had a great time yesterday with Mr. and Mrs. Niimura-san. just a wonderful surf couple from shonan, japan.

no rain, no rainbows right? thank goodness for our trade wind showers bringing colorful rainbows every single day

Tomomi-san is getting so much better. super stoked to see her catch so many waves!

Niimura-san on the FATBAT. it was the perfect board for the perfect day. good choice Niimura-san!

gosh, i love these photos with diamond head in the back. i can look at these all day long.

Niimura-san rode some super long waves. a very happy guy who loves surfing very much.

nice riding Tomomi-san! hope you both enjoy the rest of your hawaiian vacation!

it’s crazy how 4.5 years past since the tsunami. i’ve been practicing for my presentation this morning at MidPac Institute. i’ll be in front of 175 eight grade students along with their teachers. to tell you the truth, i’m pretty nervous. i’ve never done anything like this in my life. i would never commit to something like this, but since it has to do with the beautiful people of Tohoku, i’m looking forward to sharing my stories. this is our We Are One Mission 1 team. till this day, i give these guys and girl total respect for what they did. words can’t express how i feel towards each and every one. we drove through uncertainty, we drove through radiation, and we drove through nightmare after nightmare. but we stuck together and accomplished our mission. i will respect you all for the rest of my life no matter what! We Are One. please wish me luck today!
Akiko Sato: from Niijima.
Kana Fusegi: from Tochigi
Naohiro Kimura: from Wakayama
Naoka Nakahara: from Hiroshima
Kosei Yasuda: from Mie
Kazuo Kashiwamura: from Ibaraki
Touko: from Tokyo

gosh, it was so nerve racking yesterday morning going before so many students and teachers from this elite private school. i haven’t prepared for something like this since my college days. i had to self teach myself how to use Powerpoint to make my slide show, i had to practice my speech over and over. i’d wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and practiced before i went back to bed. i’ve never done this kind of presentation in my life. on top of that, i pull up to Mid-Pac with slippers? omg, there is a strict dress code requiring shoes and colored shirt. i was the only one in that whole campus wearing slippers. my bad.

i pull up to Mid-Pac at 7am. greeted by Mrs. Kurashige. i walk into the auditorium and OMG! 175 students will be sitting right in front of me staring into my eyes? gosh, i felt like Bill Gates when he launched the iPhone 3. only my presentation was way more important than any kind of electronic debut, it was about Tohoku. real life, real people, real hardships, and real stories. i meet the teachers and tell them “i’m sorry if my english is broken up. i’ve been speaking japanese for the past 25 years so my english isn’t the best anymore.” maybe that was just my excuse? haha.

from the start, i was so nervous. my hands were shaking so much i had to stick one in my pocket. then once i started going, i didn’t want to stop. there were so many stories i wanted to share with these kids. i had 30 minutes of the microphone to myself but it felt so short. i’ll get back to this story a little later.

then i had to shake the nerves off so after i picked up Nakamoto-san, we went straight into the ocean. i told the kids in my introduction that “i’ve been a surfer all my life living out my dreams.” this is what i meant!

Nakamoto-san and i had a great time. it was totally empty! the dirty water flowed out of the ala wai again so the water was dirty at many spots, but not where we surfed. clean water and nobody. score!

then ate spicy seafood noodles korean style. spicy and delicious!

then i took Nakamoto-san for shave ice. the perfect way to wash down the spices.

back to the presentation. half way through, i took a look into all the kids eyes, most of them looked like they just saw a ghost. i think they were tripping out on the photos and stories. at one point, i even got caught up into the whole drama again and felt like it happened all over again. even got the chills at one point.

want to thank the teachers and kids at Mid-Pac for the opportunity to talk about our We Are One project. and want to thank my little surfer friend Aoi for meeting me in front of the school before the presentation. i enjoyed my experience at your beautiful school!

it felt so good after surfing the perfect clean waves. i was catching the small ones trying to get a miniature tube ride. if it wasn’t for surfing, i honestly don’t know what i’ll be doing. i have absolutely no stress when surfing waves the size of buildings, but i have tremendous stress inside a building with 178 pairs of eyes all on me. sound crazy huh? haha.
WE ARE ONE!

Last nights Super Moon in Germany.
Good morning 5am.
Waist high at Ala Moana and windy off shore.
Chest high at Diamond Head and windy side shore.
Trade winds at 30mph.
Full moon morning, sun, clouds, showers, and huge rainbows.
WE ARE ONE presentation, then going surfing.
Have a wonderful day!