Japan 2008 » 9-Motegi

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We have stopped at the large Buddha on the way to Motegi.	Davide is shaking hands with the Buddha, at least on the photo that Francesco was taking.	Some autumn leaves to surround the big Buddha.	And this is a small model of Buddha.
Buddha is more than 100m tall.	All the Kois and other fishes have to be removed in order to clean the pond.	This must be enough for all the many fishes.	Power and kindness are his expressions.
Some interesting photos of the construction of the big Buddha.	Second part of the construction.	And then through the finishing.	View from about the chest down to the garden.
And our van is still waiting for us on the parking lot.	This gallery displays all the donated golden Buddhas.	View to the (empty) fish ponds.	The Haga choir is giving us a nice reception.
And all the balloonists listen to them.	Ready for take-off for the first flight in Motegi 2008.	This intersection with all the wires is probably not the best target.	Nobody would consider that as a valid goal over here in Europe.
Spending the afternoon at the Honda collection hall.	Those racing cars remind me of the time when I was about 6 years old.	My young Japanese friend, he's 2 years and 8 months old and knows everything about crewing.	This morning was really cold, as you can see from the ice on the bridge.
But the view along the river is worth the cold.	All the intersections are pretty busy with chase cars.	Interesting plants can be found here, that one looks like a giraffe.	The balloons are approaching the Judge Declared Goal.
But most of them miss this side of the river bank.	A shrine surrounded by some nicely colored trees.	The kids were active all morning, but now on the way back they finally fell asleep.	What do you think 5 guys are waiting for?
And then they even get their cameras ready...	Right so, a wonderful steam train heading for Motegi.	Interesting morning light at a graveyard.	And finally in the air again over Utsunomiya.
A few small aircraft are parked down there.	Sh..t, we just missed the target by a few minutes.	Now the fiesta balloons are inflating instead.	Utsunomiya is a pretty impressive city.
And then a view into the mountains.	And this would be into the direction of Fuji, which can no longer be seen, we could see it at sunrise.	Afternoon launch from a sports field in Haga.	Not an easy task today, with very light and variable winds.
Even though we can see the marker, it was lost, as the owner didn't let us pick it up from the roof.	Mass ascension in the morning.	The right number is displayed on that license plate.	A little remaining haze creates a perfect atmosphere.
But the sun is already shining really bright.	Approach to the target.	With all the other balloons pretty close to us.	A nice Japanese house just short before our landing.
This bird was trying to land on the mirror, but it was too slippery.	Phantastic drum kids at the sayonara party in Motegi.	And a nice surprise at Narita - my first live Airbus A380.	One of the Australian observers is on that flight back home.
This is really a big bird.	And it seems pretty heavily loaded.

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