good morning. 5:45am thursday. solid waves on the north shore. lani’s looks 4′ and pretty dam good. but why go out there if town is going off? yeah, save gas, surf town. never heard that one in a while yeah? haha… looking at bowls and the park now. shoulder/head high with 10 guys out at bowls. and get this, the park is packed!! i lost count after 42. super packed. going to drive around and look for a wave. everybody go surf!!! get out and enjoy this beautiful day!!!

summer is here!!! check out waikiki beach yesterday. i guess this is the place to be….. nah, just joking. my sister sent me this photo. she said it’s china. crazy yeah. it would kill me if waikiki ever got like this…. and with all the chinese tourist coming these days, it could actually happen… scary…
**japan has the craziest foods. raw horse liver is just one of them. check out this clip of one of the most craziest foods i’ve ever eaten… it was at a yakiniku place in chigasaki with my good friends… a couple of them camera shy… haha…

good evening. another surf, surf, and surf day here in hawaii. went for an early morning session at a secret spot with my nephew isaiah. all i have to say is barrels, barrels, and barrels…. had a blast surfing and trading waves with isaiah. good to see him ripping and charging these days….

went over to the house and things were back to normal. after 3 weeks on the road living out of a bag, they must be stoked to be back home. gosh, i know that feeling oh so well….

then went for an afternoon session at kewalo’s. overhead and perfect. gosh, i forgot what a small day on the south shore looks like. the waves have been pumping and it ain’t over yet…. my face is so sunburned that it feels like it’s going to peel off.. [:????????????:]yikes….

how do you tell a good cover shot? i’ll tell you how. walk into a huge bookstore like borders. go to the magazine section and look for a magazine of your choice. my choice was surfer mag. while looking for it, something catches your eyes and you just can’t stop looking at it. so you grab it and check it out. understand? yeah, i was in borders yesterday to check out the new surfer mag. then this photo caught my eye. it was a bodyboarder magazine and i stared at this cover for 10 minutes trying to figure out what the heck??? i’ve never seen such a nuts photo like this in my life. i ended up reading the magazine and left the bookstore. and get this, i didn’t even check out the new surfer mag. i heard jeff hubbard is the photo editor for this mag. it figures. only a surfer knows the feeling… one of the most sickest covers ever…. i just hope that nobody photoshopped that photo.. haha….

and last. this girls daddy is going to war. the sad thing is that she might never see him again. remember, we’re still in war. and it’s in another freakin country. support our troops and bring them back home to their families…..

good morning. 5:45am wed. morning. wow, north shore is going off!!! looks 3′ with perfect conditions. town came down a little. gosh, i surfed bowls yesterday afternoon on the high tide and it was going off. 4′ sets going all the way through with only a few guys out. perfect bowls… today dropped a little but might pick up again as the tide rises again. sunny skies and waves again around the island. i’m out of hea…. have a safe and nice day….
**it’s been over 10 years since we went to tonga on a surf trip for a japanese magazine. till this day, it was by far my worst experience. the waves? flat for 2 weeks. the flies? everywhere from dawn to dusk. the price? expensive, you even have to pay for tap drinking water. the weather? hotter than hot. the accomodations? not too good. i don’t really like to talk bad about resorts and surf camps so i won’t go there. but let me just say this, i won’t go there again….

the beer was pretty good. well, that’s the only brand they had….

when in tonga, do as the tongan’s do. drink kava… yeah, we must have drank 5 kilos or more. even in the morning. yeah, there was nothing else to do. this is photographer yoshiro nakayama and pro surfer taro taniuchi. two cool guys….

the coolest thing i seen was this ferris wheel. classic yeah?

this was our living space for 2 straight weeks. imagine waking up right on the beach for 14 days straight to be greeted by a flat ocean? that hurted….

and the worst part about the trip was i had a huge “boil” on my rib. i will never forget the pain i had to go through in the little dirty hospital. the lady doctor cut me open with a rusted knife and i was screaming like a girl. the most pain i ever went through in my life. that sucked.
*anyway, somehow we got enough photos for a 4 page article in surfing world magazine. taro-san wrote the article and he named it “I left my heart in Tonga”…. cool title…