The Pandemic of 2020 and helping each other out

Whew! It's been a while. My first blog post in more than four years...and here we are during this once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, and starting Shutdown Part II here in Hawaii. The past 5 months have forced many of us to take inventory of our lives, reinvent ourselves, teach ourselves new skills and stretch beyond what we ever thought we could accomplish. 

During this pandemic, I've learned that we need to help each other out when we're able. Every other Tuesday, my friend Blake Kajiwara (who gets a huge hand from his awesome wife Traci) is at the Kaiser High Farmers' Market selling some of his signature items. His prices are great and the food is even better. Check it out! 

 

Osaka: the Aquarium, Dotonbori, Mizuno store and Osaka Castle

We enjoyed Mr. Ryutaro Nohara of MK Taxi so much in Kyoto, we decided to hire him for the day again on Sunday, April 17 to take us to Osaka. But Sunday was supposed to be rainy, so we decided to start the day at the Osaka Aquarium. It's about an hourlong drive from Kyoto to Osaka, so we got there in time for the 10 a.m. opening. 

Mr. Nohara's tours don't usually include admission for him into the Osaka Aquarium, but we wanted him to hang with us so we paid for his admission...and the aquarium is so well done! It is awesome! It is one of the world's largest aquariums and features close to 30,000 animals. 

The centerpiece of the aquarium is the HUGE tank that holds all different animals, including rays, sharks, fish...you name it. I loved the jellyfish too. Before leaving, I even got a chance to touch a ray. As you can see, it was quite a surprise for me - don't know why, but it was. :) 

Leopard Ray at the Osaka Aquarium was quite slimy - to my surprise. 

We all enjoyed our visit to the Osaka Aquarium, even if it was a "rainy day activity" with the forecasted to rain. But we didn't see much rain, so we headed for our next stop, which was Dotonbori district for some quick shopping and eating from street vendors.

And oh my gosh, the food didn't disappoint there. I even saw someone I knew from Hawaii at Dotonbori - amazing how small this world has become. 

Dotonbori District in Osaka...more shopping and eating!

But back to the food...G and I had Starbucks' cantaloupe melon and creme frappucino that they introduced in Japan in April. The line was out the door and everyone was ordering that. I didn't get a good photo of it, but it was a little strange with bits of fruit at the bottom. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it sure didn't seem to have the caffeine kick I usually get from the fraps. Then the four of us shared the most AMAZING takoyaki from a  street vendor. Squid isn't usually my favorite type of food, but I decided if someone is preparing it right in front of your eyes, then it's gotta be good. And it was AWESOME. I think I could go for a tray right now. Yum yum!

Then it was off to the Mizuno store in Osaka, where Mr. Nohara just parked outside and waited for us while we went shopping. What a cool guy! I know the guys really wanted to go there and G has been talking about Mizuno irons since we first met. No, he didn't buy clubs, but found a lot of other swag, including some judo stuff for his judo rockstar nieces.

The forecasted rain never materialized, and it turned out to be such a great day that everyone was out at the parks on that Sunday near the Osaka Castle. So we had to wait for parking to open up, then it was quite a long walk to the Osaka Castle. Up stairs, around the park, more stairs and more stairs! Aaaahhh! It is a very impressive castle...those imperial people sure knew how to live. At the top, there are great views of Osaka and the park nearby. Amazingly beautiful. 

Alas, it was time to head back to Kyoto for the hourlong drive (which took 14 minutes on the shinkansen, by the way.)...and a chance meeting with the Westin Kyoto doorwoman Misae, who's a very striking, tall Japanese woman who says she LOVES coming to Hawaii to eat. She also took our photo with Mr. Nohara below. What a GREAT third day in Japan. 

The four of us all smiles after a day in Osaka with Mr. Nohara.

Kyoto: learning about Japan's imperial heritage and history

Kyoto is the former capital city of Japan and it has a population of more than 1 million. I had heard people say about their Kyoto experience: "once you see one temple, they all start to look alike," so I was beginning to wonder if that was indeed true. I found out it is NOT. First of all, a temple is Buddhist, and a shrine has its background in the Shinto religion. And in Kyoto, there are hundreds of them, so you just need to choose several to see. One way to gauge which locations to visit is to see if they're designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a "World Heritage Site."

