i had another awesome day! i left early this morning and came home at dark. like always, i was driving home with a smile on my face thinking of this beautiful day with amazing people. just to see the smiles of japanese people enjoying hawaii makes me super happy and proud to have been born and raised here.

Harada-san is a rugby player from kyoto. he’s been playing rugby for almost 30 years of his life and loves the game. he’s also a surfer and loves to ride waves. Harada-san is 42 years old and has a body built better than most 20 year olds i know. super strong, super fit, and super happy. the waves were big today but he kept riding, kept paddling, kept riding, and kept paddling. a power marathon surf session with long rides. i was so happy to see him catching some of the biggest waves of his life and turning right and left for the first time. amazing progress!

then in the afternoon, i went to pick up Yokomura-san. he started surfing at age 50 and never stopped. hooked on surfing, owns 5 surfboards, and just wants to surf, surf, and surf. a super cool guy who knows super cool people. the waves got even bigger this afternoon and i’m pretty sure Yokomura-san caught the biggest wave of his life. he took off at rockpiles, and rode it all the way to bowls. amazing ride! wanted to say hello to all the boys at TF Surf!

and the SUP’s were out in full force today. the waves were so perfect!!!

yes, big men can surf. this is not Toda-san, this is a bowls local.

paddle in your face. i like this photo because you can see all the action. always good to have my camera on me to capture the moments like this.

then these 2 cool japanese surfer guys paddle up to me to say hi. just so nice, so genuine, and so japanese. i’m sooo bad with names that i feel like shooting myself. they are from a surf shop in tokyo who one of my old school pro surfer friend shapes at. hello to you all and hope to surf with you somewhere in japan!
and after this wonderful day, i want to thank everyone of you who connect me with this wonderful world. first want to thank Go-Naminori for making my dream of connecting Japan and Hawaii to each other. i want to thank Addict Surf in Tokyo for sending Harada-san to me. i want to thank Hayato for sending Yokomura-san to me. both Harada-san and Yokomura-san wear Dove Wetsuits so that made me super happy too. thank you to everyone even if i can’t remember your names. i will never forget your kindness. aloha.

South shore summer fun continues.
5 hour surfing day.

yesteray had super fun surfing in the morning with Matsushima-san and Miuki-san. in hawaii for the first time as honeymooners. great job surfing! enjoy your rest of your honeymoon in hawaii!

speeding in the ocean is fun because there are no policemen and no speed limit. full throttle and feeling the freedom! and omg, i almost ran over a free diver yesterday. he was out diving in the middle of the ocean with no dive flag, no dive buddy, or no nothing. he’s lucky he popped his head up at the last minute of i could have killed him. in hawaii, it is required by law to have a boat and a dive flag when diving. that is to prevent people like me running you over.

and yes, another beautiful day in hawaii.

i went surfing with Yumi-chan in the afternoon. the waves were big so i was trying to teach her how to throw her board and dive under the waves. big waves kept on coming as i was yelling “throw your board and dive under!” 5 waves later, she came up and started crying. then i felt sorry and went into my “nice” mode. haha. she recovered, we laughed, and kept on surfing. i’m trying to teach Yumi-chan how to be comfortable in the ocean so after we went free diving. i couldn’t believe how deep and relaxed she was! now all she has to do is apply that to surfing and she will no longer have any fear.

thank you for the hilo avocado Yumi-chan! and omg, i totally forgot to take a photo with you. i guess we were just having too much fun and time just flew by.

i took my speargun out to a 40′ deep ledge outside waikiki. we always go there to swim with turtles and look at a lot of fish. 2 shots and 2 fish later, i scale and clean it in the water, and Yumi-chan took it home to her host family. i’m sure they will enjoy 2 very fresh tasty fish for dinner.