FREAKIN' OUT AT FUJI ROCK

It's difficult to put into words how incredible this experience was. We spent a day getting to the Fuji Rock Festival (situated in an out of season ski-resort in the mountains, a few hours north of Tokyo), 3 days thoroughly enjoying it, and a very sketchy day returning from it. We met many great people, but our stand-out festival friends were 3 party girls from England - Amy, Stacey & Niva, the 3 nutty Japanese boys - Shinya, Taka and 'Lethal Weapon' (& not forgetting Japanese gurner 'Poncho')  and last, but not least, the loveable loon from Oz - Cameron. 

The setting was breath-taking, the weather very changeable (from dry & hot to humid & hot to wet & very cold), the food was delicious, the booze plentiful, the music eclectic, the dancing non-stop and the friendliness & generosity of the Japanese people blew us away. Without a doubt, the whole experience was enhanced by having Simon with us and we all made the most of every sweat-soaked, boozed-up, hip-shaking moment. Also, special thanks to Simon for lugging the 12 man teepee (or the 'Aftershow Marquee' as it's now better known) out to Japan with him!

Musical/dancing highlights for us were Asian Dub Foundation, Ian Brown, Underworld, Futureheads, Bloc Party, DJ Medhi, Wrench and the amazing Gossip. The only down-side to the festival was the evil bugs that savaged all of us in the campsite. The bites were huge and left very painful bruising (which still hasn't gone after 2 weeks)... and of course Ben's became infected, causing his leg to swell to twice its normal size and turn purple & yellow! Luckily there was free first aid provided and this was a small price to pay for such a wonderful few days. We hope one day to return...