hard reef is the most happening bar in okinawa. it’s located in chatan and is loaded with surfers/hawaiians/military/chicks. it was 8 years ago when i first stepped foot in that bar and i’ve been going back ever since then. want to drink habushu? want to shoot pool? want to get entertained by the bartenders? or just want to mingle with locals. hard reef is the place to be. this is owner kazubo-san in the middle. great surfer, respected legend, warm heart, and a lot of aloha. thank you kazubo-san for all the good times in okinawa and hard reef….

yashi is the bartender. another cool guy with a lot of aloha. if you want to experience the real okinawa night life, take a shot of the snake sake from that jar. but i will warn you, expect to be escorted into a taxi at the end of the night, and have to tell your boss the next day that you won’t be able to make it to work… haha…

that is pro surfer mina nagashima on the left. mina-chan is from atsugi over in kanagawa. living the okinawan dream…. and to the right is akiko itou. akiko-chan is from miyako island and runs a shop in chatan called “GINGER.” the only place in okinawa you can find IMANJA bikini’s. i hope they have my size… haha.. check out her blog and you can see all the girls half naked. no, just joking…
**CLICK HERE FOR GINGER BLOG….

good evening. was sitting on my computer all day yesterday morning trying to finish up the story for the okinawa article. i locked my door so i could concentrate on getting a thousand words fit on a couple of pages. i know i don’t have much time to do it and if i were to sit down all afternoon, i could have gotten it done. then the door knocks. it was takahashi san. “kirby, want to go diving?” before he could finish his sentence, i said “YES.” when it comes to diving, everything else stops. haha… went for a dive and when i got back to my room, my mind was as fresh as it can get. i needed that….

hey, i’m still pretty much amazed on the world’s largest aquarium in okinawa. i’ve seen so many things in the ocean but nothing like this. i was looking up at the whale shark, ulua’s, tuna’s, manta rays, and saying to myself “no way, this is crazy”. that’s one place you have to visit once in your lifetime….

jun-san is a local surfer from naha and is also the corona distributer here in okinawa. he gave me so many presents, including a rolling cooler box. i’m so stoked…. one love, one life, one beer, CORONA… thanks jun-san….

i backed up my hummer and threw a few cases in the back. haha… just joking. this is jun-san and mago-san. two really kind okinawan surfers. last week, we all went together on one of the most memorable surf trips of my life. i will never forget it. thanks guys for your kindness and hospitality…

best in okinawa