A snake or not a snake? That is the question...

Ok, we've all done it - snaked someone's wave. Sometimes it's an accident and sometimes that wave face looks soooooo juicy that we just have to burn a brutha or sista. So what do you think? Snake? Or no snake? At least it was a nice wave and nice off the lip!

O'neill Pro

Snapping photos at the O'Neill Pro was a little difficult because the break at Sunset is so far out. But what can you do? Lemons = Lemonade, right? =) All in all, it was great. The sun was out, free Rockstars were aplenty, people were smiling, the kids had a chance to play in the shorebreak, and the pros were giving a good show.

Are you ocean-minded?

New day...

I started the morning off with dawn session at Kewalos. What a great start to a beautiful day!

Breakfast in Japan

The interesting thing about breakfast in Japan is the egg. Let me back up a moment and make a generalization that food in Japan is prepared less (more raw) than in
America. Back to egg - the scrambled eggs were runny, the boiled egg was barely boiled, and the eggs in the basket were raw. The bacon wasn't crispy. The sausages were snappy. The natto was delicious.

No war

Nagasaki had nary a line of graffiti. Well, I take that back. This was the only graffiti I saw and I thought it was almost appropriate, considering the significance of Nagasaki (bombing of 1945). "No! War" - I concur.

Be nice or get out!

Scallop Jerky

Kit Kat collection

People collect stamps. People collect baseball cards. People collect cars and pens and tools and all kinds of stuff. I have a collection of Kit Kats. and it's dwindling...

最後の日 - Our last day in Japan

They say that all good things come to end and I'd like to add, "for now". We trekked on over from the hotel to my Grandmother's house to hang out until noon, when we would have to depart for the bus to Narita airport. The procession for the Matsuri started up again with the kids leading the way. I took my pal, Koro, for a walk. My cousin and her family came and brought me sake to take home. 為をありがとう! My aunt made sure that we were thoroughly stuffed with food and I sat next to my Grandmother who will be 100 next year. Grandmother goes to elderly daycare and when you reach 100 years old, they throw you a fairly extravagant birthday party and you receive the gift of 30,000 yen ($300). When asked what she wants to do with $300, she quickly replied, "I want a heaping bowl of shrimp tempura!" ?!?!?! Grandma, shouldn't you be eating a little healthier than a heaping bowl of tempura? Oh well... She can eat whateeeeeeeeeeeever she wants. =) I promised her I would be back next year so that we could once again share laughs. Until next year!

Mito Matsuri

The Matsuri (festival) really ramps up at night. While the children are out and about during the day, the (drunk) adults come out at night. Maaaaan I tell yah... Good fun!

Sake Factory

As a child who frequented Japan every summer, my favorite store was a few houses down. It was a toy store that had models and radio-controlled cars and games and candy and... You get the drift. When I returned to Japan 17 years later, in 2007, I was sad to see that the once welcoming doors were now shut and the toy store had gone out of business. What I didn't realize that right across the street was another business that I would have not had any interest in, at that young age. It was a sake factory. Oh Em Gee! For the Matsuri, they opened up a small stand in their driveway - $1 sake shots in a wooden box (more like 4 American shots), $2 Sapporo dark beers, chicken and beef skewers, and Miso soup. The sake was smoooooooooooooth...

More grinds & some beerskis...