The dazzling Kinkaku-ji Temple in Kyoto.

Our first stop was Kinkaku-ji, which was originally built by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu more than 600 years ago as his residence. The temple is easily recognizable with its gold-colored exterior that reflects so beautifully on the water that surrounds the temple. It actually burned down in 1950, but was rebuilt in 1955.

Then we stopped at the very impressive Nijo-jo Castle, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. This was built was Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, and served as the home to several shoguns. At this castle, I learned that samurai protected the shoguns, and that the ninja protected the samurai.

Our next stop was to old town Gion, where they do the maiko (geisha in training) and geisha outfits for women who want to walk around Kyoto. That is the one thing I really wanted to do, but didn't get around to do doing that while in Kyoto - oh well, next time. 

Following that, we stopped at the Ryoan-ji Temple, which is the famous rock garden where 15 rocks seem to float on a bed of carefully raked rocks. Our guide explained that 15 is a very auspicious number in Japan, so that's why the 15 rocks. 

The top of Kiyomizu-dera with stunning views of Kyoto.

Our next stop was to Kiyomizu-dera, which is one of the most popular temples to visit in Kyoto. It is recognized for its veranda that sticks out of a mountainside. It was simply gorgeous...and we got lucky with the weather because it was an amazing day in Kyoto on that Saturday, April 16. Look at that sky above the pagoda at Kiyomizu-dera - no filter or editing on that one. And we even saw some cherry blossoms too. What an unforgettable day, but it wasn't over just yet.

At Kiyomizu-dera.

This got us ready for the grandest one of them all: the Fushimi Inari Shrine. This is the one that is renowned for its thousands of vermillion torii lining a path up to the mountain. It is about a 2-hour hike to the top (no, we didn't have time for that). On this beautiful day, all the sightseers were out, and Fushimi Inari Shrine was so crazy busy. So, our tour guide/driver dropped us off at the front (which is directly across the JR Inari station if you're taking the train), and we made our way up.


There is also a famous scene in "Memoirs of a Geisha," where she runs up through the torii, of course Garett had to try to repeat that. :) The bottom is lined with many different food booths, souvenir shops, places where you can write out your prayers, this is the ultimate experience. I don't have enough superlatives to describe the experience at Fushimi Inari Shrine...I always wanted to come here, and I finally did. 


Before I close this entry, I must give props to our tour guide/driver, Mr. Ryutaro Nohara of MK Taxi. He is so personable, knowledgable and passionate about making sure visitors to Kyoto have a great time. Hiring a driver for the day is one of the best things we could've done...if you go to Kyoto, I highly recommend getting one from MK Taxi...they are the best, and Mr. Nohara is wonderful. 

Japan for the first time

Three years ago, the man and I went to New York City with his college buddy Brandon and his girlfriend, Tara. It was their first time to the Big Apple and we went during the Christmas season where they saw The Tree for the first time. That experience never gets old for me. And neither do travel experiences. Like New York City, Japan is a very experiential place, where you make memories with others...the more, the merrier.

This trip was nearly a year in the making as we decided that if the three of us were going to Japan for the first time (it wouldn't be the first for Garett), we'd go during cherry blossom season. We were able to find very good airfare on Hawaiian Air back in May of 2015 - about $600 per person...what a steal!

Tara, Brandon, me and Garett in Osaka where we had the most amazing takoyaki from a street vendor.

So, let the planning begin. Lucky for us, Garett is a planner and he had been mapping out our trip over 11 months - even arranging to buy our JR Rail Passes from JTB here in Hawaii. Did you know they don't sell them in Japan? So you HAVE to get them here in Hawaii and bring them with you - don't forget!!!

When he booked our airfare, Garett knew we would fly into Osaka, go to Kyoto, Hiroshima, Miyajima, then make our way back up to Tokyo via shinkansen (bullet train) and fly out of Haneda. 

On the first night we landed on Thursday, April 14, we just took it easy and checked into the Hotel Nikko Kansai Airport - very close to the airport and the train station. We needed a good night's sleep for the next eight nights. I'll detail the days in upcoming blog entries, but if you plan to go to Japan and cover as much ground as we did...just remember two things:

1. Bring the JR Rail Passes with you  - especially if they're for the Green Car, which is first class (or else you have to buy them a la carte there).

