the swell forecast in the philippines changed everyday. one day looked like there will be waves, the other day flat. we just kept positive and things came our way as another typhoon came out of nowhere and formed in the perfect place. i almost changed my plans midway “should i fly to japan? should i fly to taiwan? i was ready to move but when i thought about the chance of finding a perfect barrel at the end of the road, i kept patient. and patience paid off as the last day was the best barrels i’ve seen in a long time. and the good thing about it is that only a few people in this world knows where it is. so the next time i go, i’m sure nobody will be out. that’s awesome!

my brother is 100% japanese but it’s his first time to japan. everything was amazing him just like it use to amaze me. so i know the feeling of culture shock riding trains and stuff. i was sleeping while he was wide awake checking out everything.

he even stood up to see where we were going. after we arrived at nagoya station, he was putting his train ticket into the exit machine. then i just ran away and hid around the corner. you should have seen his face. haha.

delta just upgraded some business class seats. can you believe it goes full flat and has a massage button? yeah, the freaking chair gives you a massage. i had it on the whole time.

and last, i teach my students always to look away from other surfers because where you look, you will go. Go-san seen a guy right in the way but turned his head and looked the other, avoiding a big accident. Go-san on one side, i’m on the other taking this photo. see that poor guy hiding under his board? haha. i asked him nicely to get out of the way earlier but didn’t listen. so i went down our surf highway anyway! after that, that poor guy went in.
surfing advise: if you surf local spots, don’t wait in the inside or somebody might run you over. i see it happen all the time.

The biggest hotdog in the world?
Good morning 8am.
Waist to chest high waves at Ala Moana and clean conditions. Head high at Diamond Head with side shore winds.
Trade winds at 15-25mph.
Sunny sky.
Going surfing all day!
See you in the water.

omg, what a beautiful day! the sun was shining, the sky was blue, the waves were good, the water was warm, and lots of aloha in the air. glad to be back to my ultimate paradise!

Toda-san and Takami-san were super cool enough to pick my brother and i up from nagoya airport. it must be a 3-4 hour drive from their house? these are my super good friends and they treat me like family. i am really thankful to have people like this in my life! we ended up sightseeing around nagoya and ate some super delicious 100 yen sushi. and i was surprised to see Fujiki-san!!! OMG, Fujiki-san came to the airport just to say hello. thank you all for being so kind!

i board the airplane and slept before we even took off. slept through and woke up 20 minutes before we landed. i must have been tired but as soon as i hit the ocean and saw some perfect waves, i woke up! super stoked to be back home.

it was pretty empty today. we had the lefts to ourselves for over an hour. shoulder high perfect waves.

and yes, rainbows everyday with the tradewind weather.

Go-san and Chieko-san are here for their honeymoon and surfed in hawaii for the first time. this young couple had so much energy catching wave after wave. we surfed for 3 hours and was so happy to see them catching big waves and riding them forever! thank you both for the wonderful surf session!

like i said, i’m so glad to be back home. i travel the world but know where my home is, right here in hawaii.

then we drove by diamond head to check out the waves. seen some 4′ sets and super good! heard the north shore has some waves too. perfect timing again!

i watched today’s sunset driving home as i told myself “gosh, i have a great life.”