gosh, i love my bike. just feel so free. easy to get around, free parking, and i don’t have to depend on a ride to the airport. with my travel ways, nothing is guarantee so taking the bike is the best. strapped on my suitcase for the first time and luckily it didn’t fall off. i told myself to drive slow but that didn’t work. i don’t know what slow is.

after the plane crash in germany, i realized that there is nothing you can do. if it’s your time, it’s your time. so boarding the airplane, i just told myself “enjoy the ride because this one could be your last.”

i put on my headphones and ended up sleeping for 6 hours. the longest i slept on a flight. so when i landed, i felt so fresh, so energetic, and so happy!

then i walk up to the immigrant and seen this!!! omg!!! i thought there was a Arashi concert or something!!! 1000 chinese and korean tourists waiting in the longest line i’ve ever seen. i’ve been coming to japan for the past 25 years about 300 times through every airport and never had to wait over 40 minutes. i was standing for over 2 hours!

and to make things worst, this tourist behind me kept on pushing and pushing me. i looked back a few times and told him “hey, relax!” but he kept on kicking my feet and his bag hitting my back. after 1 hour of that, i looked back and yelled and said “fricken relax!!” then he backed off. i felt bad after for letting that stress get to me. i hate waiting. haha.

all the time, Kimura-san was waiting outside of the airport for me for 2.5 hours. we jumped in the car and headed straight to En! my favorite! thank you Kimura-san and Master for waiting for me. i was so happy to finally arrive.

had a great time catching up with the boys. Thank you Kimura-san for dinner and picking me up, and thank you Ryosuke for doing some shopping for me. good to see you guys.

last, wanted to wish you all a Happy Easter Sunday! hope you find all your easter eggs.

Sakura and Sashimi!
I’m so happy!!!!

took these photos of a little girl that just got her brand new custom surfboard by TSSC last year at the contest. she looked so happy when she got her board!

so i followed her as she got ready for her 1st round heat. the youngest girl in the competition.

first wave! she did great and i hope to seeing her this year.

so many people asks me if el salvador is safe. here is what i learned from my experience. like anywhere else in the world, there are safe places, and not so safe places. i heard the big capital city san salvador is very dangerous. that’s why i didn’t go there. instead, i went to a small city about 50 minutes away from the airport. at night, it was pretty scary. and even in the day when we went to buy ice cream, we were approached by a scary man asking for money. right at this corner to be exact. kind of remind me of china town here in honolulu.

i get to my hotel on the first night. here is the security guard. cane and hatchet? i wouldn’t want to mess with this guy.

and i went to eat at a restaurant where 2 armed security guards stand at the entrance. why do these places need security? for the same reason why we have security all over places in hawaii. i touched the gun and actually felt kind of scared.

and yes, people drive like crazy! seen one accident on my last day.

smashed car and policemen.

omg! i got the chills when i seen this crushed car. it could be anyone at anytime.
so here’s what i have to say about el salvador being safe or not. i think it is pretty safe. if you stay away from the big cities, you should be fine. i felt totally safe in the little town i stayed in. just surf, eat, and sleep. i wanted to go into san salvador for a night but was talked out of it by more than one person. for once, i listened. would i refer my family and friends to go there to enjoy the surf and culture? 100% yes. in fact, i’m already planning another trip with friends there.