IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN!





Here we go again! Another year, and another chance to eat, drink and pretend to watch the sakura.





DATE: Sunday April 6th 2008.



TIME: ANY TIME FROM 11 am.



PLACE: FUKUOKA ZEKI DAM, near Mitsukaido-Joso City.



***



Jason will be out there braving the elements from early morn, fighting to get the BBQ going. Don't worry ... he enjoys the pain. If you'd like to join him please find him at the Fukuoka Zeki usual Hanami spot and help him avoid a nasty lighter fuel accident from 11am onwards. The party usually runs until early evening - 6pm - depending on the chill factor.



Please bring any food you like, with a little to share, and whatever you like to drink. Cups, plates and chopsticks etc, will be provided, but it never hurts to have some spare if you have any left from the last BBQ. Anything you might think will be handy, or will make you more comfortable, without weighing yourself down. There will be a couple of BBQs on the go, but if you want to bring your own, that's fine.



MEETING AND DIRECTIONS.



For those of you who would like to go as group and follow others please meet at

K'S DENKI near LALA GARDEN, opposite McDonalds, between 12:00 and 12:30.



The drive to Fukuoka Zeki may seem a little confusing but it's not so bad, and should only take about 20 minutes, depending on traffic.



The boring essential part ... One way to get there is to take the road (123) out of Tsukuba, past Lala garden, and go straight along until you reach the second junction for route (45), turn left and follow the (45) to the end - you will see a 7/11 on the left, at crossroad - where you will meet a T junction at the point (45) meets (354). Turn right onto (354) towards Joso City/Mitsukaido and continue straight, past a small company called SCAM on your left, and Mitsui petrol station on your right, at a set of trafic lights. Keep going until you reach a right turn just before a flyover bridge and the blue bridge which crosses the Kokaigawa (river), take the turn and this will lead you to a car park at the top, to the left, and another further along towards the damn to the right, at the bottom, by the river. The car parks are usually heaving so you may have to find a space by the roadsid! e somewhere along there. Be mercenary and take no quarter.



The other way to get there is to follow the (354) directly from Tsuchiura, past TSUKUBA YOU WORLD, and towards Joso City/Mitsukaido. This road is usually full with traffic and very slow going. Eventually, the 354 forks into two. Both ways will take you to the Kokaigawa and Fukuoka Zeki. If you take the left fork, it'll take you to the other end, where there's another car park. If you take the left fork, just follow the directions as above after passing the route (45) junction on your right.



Once you've parked wherever you can, you'll find the happy Hanami spot about halfway down the footpath, between the river and canal, opposite a small footbridge across the canal. There's a small public convenience nearby too, just in case you get caught short on the way. Fight your way through all the other hanami parties and let the fun begin.



A hastily drawn map has been attached to this mail and will find its way to everyone, we hope. Here's also a link to Google maps:



http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=36.050764,140.029335&spn=0.110475,0.2314&z=12



and an embed code can be found at the bottom of the mail.



CAR SHARING



If some people are not into drinking and don't mind giving lifts to others that would be a great help.



WEATHER



Let's hope for the best, though we know the Japanese weather can be pretty similar to English at times. If it's cool and cloudy but dry, the party will proceed. If it's raining in the morning but starts to clear up before or around noon, Thunderbirds Are Go. If it's tipping it down then forget it.





THAT'S ABOUT IT!



You can contact Jason on 09098071340 or at japwe@hotmail.com



Emiko may be reached at 09015441778 or at emidas69@hotmail.com



PLEASE FORWARD THIS MAIL TO ANYONE YOU THINK NEEDS TO SEE IT.



SEE YOU THERE!!



J, Emi and Arno







EMBED CODE FOR GOOGLE MAP



<iframe width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&s=AARTsJqzARj-Z8VnW5pkPMLMmZbqrJcYpw&ll=36.050764,140.028992&spn=0.133236,0.219727&z=12&output=embed"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=36.050764,140.028992&spn=0.133236,0.219727&z=12&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small>