Big Dog's Life in Hawaii

Playing Golf again! ! !

info@sponavihawaii.com — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:59:00 GMT

Back on the golf course!!

I think it may have been over 6 months since I was on the golf course. I threw out my back playing golf at Waikele, trying too hard to get a good score.

We played at Royal Kunia which I think is one of the nicer courses on the island. We started on the 10th hole and it was such a beautiful day.

This is a picture from the 10th tee but you can actually see Diamond Head from almost every tee on this course. Golf should be enjoyed by all because it can be very therapeutic with the blue sky, green grass and the trickling sounds of the water hazzards. Though one must not forget to put on sunscreen or else you may need a different kind of therapy!

We were celebrating a birthday on this occasion and although it was only the three of us playing, we had a great time! Mr. Fujiwara and Ms. Ogane were handling a group of 6000 people that visited Hawaii over a course of 2 weeks. MAHALO for supporting Hawaii!

Minna mo Hawaii ni asobini kite kudasai! ! !

Japan Trip - Awaji Island - Part 2

info@sponavihawaii.com — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 08:07:00 GMT

Hello again!!

Just wanted to add a few more pictures of Awaji. It was such a nice place to visit and I feel that my wife was very blessed to be born and raised in such a lovely area. Acting like a tourist we visited a few famous places. Here is a picture of Kannon Sama. This extremely large statue can be seen from quite a distance. Though it is unfortuate that we could not visit inside.

While heading to eat lunch we needed to find parking and there was a lot near this fishing port. Awaji is actually an island and when you see fishing boats on an island, it must mean only one thing! FRESH FISH! Sashimi and Sushi! YUM!

We decided to check out a famous sushi place near by and when we first arrived, this is what we saw at the entrance. Talk about FRESH! This is Hamo, a seawater eel that is usually steamed and served with a ume sauce. Boy was this good.
We even had a broiled version and this was very tasty as well. I do not recall having such a tasty Hamo before, it was always rubbery and difficult to eat, but not this one.

Here is the gang that got together to eat a fresh selection of Sushi. We also had some draft beer during lunch and it was very refreshing. Don't get to do that at home too often!

Here is a picture of the workers at Masa Sushi. The whole time we were there, this countertop was filled, then empty, filled again and by the time we left, it was empty again. Thank goodness we were in the private room area.
What a great time I had in Awaji! It was very special to me that I got to visit my wife's hometown. Now, we are headed towards Matsuyama where her parents currently reside.
I will be sure to share some more of my local boy experience in Japan!

Nihon de no keiken wo minna ni share shitai desu!

Japan Trip - Awaji Island

info@sponavihawaii.com — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:10:00 GMT

Aloha!!

Big Dog here in Japan once again! I am visiting my wife's family in her hometown of Awaji.  We flew into Kansai International Airport and stayed with my friend for a few days. He is the one that drove us all the way to Awaji. Here is a picture of the highway exit ramp showing that we arrived in Awaji.

It was very unusual to see that there was a ferris wheel at this rest area. This location was called the Oasis and it was quite a large rest area. There were gift shops, restaurants, a food court area and a look out area in back. We could see the bridge that we travelled across to reach this destination.

Sorry, it was quite a hot day and the picture may not be very clear but you can faintly see the large bridge in the distance.  I think the temperature this day reached 35 degrees Celcius or 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Now that was HOT ! !

Awaji is very well known for its round onions, they are just as sweet as our Maui onions. Personally, I still think that the Maui onion is the sweetest among those that I have eaten.

I believe that everyone has heard and eaten takoyaki once before but there was a new dish from this area that totally amazed me.

It is called Akashiyaki and it is something that looks very similar to takoyaki.

You may notice that the way it looks reminds me of takoyaki as well.

But, boy was I fooled! It has a texture of a fluffy egg omelet but still includes the piece of tako surprise in the middle. The other thing that was different about it was that there was no takoyaki sauce. We ate it with a dashi broth. That is probably why I felt that it closely resembled an egg omelet just like dashimaki tamago.

I hope to be able to experience more interesting foods during my trip to Japan!

Iroiro oishii mono tabemasu! !

Aloha from Miyazaki, Japan

info@sponavihawaii.com — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 21:47:00 GMT

Aloha!!

Big Dog here in Miyazaki Japan for the Moku O Keawe International Festival. It is very interesting to see that the Aloha Spirit has travelled this far, all the way to Miyazaki Japan!

I thought that this sign was great, showing all of the people arriving at the Miyazaki Airport, that they were celebrating Aloha Month!

I know, I know, always talking about food but did you know that Miyazaki is famous for its juicy mangoes? I just heard that the most juiciest and flavorful mangoes cost about $100 each! I can go out for a nice dinner date for that price.

The Moku O Keawe International Festival will be held on July 4 - 5, 2008. If I am able to get any pictures of the event itself, I will!

Of course, if there are any good eats, I will be sure to introduce them as well.

Happy Independence Day! !
Hawaii no event wa Japan nimo takusan arimasu! !

It's another Matsuri ! !

info@sponavihawaii.com — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 08:17:00 GMT

Last weekend was the Pan Pacific Festival - Matsuri in Hawaii celebrations!

Featuring various performances from the Pacific Rim area it was a great weekend of festivities, a block party on Friday night and a parade through Waikiki on Sunday.

They are a sister event to the King Kamehameha Celebrations with their Kamehameha Floral Parade that starts from the Kamehameha statue and ends at Kapiolani Park on Saturday.

