indonesia

good morning. gosh, this is really hard blog for me to do. but it’s something i have to do to pay my respects to a good friend that recently passed away. i met professional photographer wanwan back in 1992 at his hometown in chiba. from day 1, we clicked. wanwan had the aloha spirit in him and took good care of me in chiba. back then i was kind of a trouble maker. and when ever i got into trouble, wanwan was right there behind me, or let me say, in front of me. he understood that i was a guy from hawaii trying to make it in japan and he always stood up for me. we’ve had great times at the local bar “topanga” that i will never forget. i’d see wanwan when ever i go over to chiba and he’d always welcome me with open arms. the kind man, the warm heart, the funny guy, the artist, and my great friend. i will surely miss wanwan….
as i sit here in front of my computer with tears rolling down my face, i’d thought i’d write my goodbye letter to wanwan.
“what’s up wanwan, i’ve always told you this before and i’ll tell you it again. thanks so much for being a good friend to me from the very beginning. your one of the few people in japan that stood by me, even when i was wrong. i will never forget your kindness toward me and other guys from hawaii that visited chiba. you have a million of friends in the world who are going to miss your smile. i’m going to miss you generosity, kindness, and everything else about you. i am so lucky to have met such a great friend like you in my lifetime. i’m leaving for indonesia today and when i paddle out on a glassy morning with the sun rising over the horizon, i’m going to paddle into a wave, take off, and ride it till the end. that wave will be for you…. then i’m going to sit down with zuccho, drink a beer, and enjoy the moments like how we use to back in the days at “topanga”…. thanks again for everything wanwan. and you will always be remembered and will always be in our hearts….”[:??$B!^(B:]

my friend koji-san owns a bar in osaka. i like going there when i’m in osaka because everybody knows everybody. it’s like a night time family….

nice to meet you jacksan….

here is koji-san’s friend named koji-san. along with friends. i want to say a big mahalo to owner koji-san(not this koji-san) for taking care of us and showing us a great time. thank you okumura-san and kazuya-san for the great time and your generosity for buying seth a remote control helicopter. he loved it…. and thank you for the people who checked my blog and stopped by for a great time!!! much appreciated… see you next time in osaka….

and last, i stole this photo off kairi’s blog. this is tony, seth, kairi, and i riding bikes all over the streets of osaka. i’m surprised we didn’t get arrested. what a fun city night…..