Hopefully we are slowly coming out of pandemic mode, so we can return to traveling, sporting events, concerts and partying with family & friends.
My daughter’s family: Yvette, Erik, Noakai & Marlowe returned home to Battery Park City in early September after spending almost 2 years in Margate City, NJ during the pandemic. Marlowe is in second grade at Battery Park City public school and Noakai is a senior at Stuyvesant High School nearby.
My son’s family: Ryan is an instructor at Shipfitter Shop 11, Pearl Harbor Shipyard. Kara teaches kindergarten at Holomua in Ewa Beach. Jensen is a Junior at UH West Oahu. Madisen is a senior & varsity cheerleader at Moanalua HS. Allysen is a 6th grader at Salt Lake Elementary and is in club Cheer.
My brother Bruce Kimura and I used to go dancing before covid and now we occasionally have dinner together. He loves to sing karaoke. He is retired but still does small jobs for friends and family. He helps me around my condo whenever I need odd jobs done. We are each other’s airport shuttle. His baby is Sweetie, a lovable Yorkie.
My sister Christine lives in Boulder, CO with her hubby Phil Shull. Her daughter Desmonne lives nearby with her hubby Brian Bennett and their son Coen, who is now 5 years old and in kindergarten. They usually come to Hawaii in February, during their winter to warm up at our beaches.
My nephew Kazu Hernandez, who is a doctor at Schofield, reserved KMC (Kilauea Military Camp) for the Veteran’s Day weekend for Cliff & I, my niece Claudine with her daughter Chloe, and his two younger daughters, Ailah and Aulia. We took a day trip around the island to Punaluu, Kona, Hapuna beach and Kamuela. We also visited Pahoa, Kalapana and Hilo. During the summers we go tent camping at various beach campgrounds around Oahu with Claudine and Kazu & their kids, along with Madi &Ally. Last year, we camped at Malaekahana and this summer we camped at Bellows.
Grandma Lari’s Camps: Three times a year, I invite 7 kids to sleep in my condo for 5 days-during spring break, summer break and winter break, starting in 2020 & continuing in 2021. They love to come to play, swim, and have fun together. I taught them how to sew in March of 2020, and now they come with sewing projects of their own. Most of them already know how to cook breakfast and dinner, so they can prepare meals while they are here. They love to bake cookies, swim in my condo pool, take bus rides around town, play in Makiki District Park nearby, play board games, create skits & plays, play scavenger hunt, card games and more. We usually have a movie night with popcorn and Grandma chooses the movie. They love Uncle Cliff’s Instant Pot spaghetti, so they request it each time they come.
This year for Thanksgiving lunch, I ordered a delicious meal from LCC (Leeward Community College) culinary school. Cliff’s family came to enjoy Thanksgiving with us at his home in Kapahulu. Cliff’s son Jordan with Easton (5), daughter Dayna with her hubby Cayce and sister Liane with hubby Paul came for turkey lunch. (sorry, but I forgot to take a photo of Cliff’s family) We ate another turkey dinner at Ryan & Kara’s home in Salt Lake with Kara’s sister, Kandyce and her family.
On Fridays & Sundays I go to Tsutomu Nakao’s Dragon Beat Taiko classes at Jodo Mission. His classes are so much fun! Saturday mornings I go to the Kakaako Farmers Market on Ward and Ala Moana Blvd. Later in the morning I walk with neighbors to Sandra’s condo’s heated pool at the top of Wilder Ave, where we swim & do water exercise-sometimes we do more chatting then exercising!
Cliff Kimura and I met on Match.com in September 2020 and celebrated our One Year Anniversary this September. Yanagi Sushi was Cliff’s hangout late at night while he was working swing shift at United Airlines Operations office. He was a late night regular there for years and now we go there every Saturday night. In May his St Louis class of ’71 celebrated their 50th Class Reunion. We go to art museums, galleries, to the beach, dinners, enjoy wine (beer & sake too), watch movies & enjoy sunsets. Cliff enjoys his photography hobby and goes out often for various photo shoots throughout the year, which include Astro Photography, surfers, Raptor planes, sunsets, sports and more. When he is not taking photos, he is editing them on his computer and sharing them on Flickr and on his WordPress blog.
We traveled standby on United Airlines together for the first time in August. We went to LA for 3 days & flew to Denver for 3 days. In October, he couldn’t travel, so I went by myself on standby to New York to visit Yvette and her family for a week. On the way home, I visited Marcus and Linda in Kansas City, MO for a few days. We can’t wait to travel to Japan & hope to enjoy many future trips together.
