TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (Aug 1, 2005) -- Edgerrin James plans to be in Japan after all.

A week after threatening to skip the Indianapolis Colts' exhibition opener against Atlanta, James said he would join his teammates on the flight to Tokyo.

"Yeah, I'm going to go," he said. "I didn't have a lot of options."

James, a two-time NFL rushing champion and three-time Pro Bowl player, does not like preseason games -- or flying.

Team president Bill Polian and coach Tony Dungy said last week they expected James to be with the team.

"I kind of likened it to that letter I got from the IRS a couple years ago saying I owed more money," Dungy said. "Your first reaction is to say 'I don't owe this and I'm not going to pay it.' Then you look at it and say 'Well, maybe I do owe this money and maybe it's a good idea to pay it."'

James probably won't play more than two or three series in the American Bowl.

He spent the start of his 27th birthday by working out with his teammates during the hottest day of training camp so far at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Temperatures were expected to reach the low 90s when the Colts return to practice in the afternoon.