good morning. don’t have much time to do a blog because i gotta run. just wanted to say thanks to everybody again for their comments. i got forty something emails about the dolphin situation in taiji. thanks for understanding my side, which is the japanese side. i have a lot more to say and a lot more photos to post so hang on until i get back to hawaii. i have an eye and hand surgery coming up and can’t surf for a month so i will be doing 50 blogs a day. haha.. and i’ll get back to all your emails at that time. but for now, it’s more fun, photos, and happiness…. have a great day!!!

here is my lovely mother. we’ve been stuck together everyday for the last 9 days and guess what? we didn’t fight yet. my sister and brothers won’t believe that. haha…

this is just one of the 9 dinners we had so far. everyone so memorable. you can’t experience things like this in hawaii….

eating at ushio in wakayama is the best. every time i go there, i just watch and learn. this is a similar to a broom fish we have back in hawaii. i use to spear them and give them to my friend. well, that friend is no longer that lucky. i’m keeping them for myself and preparing it like this. it was sooooo good….

this is our wakayama bus driver nobu-san. he’s the funniest samurai you will ever meet!!! everybody loved him and he will surely be missed….
**i just wanted to take this time to say mahalo to everybody in wakayama. kimura-san, atsuko-san, naohiro and the yamari family, ken-san, genki-san, sumie-san, waka-san, nobu-san, yuke-san, kiyoko-san, hayato family, the amasan’s, the fishermen, the locals, and everybody else that made our stay a lifetime memory….

fun wave!

once again, i want to thank yuke-san and kyoko-san for the wonderful time last night. after we got back to the hotel, the group told me that this was one of the best experiences they had. me too… and wanted to thank kimura-san, atsuko-san, hayato family, and nobu-san for making our night even more memorable….

negoro temple is the tallest of it’s kind. it stands at 40 meters and is over 500 years old…. check out the paparazzi…

the things we’ve been experiencing are deep. imagine having a party in the temple grounds? imagine eating the best homemade food? imagine playing jan ken po with people from their 40’s to 80’s? believe it!!!

this group is the most energetic group of people i’ve ever traveled with. every single of of them just want to see more and more. they are all japanese/american from oahu and hilo. most here for the first time. so when i see their faces light up at the culture here, it makes me really happy. this is the part of japan i want to share with the world. the place that changed me into a happier person….
next year, we’re going to have to rent a bigger tour bus… haha….