May the holidays and the New Year bring you much peace, health & happiness.
Who knew? That we would be stuck at home for months? We are living in unprecedented times and will never go back to the old “normal”. Hopefully, the “new normal” will be much better. I love how Mother Earth has been rejuvenated since we all stayed home… we need to keep caring for Her with less abuse. Traffic has been so easy. We have many blessings during this pandemic.
Who knew? That I would cancel 4 trips: to Australia with Madi in March during spring break, to Myanmar to visit friends in April, to Fukuoka with 3 girlfriends in May and to Switzerland with 3 Pohakea teacher friends in June. Side benefit: saving money!
Who knew? That I would find a new romance in this pandemic? Cliff Kimura and I met on Match in September and are in a happy and loving relationship. We both enjoy travel, wine, jazz, photography and more. In fact, he is an avid photographer with a big camera and belongs to 3 photo clubs. We go on photo expeditions to Kewalos, Sandy Beach, Diamond Head, Pipeline and more for surfing & sunset photos. He gets some nice sunset photos from my lanai. Because we are not traveling, we are spending most of our days and nights together, meeting each other’s families/friends and watching Netflix and Prime Video. His son Jordan has a daughter Easton and his daughter Dayna is married to Cayce.
Who knew? That my new boyfriend would cook for me? And because Cliff retired from United Airlines, that he would share his flying privileges with me? We can’t wait to travel together! We walk to Kaimana beach from his home in Kapahulu, so we get our exercise and enjoy the ocean getting some vitamin sea. I invited 7 grandkids to sleep over for 5 days for Grandma Lari’s Spring camp during spring break in March. The “Bigs” are 3 high school girls, the 3 “Littles” are girls in elementary school and 1 boy in middle school. We had many fun activities: daily play in my condo pool, playing in Makiki District park across the street, board games & movie nights in the evenings. I taught them to sew their own pillowcases on my sewing machine. They wrote in their journals each evening.
In July, I had them over again for Grandma Lari’s Summer Camp for 5 days in July. More fun activities and this time, they each sewed their own masks. They loved it so much, they requested a Winter Camp in December. End of July, Kazu & Claudine invited me to a camping trip at Malaekahana for the weekend. The 7 kids spent all day in the ocean, we ate delicious food cooked by Kazu and Claudine, crab hunts at night and slept in tents.
I miss my daughter Yvette’s family in New York/New Jersey. They are fine and doing well there. Noakai is a Junior in NY and Marlowe is a 1st grader.
Both Cliff’s family and my family are safe and healthy. We are thankful for our many blessings. Here’s wishing you a wonderful holiday season filled with love! Love and aloha,
Lari
Slide show has many photos including many friends, families, visitors and activities during the past year.
In 1992, our Kimura family had a reunion in Mt Hood for Christmas. The cousins remembered how much they enjoyed being together there and wanted their children to have that bonding experience, so we planned a family reunion for Christmas in Colorado. I found a huge house called Homestead House in Dillon-Keystone area that sleeps all 24 of us (13 adults & 11 kids) with 8 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. We planned this trip well in advance. We set up a Christmas Eve sleigh ride, set menus for shopping and cooking, prepared for skiing, planned for events before and after the Christmas week, and more. Then unexpectedly, Kara’s mom died the day after Thanksgiving, so Ryan’s whole family had to cancel their plans to attend. Now instead of 24, our group was down to 19 people. We had to carry on without them.
Claudine and Yvette’s families and Lari stayed in Boulder before and after Homestead House. Kazu’s family and Bruce came just for the Christmas week at Homestead. Those of us who were in Boulder went to the Denver Zoo lights and the Planetarium show at CU campus. On Monday, Dec. 23, everyone drove up to Homestead after some of us did grocery shopping at Costco and Trader Joes. We settled in and bought pizza for dinner.
The house had foosball, pool table and all kinds of games, a fireplace and a kitchen with 2 dishwashers, 2 sinks, an island, and tons of dishes, pots and pans. They had parking for 6 cars and a hot tub outside as well as sleds for the kids to play in the snow.
Phil just got a hip replacement, and he couldn’t ski so he worked on his puzzle.
On Tuesday, Christmas Eve, the skiers went to Keystone while us non-skiers did more shopping. Since our Christmas Eve sleigh ride included dinner, we didn’t have to cook. All 19 of us rode in a sleigh pulled by 2 mules. During dinner they provided entertainment for our listening pleasure. We sang Christmas carols on our sleigh ride back. It was a fun experience for all.
