Keiko’s parents, sister and her family were at Mt. Fuji Station 5 to greet us on our decent. What relief to be on level ground!

We proceeded by car to a ryokan or very traditional Japanese hotel. The highlight of the evening and next morning were trips to the hot springs and baths. My body screamed “thank you” as I relaxed and soaked in the hot baths and then dove into the ice cold pools.

We then had lunch while cruising the town’s harbor and started back home to Keiko’s parent’s home. Her parent’s treated us to a wonderful authentic Chinese dinner that evening.

The mention of food however prompts me to mention the the absolutely fabulous Japanese peaches the family had purchased on Saturday. It was the first “real” food I had tasted in nearly 24 hours.

Sugoi, Subarashii …. Our expedition to the Mt. Fuji summit was an awesome experience, an extreme physical, mental and emotional challenge.  We did it!

Frankly, I am exhausted and have simply posted a few photos.  More to come later.

An emotional evening to remember –– 55 men and women who were responsible for the great success of Avaya’s 2002 FIFA World Cup project coming together after 10 years to share friendships and memories.

More than 70% of the team had left Avaya and had not seen each other in many years. Thanks to FaceBook and the efforts of everyone to reach out and spread the word about the event, it was a most successful and enjoyable gathering of the dedicated team that brought great honor to Japan and Avaya.

Thanks to all who attended and special thanks to Kase, Chiho, Yoshi, Nobuteru, and Keiko for attending to the place and details for the event.

More event photos will be posted to the FaceBook event page.

Your past support, continuing friendship and kind words were deeply appreciated.

Today was set aside for rest.  We will be attending a gathering of former Avaya World Cup team members to celebrate the 10th year anniversary of a powerfully successful global marketing event.  Without question, the impact in Japan was awesome and brought great credit and honor to the Japanese men and women who worked with me and made it possible.  Over 50 people will be gathering later tonight.  I am excited too see old friends and share memories of that time we spent together.

A posting and photos will follow the event.

We are also regaining the strength we will need to climb to Mt. Fuji’s summit over the weekend.