Hi all … we just arrived home from the airport and were met by three very crazy dogs! Our flight from Narita was very crowded (good news for Hawai’i tourism!) and we experienced something amazing after we landed in Honolulu – the airport staff were all very nice! Everyone from the gate personnel, immigration, and customs, were very welcoming and personable! We’ve been traveling back and forth to Japan several times a year for the past 3-4 years and this is the FIRST time we were pleasantly greeted! I guess someone finally listened to all the complaints and did something – CONGRATULATIONS!! Now … be consistent and keep it up!
Our last night in Tokyo was a real blast! After we finished our performance at the Nihon Seinenkan, we went to dinner with Ann, our manager, and her husband Sam. Sam ordered us a couple of draft beers while we were waiting to order, and I knew I was in trouble when he downed his mug in one big gulp! It was all downhill after that as we went from beer to sake, and I don’t remember too much except that we ended up singing karaoke till almost 2am! I felt kind of bad afterward though, because it also turned out to be Ann & Sam’s wedding anniversary and they ended up spending their anniversary evening with us nut cases!
I was moving pretty slow the next morning, and it took quite an effort to get out of bed and start packing our bags for our return flight later that evening. The boys and I had meetings that day, but our good friends, the Taguchis, came by to visit and took the ladies out to a wonderful sukiyaki lunch! The Taguchis are such nice people and have been so good to me and my family! MAHALO!!
I like to extend another warm mahalo from me & my family to all of you who made this trip a huge success … Takashi, Takashi, Shane, Ann, Sam,Tadao, Erika, Naoko, Nao, Miyuki, Naoko, Nishio-san, Kurihara-san, Mori-san, Hidaka-san, Hirai-san, Mayor Hannemann, Mayor Akiba, Wayne, Don, Doi-san, Kawasaki-san, and all the rest!
I’m starting to get a little punchy now, so I’ll stop and get some sleep! I’ll probably remember more stuff in the next few days so I’ll be sure to add it to my blog!
Aloha, the “D”
Hi Dad!!
Otsukaresama! Sorry I can’t to see your show at nihonseinenkan, but I’m glad to see you and your Ohana at Airport when I finished work! I’m so happy:) I hope to go to Hawaii next year?! And Mahalo for worry about me. Actually my doctor said my sickness can’t recover. But I’m so happy.
I had not a pain when I came to Hawaii last month!! Mahalo for your plenty ALOHA!!
Aloha
Aloha Masako!
It was nice to see you before our flight last night, and I’m sorry I wasn’t able to talk with you longer. Please take care and I hope we see you again soon!
Mahalo,
“D”
Lloyed-sam,
I’m glad that you all returned to home safely!
Thank you sooooo much for your visit & performances in Hiroshima!
I was so blessed by meeting you all again and enjoyed your music at several occasions during your stay in Hiroshima.
Hope to see you all again very soon!
Mahalo!
Hi Masuko!
Thank you for coming to our performances in Hiroshima! It was so good to see you again and I’m glad we got to visit for a short while.
We arrived back in Hawai’i this morning and plan to spend the rest of the day trying to catch up on our rest!
Please stay in touch … mata ne?
Aloha,
“D”
Aloha Dad!
I hope all of you could enjoy Japan tour:) It was first time to see the long-sleeved IOLANI!!! Look so nice!(^^)b Do you have ladies long-sleeved??? By the way, the leis seemed to have been short for you guys… I’m sorry about that!
Aloha from Hiroshima, NAO♪
Hi Nao,
Yes, this was the first time we wore long-sleeved shirts to perform. I’m not sure whether we’ll continue because it was so hot on stage!
I’m not sure whether IOLANI makes long-sleeved shirts for women – perhaps you need to ask Carla.
Aloha,
“D”