Ichihashi apprehended

Believe it or not, Ichihashi was caught in Osaka after someone at a ferry station called in with information on his whereabouts.

Ichihashi worked for a construction company

Tatsuya Ichihashi, the suspected killer of Lindsay Ann Hawker, spent much of the last year working for a construction company in Osaka prefecture where he had a room in the outfit's dorm.

He was apparently able to fly below the radar due to alterations to his appearance that may have included plastic surgery. He is said to have often worn hats and glasses to help mask his appearance.

The Japanese nightly news is currently doing a roundup of his recent whereabouts and possible connections.

Having failed miserably at figuring out how Ichihashi could survive on the lam for so long, hopefully the police use the recent lessons learned to reassess cold cases involving other dangerous individuals that they lost track of long ago.

Newly released photo of Ichihashi looks nothing like him

Or that's what it sounded like when I read this in the Mainichi today:

According to investigators, the picture was taken prior to the cosmetic surgery. The man had a beard and mustache in the picture, but police intentionally erased the features in the released picture to avoid confusion.

So it would appear that the police have provided the public with a photo that won't really help the people who have seen him recently understand that they have actually glimpsed the fugitive himself, Tatsuya Ichihashi. Why? Because when they saw him he had a mustache and beard in addition to all of the cosmetic surgery that the media is currently talking about.

And it won't really help the rest of us either. If he's still sporting facial hair, then how does that doctored photo assist in his apprehension?

Or did the police hold off on releasing the photo long enough so that Ichihashi would have plenty of time to shave...?

Well, either way, I think it would be helpful if police released the original, untouched photo as well.

Hawker's killer had plastic surgery in Nagoya?

The Mainichi reported that Lindsay Ann Hawker's accused murderer is suspected of having had plastic surgery at a clinic in Nagoya late last month.

Tatsuya Ichihashi has been on the run ever since he managed to elude a football team's worth of police officers that cornered him at the scene of the crime (his apartment) back in March 2007.

Police apparently headed to Nagoya soon after they received the news that someone resembling Ichihashi underwent a cosmetic procedure. There is no word yet on what type of appearance-altering procedure he had done.

Update (11/5/09; 11:30 AM):

The TV news is finally running with this story, and Ichihashi's face is once again all over the place. It is pretty remarkable, however, that he was able to waltz all over the country visiting different clinics and not sounding any alarms. The Japan Times carried this more detailed story today.

Update (11/6/09; 10:55 AM):

The Japan Times posted the before and after photo of Ichihashi (above right) that police obtained from a clinic in Nagoya. It appears as though the fugitive has been hard at work remolding his facial features.

Vermont Folks

Big ole Vermont reunion in Tokyo at a Swallows home game versus their cross-town rivals, the Yomiuri Giants.

We (the Tokyo Swallows) got stomped.

But everyone had a good time anyway. Pizza and beer will do that.

Christmas 2008 in Karuizawa: Random Photo

With Scott Lawson's bachelor party set to kick off tomorrow morning, I thought it might be the right time to remind him what he's getting into.

This is a photo taken from the evening gift exchange at our Christmas 2008 getaway to Karuizawa. Just came across it while deleting files from my camera's memory card.

I believe that the sparring set was a gift from Andy (he always gives the most creative/hilarious gifts), and Yuki went straight to work on Scott's jaw.

Definitely a match made in heaven! Wedding date: October 3rd, 2009.

FitWit Foundation

Some college friends of mine in Atlanta are doing something that I greatly admire. They're trying to improve the community where they live by mentoring and providing healthy lifestyle choices to the youth in the city. They are doing so through a foundation that they created called The FitWit Foundation.

My friends Ben and Josh are spearheading the foundation's efforts, and I know that they also run a separate fitness and tutoring program called FitWit that I believe involves Josh's wife, Erin.

It sounds like things are going well for them in Atlanta, and the best part is that they're truly helping to make a difference.

If you're interested in donating to The FitWit Foundation (registered nonprofit) to help them with their mission to battle childhood obesity rates, please register at Network for Good so that you can do so right now online.

Alternatively, you could write to Ben (ben@fitwit.com) or Josh (josh@fitwit.com) and share your thoughts on what they're doing.

[photo stolen from FitWit's website]

Koenji Awaodori Festival 2009: Drums

This is a video I shot with my digital camera at a festival that I went to last weekend in Koenji, Tokyo. This is the rhythm section of one of the dozens of troupes that dances down the street during the parade. Definitely one of my favorite summertime festivals in Tokyo.

RENT: Broadway Farewell World Tour

We had the distinct pleasure of seeing RENT in it's final world tour as a Broadway musical. It's final stop happens to be Tokyo, and original cast members Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, and Gwen Stewart have joined the cast for this last hurrah.

The show was fantastic, as expected, and was blocked differently from the way that I remember it, but then again there's always so much happening on stage that every time I see the show I'm probably just seeing something that I missed before.

I was fortunate enough to see the original cast production of the show in New York City back in 1995 (?), and again in London in 1998.

And the biggest thrill of the evening for me, actually, was getting to meet Anthony Rapp briefly outside a restaurant (Delerium Cafe) in Akasaka about an hour after the show's conclusion.

Of course I made sure to get my program signed, and had about a 15-second chat before I decided to stop wasting his time.

Leicester City begin with a win

My favorite football team (no they're not in the Premier League) is Leicester City, a team that made its way back into the English Championship this season.

As everyone on the team has been saying that they needed to do, the Foxes started the season with a come-from-behind win (2-1) over Swansea on the opening day of the 2009 campaign yesterday.

This is fantastic news for me (as well as all of their other fans, no doubt) because supporting Leicester was becoming a lot like rooting for the Tokyo Swallows.

You see, Leicester got relegated to League One for the first time in team history two years ago, and that's exactly what would have happened to my favorite baseball team several times over if such a system were in place (thankfully it's not).

But there back up on the doorstep of the Premier League, and a strong start to the season might mean an outside shot at the playoffs.

At the very worst, fortunately, a return to League One appears to be out of the question.