Welcome to beautiful Tokyo!

what’s a samurai? to me, a samurai is a person that is strong, smart, loyal, trusting, and will do anything for honor. for my whole life, i was infatuated with samurai’s and when the last samurai movie came out, i was sold that the samurai still lives. some people believe they still exists, some people don’t. for me, i totally believe they still exists in some form. for example, my Grandpa Osaki was a samurai to me. i can write a book on his values, morals, trust, respect, strength, and honor. no, my grandpa didn’t have a ponytail or carry a sword, but just his presence was enough. the reason why i bring up the samurai topic is because a few of my friends here in hawaii tell me i’m dreaming and samurai’s don’t exist. i’m going to prove them wrong and maybe someday they will turn from american girls to japanese geisha girls. haha.

ok, the time has come. since 3/11, we went on 7 missions to tohoku. we made many friends, many experiences, and many memories. i went back last night to look at all the photos we took because i wanted to put myself back in that time. some tears of sadness were rolling out, and also tears of joy. i remember the nights we slept in the freezing cold in tents or cars, and i remember the nights we were in total darkness in places that were totally destroyed. it was a time that changed my view on life forever. all we needed was each other and that’s what got us all through this.

and seeing photos like this made me smile. just a simple bunch of green onion making this man happy. it were these smiles that made us keep going and going. after we unloaded our first 3 vans of supplies, there was no doubt in our minds that we had to go back.

and to especially see the kids smile was priceless.

from hawaii elementary kids to oshika hanto kids. we hand delivered personal letters the 4th graders in hokulani elementary to the 4th graders at this school right up the street from the tsunamis path. for most of these kids, it was their first time experiencing some aloha.

and getting back to the samurai topic. i’m a true believer that samurai’s exist. there are only a few samurai’s in my life and Kimura-san is one of them. i still can’t explain the feeling i got when i met this amazing man.

watching movies of japanese battles is one thing, but watching Kimura-san sparring was another. it was in awe! i was covered with chicken skin seeing this part of japanese culture right in front of my eyes. i will never forget it.
so to my friends in tohoku, i will finally see again you very very soon!

My sunset photo in Uruguay. I want to backpack travel again!!!
Good morning 6:30am.
North shore 1.5′ and small. Clean conditions.
South shore waist high at Ala Moana and shoulder high at Diamond Head. Perfect conditions.
No wind and super sunny.
It’s going to be a wonderful day.
Going to clean boat and head to the airport.
See you in Japan.