Hawaii Trip Part VII

Ancient Hawaiian carvings called petroglyphs, near Kailua-Kona, Big Island, Hawaii.

Ah, nothing like good American-style seafood and pasta. The Kona Seaside restaurant was fabulous!

Some coffee beans at the Royal Kona Museum and Coffee Mill, south of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

Now do I really want to go in there? There might be monsters or something...

Amazing Views - Hawaii Trip Part VI

Each of the islands in Hawaii have different climates and vegetation in different areas on the island, and the Big Island was no exception. It took us about four hours or so to drive from Hilo to Kona, but it seemed like we drove from one world to another. Check out the above picture, taken north of Hilo on the east side. The trees and grass are green, due to the rain that side of the island gets.

Now this is the same road, on the other side of the island near Kona. No trees, and the grass looks dead. The climate is drier on that side. Amazing, huh?

A few kilometers later, we start seeing this stuff on both sides of the road. It took us a few minutes to realize that it was old lava, which came from volcanoes anywhere from 20 to 100 years ago. At one point, we got out of the car and took a look around. Nothing but dead grass and lava - a surreal scene.

Another view of dead grass and lava, as far as the eye can see.

On the Big Island - Hawaii Trip Part V

A sign near Hilo Airport letting us know where we are. Having lived on Oahu for three years before and never been to any of the "Neighbor Islands" before, our trip to the Big Island (properly called the Island of Hawaii) was the part I was looking forward to the most.

Some scenery north of Hilo on the east coast of the Big Island.

Me in front of Akaka Falls, north of Hilo.

Hawaii Trip - Part IV

A view of the beach at Waikiki. Before the trip, I had memories of Waikiki Beach being a crowded place, with people all around. I guess living in Japan has changed me, because it didn't seem that crowded this time around. My wife and her mother thought it was quite spacious, actually.

Performers at the Polynesian Cultural Center, about an hour and a half by car north of Honolulu, Hawaii. The exhibits were interesting, but the part I liked the most - the dinner - was the part my wife hated the most. I don't understand why; that luau food was pretty good.

An exhibit of Hawaiian items in a hut at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

A view of the Pacific Ocean from our hotel in Waikiki.

Hawaii Trip - Part III

If you ever go to Haleiwa, North Shore, Oahu, you should check out the landmark that is the Matsumoto Grocery Store. Here I am enjoying a shave ice (that's what they call a snow cone) purchased inside the store.

That shave ice, good as it may have been, was nothing compared to one of my favorite foods in the world, Spam musubi. A slice of Spam cooked in soy sauce, placed on top of sticky rice, and wrapped in seaweed, there's nothing else like it. Ummmm.... one of the highlights of my Hawaii trip, for sure. After 11 years without it, you can't blame me.

A shot of Chinaman's Hat, off the coast of the Windward side of Oahu, Hawaii.

A statue of King Kamehameha, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii.

Hawaii Trip - Part II

A photo taken during our drive to the North Shore of Oahu. If you look hard, you can see the ocean in the background.

A beautiful scene at Haleiwa Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii.

While at the North Shore, we stopped at this food shack called Giovanni's. The place doesn't look like much - they sell food out of the side of a van - but the food is good, as you can tell below...

A nice plate of garlic shrimp and rice. Good food, but we definitely needed breath mints afterwards.

Hawaii Trip - Part I

In April 2007 I took a trip to Hawaii with my girlfriend and her mother. It was my first visit to Hawaii since I graduated from high school in 1996. And so I thought, What better way to kick off this vacation than with a trip to my high school? So, there I am in the picture, standing at the front gate of my alma mater, Moanalua High School. Go Menehunes!

A young pineapple, Dole Plantation, Oahu.

Me having a pineapple of a time, Dole Plantation, Oahu.

Some of the greenery we saw at the Dole Plantation, Oahu.

Shot From Above

Earlier I told you guys about how Northwest Airlines screwed up the beginning of our Hawaii trip back in April 2007. This is one good thing to come out of it, I guess: a skyline shot of the Namba section of Osaka. In the foreground is Namba Parks, a shopping mall with a lot of shops, restaurants, boutiques, and a tower full of office space.

What's Up, Doc?

We went to this ranch/farm place in Sakai called Harvest no Oka sometime in March 2007. They had a pen full of rabbits, as you can see from the picture. Now, usually rabbits are timid and shy, and they don't want to go anywhere near humans. But when we moved close to the pen, they almost brought the fence down. Once we started feeding them the animal food that they sell, it was obvious why they were crashing the fence. Cute animals.

Gero

This is me in Japanese-style clothing in a lobby at an old hotel in Gero, Gifu Prefecture, February 2007. Known for its onsen (hot springs), Gero is a nice town, but other than the nice hot springs, there weren't a lot of other things to do.

The entrance to something called Gero Onsen Gassho Mura. Inside is a park with recreations of the ancient Japanese housing that Gero is also known for. We didn't go inside though; we didn't want to pay the entrance fee.

A view of the valley surrounding Gero on our way back home.

Extreme Close-Up!!!

Me and my girlfriend (now my wife) at the ski slopes of Akakura Onsen, Niigata, February 2007. Okay, so you can't see her face clearly. You better be lucky she let me even put this picture up. That's about all you're going to get, so live with it.

Akakura Onsen

The snowy main street of the ski resort of Akakura Onsen, Niigata Prefecture, February 2007. It was only my third time to go skiing. The first two times were in Shiga Prefecture. (You can read about my first trip here.) We had fun at Akakura, and I think I'm getting better at skiing. But we were dead tired after the weekend.

A view from the top of one of the ski slopes.

Some Pics from Ishigaki Island

Me at the northernmost point of Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, December 2006. It looks so beautiful, don't you agree?

This is chanpuru, an Okinawan dish made of noodles called soumen, vegetables, and some kind of meat I can't remember at this time. Anyway, I recommend it.

Another food I recommend if you ever go to Ishigaki is sa-ta-andagii, which looks and tastes like a donut hole. By far the best place to eat it is a shop called Sayoko, about one kilometer or so upland from the harbor. We couldn't get enough of it.