i was so happy to receive an email from my brother and Kaylan first thing this morning. after i opened it, i knew it was going to be a beautiful day! miss you guys!

for the past few months, i’ve been asking friend after friend about fishing. i’m not a patient guy and i don’t like fishing, but i still want to try my luck. today was so windy and bumpy that it was crazy to even think about fishing. but my local fisherman Robert and i went out to try anyway. after 1 hour, i told Robert “hey, bring in the lines, i’m over this!” he said “what? we going home already?” i said “no way, i’m not going home without dinner.” we pull in the lines, i get out my mask, snorkel, and spear, and took him to one of my secret dive spots. Robert said “hey, no more sharks out here?” i told him, “why did you jinx us???” of course there’s sharks!!! this is the ocean!!! but don’t talk about sharks when i’m about to jump into shark infested dirty water.” 5 minutes later, we see a huge 10′ shark swim right pass my boat. he said “i knew it!! that’s why nobody dives over here!!” i said “hey, sharks can swim so this shark can swim around this island in a day. hurry and jump in!” he says “no way.”

i jump in, it’s super dirty and deep, and of course, sharks are on my mind. i take 3 drops, spear 3 fish, jump back in the boat, and that was it. as i was driving back to waikiki, i was thinking to myself “why do i even waste my time fishing? i should be diving! more guarantee, more fun, more healthy, and much more cheap on gas. and the best thing is i can choose what i want to eat! these 3 prized fish are the best reef fish you can dream of. menpachi, munu, and moana kali.

i see something and as i get closer, it’s a baby hawaiian monk seal! he was playing with a dead pufferfish and just watching us as we were watching him. nature at it’s best.

then we pass by bowls and it’s super empty. only 3 surfers out on a beautiful saturday morning. why? because the waikiki parade blocked anybody from coming to the beach. lucky guys. i wish i had my surfboard.

this is a pretty big menpachi. he was hiding deep in the hole behind a huge moray eel. i had to think before i shot my pole spear into the hold. “ok, hit him good, and pull him out fast enough so the hungry eel doesn’t get him. man vs. wild.” most times the eel wins, but today i did.”

i love cleaning and preparing fish. i have the best japanese knives so it’s super easy.

spread some salt, grill it, eat it with rice and miso soup, and you have a very healthy delicious meal.

and after all the hot sun again today, i cooled down with some ice cold watermelon.
i have a new dream. not fishing, not diving, not surfing, but something else. will tell you tomorrow. good night.

No waves?
Go dive!

i had a wonderful 3 days with Banba-san. right from the start, i felt the connection. just a very kind and pure surfer with a great heart. Banda-san loves to surf and he loves his local surf spot, Kita-Izumi. i went there 4x after the tsunami demolished everything in its path. it was heartbreaking to hear the stories even 3 years later. it’s heartbreaking to think that it will never be the same. and it’s heartbreaking to know that the fukushima nuclear plant that is located just a few miles away is still unstable. i wouldn’t know what i would do if i lost one of my surf spots like that. but Banda-san and the locals are moving forward. banding together stronger than ever. it was great news to me that things are moving forward. Kita-Izumi is a beautiful beach with awesome waves. i hope to go there sometime soon and surf with the boys. to Banda-san and the local surfers, keep looking forward, keep surfing, and keep smiling! i respect all of you and hope to surf with you. we are one!

great to see Banda-san smile after 3 magical surf sessions. shaka for minami-soma!

i’d guess he caught over 80 waves in our 3 sessions? maybe even more! Banda-san is a great surfer that has the upmost respect for other surfers. that’s cool!

then we went to eat a healthy Acai Bowl for lunch.

then i went surfing again in the afternoon. surfed 5 hours yesterday in the raging hot sun! then wiped the sand off my feet and headed to a cool air conditioned building for my 4pm meeting. my lawyer and my accountant have offices in this building and while i’m walking up the escalator, i’m actually stressing out. but once my meetings are over, i’m walking down very relaxed, very relieved, and very happy. they are both the best in hawaii and without them, i’d be homeless.

if you ever tried to cook a hard tough hawaiian tako, good luck. it’s very tricky and can’t be done the japanese way because it’s just too tough. trial and error throughout the past 25 years has taught me how to cook it to perfection. first, you have to catch it. then throw it in the freezer to soften up the muscle tissue.

throw it in a pot. and this is where secrets are better kept secrets.

the tako was free, the ingredients cost pennies, and the result is priceless!