james kodama is one of the most successful local businessman in hawaii. james started island snow around 30 years ago and has taken his company from a small shave ice shop in kailua to big mainstream stores in ala moana shopping center and the royal hawaiian shopping center. i met james not too long ago but feel like i’ve known him for years. he’s smart, nice, and really easy to talk too. that’s probably the reason why he got to where he is today. anyway, to make a long story short, james has come full circle. he decided to retire at such a young age and enjoy what life has to offer. here’s a copy of his retirement letter. he couldn’t have written it any better. when i retire, i’ll probably copy this letter. haha… but all joking aside, i wanted to congratulate james kodama on a successful career and wish him the best to come…. here’s the letter:
Life Imitating Art ??????
I???ve always been known to do things a little different. Taking ???The Road Not Taken??? has been the story of my journey through life. I followed this mantra in my business as well. Combining a shave ice store with cool clothing, pioneering streetwear along side of surfwear, building a thriving snowboard business in of all places, Hawaii ???.. the list goes on. Well, here I go again.
I have decided to relax, enjoy life, and chill. Go paddling when I want, go snowboarding when I want, and travel where I want.
As the title of the classic poem by Robert Frost reads, I have decided again to take ???The Road Not Taken.???
The literal interpretation of this poem is a true declaration of personal freedom and independence and fits well with where I came from and where I am going. The poems last lines seem to say it all. ???Two roads diverge in the woods, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.???
After almost 30 years in business, I have decided to leave behind the hustle, flow and success of two of Hawaii???s busiest retailing communities and retreat back to my little slice of paradise called Kailua. ??My road has come full circle and I am looking forward to spending more time with my wife Lisa, and my youngest son Adam. I also look forward to spending more time in the waters right off my backyard that I was practically raised in. ???And of course what has got me most excited to start this new phase in my life, is the freedom to be able to take family trips to the mainland to go boarding with my oldest son Brockton who is a student in Colorado.
??
As Hawaii???s premier snowboard supplier and fashion leader, people may think I???m crazy downsizing my business and giving up these successful high profile locations. To this, I again reference Frost???s poem which emphasizes the CHOICE made and not the opportunities foregone. ??
My wife Lisa will oversee our beach store in Kailua, and as for Island Snow and SRF (both brand of which have been protected and nurtured dearly), they will be available on a very exclusive, limited basis. Something I will have fun with.
If YOUR personal journey someday leads you through the Pali tunnels, and down the road to Kailua, please swing by and check us out.
Thank you for your support all these years and most of all, for your friendship, which I hope will never fade.

***CLICK HERE FOR ISLANDSNOW.COM….

hello from chiba. been here for a couple of days and loving it. the weather is perfect, the water is cool, and i can actually surf. went for 2 rounds yesterday and even though i couldn’t do a turn, i had a blast. i came here yesterday morning at 1am, had a few beers with jasmine and hide-san till 3am. woke up at 6am and surfed till lunch. came back for an afternoon nap. jasmine lives on the top of the mountain so even though it’s 100 degrees outside, it’s pretty cool here. so i lay down for my nap on the cool wood floor. i ask naoka to turn up the ceiling fans up a little higher because the breeze was feeling good. naoka didn’t know what buttons he was pushing but i trusted him because everything was in japanese. so i lay down peacefully and fall asleep. 20 minutes later, i woke up in a pool of sweat and i was feeling weird. it was so frickin hot!! the wind was cool but i was feeling so dam hot. i just couldn’t figure it out. i couldn’t go back to sleep and what made it worst was naoka was snoring on the sofa next to me. come to find out, naoka turned off the fans, and turned the floor heater to HIGH. oh my gosh.!!!! i was sleeping on a heated floor in this burning humid weather. what a nightmare… i was pissed but all i can do is laugh about it now….
**chiba is like the surfing capital of japan. the waves are consistent, they hold most contests here, and the level of surfing is probably the highest throughout japan. went to shidashita yesterday and gosh, the kids were ripping. the oakley junior pro starts today and runs into the weekend. seems like all of japan’s talent is in chiba right now. it was pretty cool to see…

yesterday in the evening was perfect. the lighting was good, the surfers were ripping, so i went to grab my camera….

had a bunch of JPSA pro’s out but the groms stole the show…. check out how small this kid is. this is okinawa’s kazubo-san’s 9 year old son from okinawa. it’s so funny because it’s the first time he’s surfing out of okinawa. okinawa doesn’t have beach breaks so this kid must be loving it. he looked so stoked…

gosh, i forgot this kid’s name… he’s a little dove rider and was catching the most waves out there yesterday. he was like a wave magnet. just by watching him, you could tell that he had some kind of connection with the ocean. plus he rips!!!

kairi has so much energy. he surfed 3 session and skateboarded in the hot sun too. along with making trouble to me all day. this kid’s classic….

this is reika and friend. japan surfer girls…
**FULL GALLERY COMING UP TODAY ON GO-NAMINORI.COM….

**and wanted to thank jasmine, hide-san, zuccho, kenji, naoka, and jacksan for the great time last night. the sunset was awesome, the mexican food was awesome, and the vibe was awesome. an awesome night with awesome people… mahalo…

**it was our second to the last day before shun and i had to come to japan. so we planned a dawn patrol and seth slept over my house. i woke them up before 5am and we were on it. it felt good pushing those two kids. i felt like an ass for waking them up but they will thank me someday later. we had a blast and i felt younger than the boys that day. that’s how excited i was to see them both ripping and pushing each other. i wish there was some urusai uncle like me pushing this hard wheni was a kid. then i would have probably been kirby slater. haha. this video goes in my top 3 youtube videos. if you haven’t dawn patrolled before, now you will sort of get the feeling. what better way could you start off your day???

**wanted to say sorry to seth for missing his sick grab rail barrel on a nice double up set. i didn’t even shoot it because he was so deep and i thought he wouldn’t make it. then here he came flying out with the spit. i should have had more confidence in you. my bad…