping find an eye clinic in Tokyo;
- Masako for seeing me before I took the train to Hakuba;
- Koji and Mari -my long time friends in Hakuba- for letting me stay at their place; furthermore for driving me to the hospital to have the eye checked;
- Mari for preparing excellent meals;
- Masa from Aoki for organising this nice Onsen/ Ryokan and taking care of me during the stay there;
- Koba: unfortunately we have been unable to meet, but many thanks for the radio;
- all the clubs/ schools etc; I have always been very welcomed and assisted in getting airborne;
- Dr.Pete from Oz for having a look at my x-rays and providing additional information;
Did I forget somebody? certainly not on purpose!
In regard to paragliding: the first two weeks (Kyushu) have been really successful:
flying has been possible on 9 out of 12 days: 9 different sites!
Second part (Honshu): 1 (short) flight only.
Without my eye problem flying would have been possible on (just) 3 more days, the rest was either unflyable due to wx or spent travelling. I'd loved to have seen more of Tokyo -rather than staying in my room- but priority had to be given to my eye, so I could have a relaxed flyight home without having to worry about possible complications...
I know, the 'yield' of my trip does not look very impressive, but it has very well been worth the time/ money spent and Kyushu certainly deserves another visit - especially if supported by Yuko and Rick...
The stay in Tokyo has not been as 'bad' as I had anticipated: due to the 'Golden Week', many shops/ offices had closed, so actually there have been less people in the city than during normal working days.
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