We were met at Fukuoka Airport by Masami Hoshino, the president of the JNCC. We stayed Thursday night there where we browsed around and had dinner at 10:00 p.m. We were exhausted from the trip. We were up early Friday morning to head to the track in Aso. After two and a half hours of driving, we arrived at this beautiful grassy mountain that was an extinct super volcano. We were met there by our translator Junichi Hama, who we instantly fell in love with. He was so great and was an English teacher in Japan. We all started calling him "sensei" which means teacher. He really enjoyed the nickname. Everyone there greeted us with open arms and they were honored for us to be there. The rains had just started but the locals said it would rain Friday and Saturday and stop before the race on Sunday.
Photo By: Robinson Family
Joey, Jason, Laci, Jesse, Jimmy, Wendy
It was back to the track Saturday morning for bike prep. Team Husqvarna had Jason's bike. Joey showed the Japanese guys some tricks to apply to their bikes. Jesse's bike was on the KTM truck that was stuck in a traffic jam on the freeway off the mountain. The bike finally arrived around 1:00 p.m. He then installed a couple of Moose Tubes, adjusted the levers and installed a coupled of new handgrips. The KTM 350 was ready to roll.
We were staying in Kumamoto, about 45 minutes from the race, where we had dinner Saturday night. We were treated to a traditional Japanese restaurant where we took our shoes off and sat on the floor. The table had a grill in the center and we cooked our own food after getting it in a buffet line. It was very good.
Sunday morning we were up at 3:30 a.m. to get repacked and be at the track by 6:00 a.m. All of us were up and ready to go because our bodies had not adjusted to the new time. We left the hotel by 4:50 a.m., had a quick stop at McDonalds for breakfast and were on our way to the race. On the way up, we were talking about how early we would get there and thought everyone would still be asleep. Then I made a comment about Rodney Tomblin and the 7:00 a.m. "Good morning GNCC Racing Nation!" and Mr. Hoshino looked around and asked me if I would say that before the opening ceremonies at 7:10. I was quick to reply "yes" or Hai in Japanese. We picked up on that word very easy. It was an honor for me to get to mimic Rodney for about two minutes. Mr. Hoshino was very happy I did that for the riders.
Jason and Jesse both gave 100% during the race, although some unfortunate circumstances prevented each of them from a win. The JNCC riders rode a good race and the win was good for them and the series.
Photo By: Robinson Family
The boys at the Spa
After the race we were treated to a traditional Japanese spa in Aso, where hot springs are popular. All of us put on our Kimonos and went to soak in the hot waters. It felt so good after a long day at the races. After our soak we were treated to a meal fit for any king. Mr. Hoshino had a party for his workers and us where we enjoyed a seven or eight course meal with every traditional food you could think of. Mr. Hoshino was too kind; we didn't deserve all of that. Mr. Hoshino was a gracious host. Sensei, our interrupter, had to leave us Sunday night to return home for a conference on Monday. He decided to make the one-hour drive back Monday afternoon to have dinner with us once more.
Mr. Hoshino took us Monday morning to an active volcano where we looked down into the earth. The sulfur water and steam made it hard to breath but it was a sight to see. We returned to Fukuoka around 2 p.m. where Mr. Hoshino departed to catch a flight home. Our good-byes were filled with gratitude and honor. Hanna, one of the lady workers for the JNCC, met us at 4 p.m. to take us shopping in the city. She just had broken English but was one of the sweetest people I had ever met. She aggravated me about my shorts as soon as we got to the track on Friday, because it was so cold.
Photo By: Robinson Family
Dinner with new friends
Sensei returned at 6 p.m. to eat dinner with us. He explained that just five days ago he thought Jesse and Jason were superstars and things would be different than the actually were. He said they were so nice, just normal guys and also friends. I explained to him that all the GNCC Pros were just like them and just as nice. They are all friends to each other and would help one another at anytime and that is what makes the GNCC so great.
Sensei was truly honored to be part of our week.
We all returned back to the hotel were we had to said goodbye for the last time. Bows, handshakes and hugs were all in order. Hanna, Sensei, Wendy and myself all had teary eyes as we said good-bye for the last time. We can truly say that we have friends in Japan now.
Thank you GNCC for making this part of our lives possible.
Share