Pictures from Sensei's trip to Japan.  Comments by Jeff Albright Sensei.

Albright Sensei Yon-dan Test

Trip to Japan, September 2008

Here is a picture of my plane at Nagoya Airport on the East Coast of Honshu Island, Japan.

Here I am with Kubota and Takano Sensei; two physical therapists I met on my flight.  They teach at Teikyo Unistersity  in Denver and in Fukuoka, Japan.

Nagasaki Station  has been completely rennovated since I left I left in 1998.

Above is a picture of Omura Bay.  I used to sneek over to an Omura dojo on Friday evenings to get a little extra Aikido training.

Across from Nagasaki Station is this new Judo Seifuku, acupuncture, and sports medicine college.

Here on the left are Iio Sensei's black belts all lined up about to attack me in Randori.  That's me kneeling in Seiza in the rear of the photo.

Here I am pictured with Hanafusa-san.  I met him 15 years ago with Miho at a Hanami event, which is always a great excuse for an outdoor picnic and sake to watch the cherry blossom leaves fall.

Here I am defending myself from 15 black belts attacking me simultaneously.

Here Muto-san and I take ukemi for each other as we practice Kihon waza. Muto-san was also testing for yon-dan this weekend.

Below, Morihei Iio Shihan holds up his 6th degree black belt certificate, which he received a few years ago.  This rank when issued from Honbu entitles the holder to the title of Shihan or "master."

From left to right: Yabuchi-san (nidan), Iio Shihan (roku-dan), Jeff Albright (yon-dan), and Muto-san (yon-dan).  I don't recall the name of the person on the far right.

Our friend, Matsuzaki-san, who visited us in Colorado this past summer.

Group photo, post-seminar of Nagasaki-Kiwakai.  At center is Iio Shihan and myself.  To my left is my good friend and training rival, Wakasugi-san.

This is Suwa Jinja, one of the most popular Shinto shrines in Japan.  I used to jog up these steps every day to get to Aikido class on time.  Iio Sensei's dojo is located directly behind this shrine.

Here a turtle considers taking a swim in the Suwa shrine koi fish pod.

This is a statue of a famous samurai found on the Suwa Shrine property.  What makes this samurai unique from others is that he was a Christian.  Less than one percent of Japanese are Christian.  If you look carefully at this statue you will see a Christian cross symbol hanging from his neck.

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