Aaron Chase/Cannondale Press Tour

Day #5 11/10/03

Aaron
We left Tokyo this morning and started the day long drive to Nagoya. It was nice to just sit around in the car for a bit afterthe non-stop action of the days before. I would have to say the low point of the day was hanging out for an hour naked with Hampton and the whole crew. Please let me explain. Earlier in the day we were asked if we (Hampton and I) wanted to go to some hot springs later and we were like “sounds GOOD!” Come to find out that “hot springs” means a huge hot tub, on the 12th floor of a large resort, running it full monty style. Well, if that is how they do it in Japan than we will just go with it. After that whole deal we ate some more crazy sushi and headed onward to the next Cannondale bike party. The whole party was a great time, the shop was so dialed and clean. The best autograph of the day was when I signed the owners button up business shirt on the front and then wrote KILLING TIME really big on the back,, all with a big, black , permanent marker. After getting slapped by one of my biggest fans, the night slowly wound down and after a few beers I am ready to crash out for the night. Later

Don
Today was pretty chill. We got the chance to sleep in, check out from our hotel in Toyko and then we traveled via car to Nagoya. We did a bit of sight seeing and as Aaron mentioned, the hot springs were not as we expected. Let’s just say, it was a learning experience. We were scheduled for a skatepark demo before a DVD screening party, but the demo was rained out. The party was at Kamihagi bike shop in Nagoya, which is a top shelf, family owned chain of shops with a lot of high-end bikes and gear. This shop was total pro and the owner and his staff really went all out to make us feel at welcome. Aaron and I autographed a bunch of posters, t-shirts, bikes, DVDs and anything else they wanted signed. Aaron signed the owner’s dress shirt and we both signed the top of their display table. The reception from the Japanese people that we have been receiving has been totally unbelievable and it is truly an incentive.