2. Look into a luggage transfer service - that was awesome to just take an overnight bag to Hiroshima and have our luggage transferred for us to Tokyo without having to take our heavy suitcases on the shinkansen.

Je t'aime, Paris!

Amazing photos from Lindsey Kent of Pictours Paris

After going to the Super Bowl (2011) and The Masters (2014), what sports-related trip could possibly top those two? Probably going to see the Dallas Cowboys win in London!

I had never been to Europe before, but the man had, and he made sure it would be a trip I would never forget (no, he didn't propose). 

Jerry Jones, Garett, me and Roger Goodell
(with special guest star Jason Witten in the background).

We stopped in London first for the Dallas Cowboys-Jacksonville Jaguars game at Wembley Stadium, where we got a photo with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones. It was totally unplanned and we had no idea we'd have field access, but my friend Tom, who's with the NFL, orchestrated the whole thing. He even took this photo. And to top it all off, he later got both Mr. Jones and Mr. Goodell to autograph the photos for Garett and me. What an amazing memory! 



After London, it was on the train to Paris...the City of Lights. A few things struck me about Paris...it is HUGE and the Eiffel Tower IS all that and more. I wanted to go up to the Tower multiple times (daytime and nighttime), so it's a good thing I could make reservations before our trip online - that saved a lot time.

The highlight of Paris had to have been our photo session at the Eiffel Tower with Lindsey Kent of Pictours Paris. Never in my wildest dreams did I think G would go for it, but he was a good sport and went along and even brought a nice white shirt for the photo session. It was a lot of fun and the only regret I have about it is that I didn't spring for multiple locations. It's not cheap, but it was certainly worth every penny.

On our way back to Hawaii, we stopped in San Jose to see my sister and her family and attend the UH-San Jose State game, which turned out to be the only road win for the Rainbows in the 2014 season. What a perfect trip!

The Masters

What an amazing trip to Augusta for the 78th Masters!  The first PGATour event after the Masters gets underway today, so thought it was a good time to reflect on the extraordinary memories we have from two weeks ago.  In a nutshell:

Ernie Els (l) and group walk up the 18th fairway
during a practice round on Wednesday, April 9.

The course is much hillier than you could ever tell on TV.  The hills are unbelievable.  Need to give the pros credit for walking all those hills and still shooting lights out.  

Yes, food is cheap. Just $1.50 each for their signature Pimento Cheese and Egg Salad sandwiches.  The most expensive item is $4 for imported beer - not bad!

And if I could do it all over again, I would jam that box I shipped back with much more souvenirs.  They offer shipping there for all the stuff you buy, and while we did pack a box, we sent it off after just the first round of purchases.  Oops!

Finally, if you have an special items you would like to photograph there, don't forget to take them with you.

The famed 13th green at Amen Corner - Azalea

Of course, you can only bring in cameras (no phones - just cameras!) on Practice Days, which is why we lucked out so much getting the Wednesday, April 9 practice.  Not only was it the Par 3 Tournament, the weather finally got better that week after all the rain on Sunday and Monday.  

My best memory?  Just being there...over the next couple of days, I'll post more pics. 

The Trip of a Lifetime

Yes, the No. 1 golfer in the world won't be at the party this week, but we will.  :) And that's good enough for us.

It all started back in July 2013 when the significant other told me he got chosen in the lottery for Masters tickets for the Wednesday practice and Par 3 tournament.  Wooo hooo!  What an ideal day for first-timers since that is the day you can take photos and you might get lucky with an autograph or two.  Because once tournament play begins on Thursday, you can forget about those things.

Today, on the eve of our Masters experience, we played The Landing, which is one of six courses at the Reynolds Plantation in Lake Oconee, Georgia.  And since it's been raining so hard in Georgia (the Monday Masters patrons were out of luck yesterday - so I heard - because of all the rain), it was cart-path only.

These mainland courses are much tougher than the ones we duffers are used to in Hawaii. Here, the fairways are sticky and the greens are slick, so playing without carts presented quite a challenge.  But we had a great time, and are very much looking forward to our visit to Augusta National tomorrow.  Photos to come in a few days.