A Day at the Kawailoa Bay

Chie and I are quite good at doing nothing. We are so good at it we can do it in the sleep. We started last night, and continued throughout the day today.

The beach at Kowailoa bay is quite a nice place do nothing at. So after doing nothing at home we went to Kowailoa bay. Running our rented cheap Hyundai (no power lock, mechanical window controls, mechanical back mirror controls, etc.) very slowly on the bumpy dirt road.



At around 5 pm it was finally time to do something. We drove back home and then went to the grocery store. Buying groceries for dinner, which tonight was beef steak and salad 😛

Hello Kauai

At 11:30 am we touched down on Lihue airport in Kauai. Got our bags. Got a rental car. Drove to sunny Poipu. And… We were home 🙂

At least that was how it felt. The great feeling of turning right after a steep, short down hill ride. And the ocean with Poipu beach opens up before you.

Poipu Plantation was as friendly as ever when we checked in. This is our 6th (?) year here and they start to get to know us now.

Our tradition is to go to Kiahuna beach the first day, after a short stop at Brennecke’s where bought lunch sandwich.

The whole afternoon we spent in the sand at Kiahuna. The group of 3 couples that we see every year we are here… Were here again. They sit in a circle at the beach and talk and drink all day long. We lay down a while away as to not disturb them by turning the pages in our books too loudly 😉



When the waves had grown to the size of Tokyo Tower we went into the ocean. Freezingly cold at first, but actually really nice after the first chock.

At 5 pm it got cloudy and started to rain a bit so we packed out things and went grocery shopping. In the evening we had tomato sauce pasta and salad for dinner. At home. Yummy!

Bye, Bye Tokyo

Left office at 4:30 pm and it was a relief. Walking slowly to the Shinagawa station without anything but vacation on my mind. And chocolate… I was quite hungry.

Chie and I got on the Narita Express. Arrived at Narita airport. Checked in. And went to the Delta Lounge to relax. Chie had some wine. I had some ginger ale. And we both had some salad and sandwich.



Flying to Honolulu was made in a blink. I could sleep very well, in business class 🙂

Arriving in Honolulu it was 24 degrees and sunny 😎 We went to the hotel, checked in and went out to do some shopping. Chie found some clothes and cosmetics while I bought some shorts at my favorite sports shop (Lululemons)



I also tried to by an iPad, but it was sold out 🙁 Better luck next time, huh?

In the evening we had dinner at Take-no-ko Japanese restaurant. It is one of the best restaurants in Honolulu. Very tasty.

Before going to bed I tried a new drink I never tried before. Neuro Sleep with melatonin. The drink was supposed to help get into a normal sleeping rhythm. I don’t know if it really helps, but it tasted bad and I slept like a log.

Back to Reality

Going back to Tokyo. Went to the airport to return the rental car at about 9 am. Then check-in and an hour or so resting in the Delta lounge reading my Ayn Rand book, Atlas Shrugged.

A summary of this years trip to watch an Oakland game… Great to see all the friends, great tail gate party, great to dedicate a weekend and some to football. And a back to reality feeling, Raiders is not the greatest team in NFL at present and no chance to win Super Bowl… This year either.

But next year 😆

Game Day

Early bird today to get to the Coliseum for the Raiders game against Chiefs. We met Eyepatchi-san and Andy at the Raider Image and drove together to the Coliseum.

We were there around 9 am or just past. The game started at 1 pm. So what do you do at a parking lot for 4 hours? TAIL GATE PARTY!


Tail gate party

All the food we prepared yesterday we brought today. And Eyepatchi-san and Andy also brought a lot of food. So we spent most of the time eating, eating, and eating. And talking about the upcoming game. All hope.


Chie prepares tonshiru Andy, Eyepatchi-san & Mash-san waiting for food
Shimura-san having a beer Mash-san is OK
Raider Nation Japan

Finally kick-off. Raiders first drive was 4 plays and a touchdown. Yahooo!


Many are disappointed in Russel

Many wants to bench Russel for his bad performance so far this season. We are hoping he has improved during the Bye Week, i.e. that he used the two weeks off to prepare and improve.


Mash-san waiting for the game to start Touch down Rrrrrraiders!

From there it was downhill. Until in the 4th quarter Russel was benched. But WRs dropped passes all day long so the final score was 16-10 for Chiefs. Another loss for our yearly trip. It has kind of become our tradition now.


Chie is disappointed after the loss

After the game we went to Ricky’s again to drain our sorrows in Coke and junk food. And first half of the Sunday night football game between New England @ Colts.


Ricky's Chie & Kikue-san are quite happy to watch Brady on Sunday Night Football

In half time we went back “home” to pack for our trip back to Japan tomorrow. It’s going to be a looooong trip.