Personally I love to listen to the Taiko drums and there was this group called Nihon Taiko TAKERU and he put on an excellent show. On Friday night, it started to rain at about 9:30pm but that did not stop him from performing. The audience were so amazed that they stood in the rain and that made him want to perform even more.

This was one of the most exciting evenings that I have seen within this festival. They will be celebrating their 30th anniversary next year so it should be more exciting.

Minna de matsuri wo mimashou ! !

The correct answer is . . .

info@sponavihawaii.com — Mon, 26 May 2008 19:11:00 GMT

Wow! I have to thank ARAI-SAN for replying to this quiz!

TANTALUS is correct.

But did you know that there is a park called Ualakaa Park. There is a top parking area and then there is another one further in, but you need to access it on the left side before you enter the first parking area.

It may sound confusing but once you get up there, you will find it fairly easily.

It has a lookout point and the view is unbelieveable!

Minna mo itte mite kudasai!

Quiz Time ! ! !

info@sponavihawaii.com — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:05:00 GMT

Wow! Check out this view! Magnificent!
Can you guys figure out where I took this picture?
Too bad I can't do like a contest or something via my BLOG. Now THAT would be fun.

Well, I will give a small little hint.

Check out this next picture!
That is the hint.

I want to bring my wife here to have a picnic lunch and relax and enjoy this beautiful view.

If no one can figure it out, I will make sure I let everyone know where you can find this place.

Don't worry, it is not a secret place, although sometimes, beautiful locations such as this would be nice if kept as a secret.

Hawaii nimo takusan no suteki na basho arimasu!!

Iolani Fair - Go for the Gold ! !

info@sponavihawaii.com — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:45:00 GMT

Boy does time sure fly!  It feels like we were just here not too long ago but it has already been one year! This year it was both my parents, my sister and her husband, and my wife and I that decided to check out the Iolani Fair. Although we only live just down the street, we missed Friday but decided to come on Saturday. It was amazing to see so many people gathered in such a small area.

Near the entrance to the fairgrounds was the pickup area for the Trolley that takes you back to the parking area.

Need to buy those scrips if you want to buy things because this is the only place where they accept cash. Every where else, you need to pay with scrips.

There were something for everyone, although I must say that most of the "rides" and activity type structures were basically for the children. If I jumped into one of those, I think the structure would collapse!

Food booths galore and one of the best things to buy at the Iolani Fair are the piping hot malasadas. We eventually bought a bag of 20 malasadas and shared it amongst all of us.

This picture shows the tented eating area along with a stage in the back that featured live entertainment. It was good to run into a bunch of my schoolmates whom I have not seen for over 10 years.

I had to take a picture of this guy because he was having such a hard time climbing up this wall but he never ever gave up!

The last picture shows the tented area that contained all of the game booths. I could not imagine the various types of games that they created for this event.

Come to think of it, it has been 20 years since I graduated from this school. I guess our 20th reunion is going to happen this year?
Oh boy! Better start exercising because I sure do not look like myself when I was at this school!
HA HA HA!

Kazokude tanoshii jikan wo sugoshimashou!

Tempting Desserts ! ! !

info@sponavihawaii.com — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:51:00 GMT

Last week, we had friends from Japan on their honeymoon visit us. We did not want to disturb them whilst on a honeymoon but they insisted that we go to dinner with them. Since they have been in Hawaii for about a week now, they had a craving for Japanese food. So, we took them to KAIWA in the Waikiki Beach Walk area. None of the teishoku stuff but some good quality sashimi and tantalizing teppan dishes. Oh and of course, they have Sushi!

Well, I hate to admit it once again but I got carried away eating all the good foods that I forgot to take my pictures. So, I decided to take pictures of the desserts that we ordered.

The first one is called Sakura Monaka Ice. I like to call it Sakura ice Monaka because the ice cream is made with sakura or cherry blossoms with a very sophisticated flavor. The second item was the Maccha Azuki Ice. Azuki beans, ice cream and maccha shaved ice. I am sure it takes a great deal of time creating this item. The last item was sliced strawberries. We actually did not order this but since our friends were on their honeymoon, our waithelp gave this to us. How nice!

Tottemo oishikatta desu!

Sunday Walk and a Soccer Game

info@sponavihawaii.com — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:35:00 GMT

My wife and I decided to go on a Sunday Morning walk, however, we found out that our nephew was participating in a soccer game over at the Kapiolani Park before Noon. So, we decided to take our walk all the way to Kapiolani Park and watch our nephew play his soccer game. The walk was not so bad as it took only about 30 minutes to get there.

It was amazing to see so many soccer pitches at the park. The youth soccer games were divided into three pitches and there was a sign that indicated that it was the Sping Soccer League.

This first picture is our nephew in action. He was playing the position of goalie towards the second half of the game but this picture came out pretty good, so I thought I would place it first. These children seemed to be totally enjoying themselves and it was fun and exciting to watch!

Even the parents were passionate about their children's actions while they cheered and coached them from the sidelines.

The club that our nephews plays for is called the Riggers and he plays for the U-8 and U-9 teams. Sometimes he gets a chance to play for the U-10 team. There is also a young girl named Ally, I assume her full name is Allison, but she is one tough cookie. She plays for the same teams as our nephew and she sure has a "go and getum" attitude on the field. She is smaller in size compared to our nephew but she can handle herself very well amongst the boys.

When all is said and done, members from both teams gave each other a "high five" and thanked each other for the game. What an excellent way to show good sportsmanship!

I may need to take my wife to see more of our nephew playing in soccer games!

Kodomo no Soccer wa totemo kawaii desu!