the Heisman Trophy is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. it was created in 1935 and never has a football player from hawaii ever came close to winning it. well, this year was different.

oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota won it! born and raised in hawaii with a proud polynesian background making history. i watched his interview after winning the trophy and he said “if one person in hawaii is successful, the whole hawaii is successful.” i think it was an amazing speech and i’m sure the whole entire state of hawaii, including all the polynesian islands in the south pacific are very proud of this amazing athlete. what a great role model!

back to south/east taiwan. everybody in hawaii asking me how it was. all i have to say is “excellent.” Kimura-san on an excellent wave.

Hayato Maki on the long bottom turn with his selfmade handshaped 5’3.

Snake vs. Crocodile
Good morning 6am.
North shore 2-3′ from the North. Laniakea and Rocky Point best. South shore 2-3′ and clean. Smaller than yesterday. Ala Moana best conditions. Trade winds at 20mph.
Clouds, showers, sun, and rainbows.
Going surfing.
Have a wonderful day!

welcome to winter in hawaii. it’s pretty dam cold and doesn’t get colder than this. i’m wearing sweatpants, sweatshirt, socks, and i’m still cold at night. still warmer than 0 degrees japan so can’t complain.

finally downloaded the photos of my trip. on my first night in tokyo, i was lucky to eat a special order leg of a ham. aged 3 years and by far the best ham i’ve ever eaten in my life. this is fine dining japanese style! i wish i can have another piece.

everybody loves japanese candy. thank you Toda-san!

when we where checking the waves in taiwan, Mori-san got out his Steiner Navigator binoculars. one look into the german made $2,000 binoculars, i could see for miles away. clear and crisp. now i know what i’m buying myself for christmas!

woke up this morning expecting chest high waves. i was wrong! it was overhead and perfect! i went to surf bowls and got so many perfect long barreling waves. one of my best sessions of 2014. so stoked!

coming off an airplane and paddling out into warm water yesterday felt so good. i really expected the waves to be super small but i was still excited. especially when i seen head high sets and perfect conditions!

teaching kids how to surf is so rewarding. watching them getting better and better makes me as happy as they are.

and once you can duck dive, you will see another beautiful world.

i planned to go out and catch a couple of waves but it was so good that i didn’t want to come in. perfection! it’s been a very lucky year for me when it comes to getting good waves. i hope that luck continues forever!

from japan to taiwan to japan to hawaii. sunset after sunset after sunset. the best way to end a perfect day!