Kazu and his girls along with Brian, Coen and Desmonne waiting for the sleigh ride
7 kids at sleigh ride dinner
On Wednesday, the skiers drove to Vail while the rest of us prepared Christmas dinner. We had shrimp scampi, prime rib and all kinds of sides. After dinner, the 8 kids were divided into 2 teams for a Gingerbread House competition. Both houses were fabulous, so the judges declared a tie.
Prime Rib for dinner!
Claudine always cleaned up!
On Thursday, the skiers were tired, so we decided to go to Keystone Lake for ice skating. The kids had a blast! For dinner on Thursday, we had Mexican with all the fixings for make your own tacos.
Friday was the last day for skiing… we prepared curry stew for dinner. Kazu’s cousins (on his Dad’s side) who live in Denver joined us with their kids. The 13 kids got to play games like scavenger hunt, card games and fun minute-to-win-it games.
While the kids were running around the house playing scavenger hunt, these adults played their own game.
Saturday, we cleaned up, and left the house to go tubing on Copper Mountain. We had a blast! Some of them made a train of 10 tubes sliding down the hill. Then off to the airport for Kazu and to Boulder for the rest of us.
Our last day at Homestead house.
8 kids
Whole group before leaving Homestead House… only Phil & Bruce are missing.
3-person train at Copper Mountain tubing
Back in Boulder, 3 families did some activities: Yoshiki, Aronesty & Bennett families tried going to the Wild Animal Sanctuary, but it was closed due to high winds. So for plan B we went to Urban Air Adventure, where the kids from 3 to 15 could enjoy indoor rock climbing, zip lining, trampoline, and much more. That evening we went to a Denver Nuggets NBA game at Pepsi Center. The next day, we did a tour of University of Colorado Campus, Yvette’s alma mater. It was very impressive. On New Year’s eve, we had dinner at Christine’s house and on New Year’s Day, the Aronesty’s and Yoshiki’s went home. Lari stayed a few more days and visited friends in Fort Collins and Denver.
Greetings to all from this “Townie” It has been a wonderful and exciting year for me, adjusting to life in Honolulu after living in Pearl City for over 50 years. Although I miss my Pearl City friends and neighbors, my life is so exciting with so many opportunities for fun right here in town. I am close to my doctors, my hair salon, my karaoke gang, theater shows, concerts, seminars, foodie events, birthday parties and much more.
As for my travels, this year, I did seven domestic trips and two trips to Japan. In January, I flew into Long Beach airport, a new venue for Hawaiian Air, to visit friends and family in LA and Orange County. In March to Seattle to visit friends and family. In April, Shari Tamashiro and I met in New York and did fun things there-mostly eating! and I also spent time with Yvette and her family and took a bus to MD to visit Shiomichi family to meet 2 new babies and Sharmaine and her family. May was a short trip to Kona with Roger’s ’58 Waipahu HS classmates, hosted by Buddy Barcelo at his home in Kona Palisades.
In June, I flew to Denver to visit my sister Christine and we both took a trip to Omaha to visit Kaitlin and her family. In July, Valerie Wabinga, Linda Burgher and Marcus Dowty went on a trip with me to Hokkaido. September was a Pahoa HS reunion in Vegas with my brother, Bruce. In October, I did a spiritual journey with 6 friends to Osaka, Koyasan, Kumano and Tenkawa. I learned about the Shingon Buddhist sect headquartered in Koyasan, a very spiritual place. After the week-long spiritual tour, Gloria Uyehara and I spent a week in small onsen villages, Kyoto and Kobe. We were lucky not to be affected by Typhoon Hagibis, which devastated other areas north of us.
For more in-depth information/photos of trips taken, please keep scrolling down to past trips for this year and many more previous trips.
This year, we are looking forward to having a white Christmas in Dillon Keystone area of Colorado. 24 family members (5 cousins with 11 grandchildren ranging in ages from 18 to 3 years old) will be housed in a huge lodge with 8 bedrooms, 5 baths, jacuzzi, pool table, and more. We will go on a sleigh ride on Christmas Eve, and skiing, snowboarding, and tubing.
I am so blessed with good friends and family whom I love, and they love me. My mission in life is to nurture those relationships as much as I can by spending quality time with the people in my life who mean so much to me. My life is full, and I am very thankful for my wonderful life and good health to enjoy it.
Love and aloha,
Lari
Opening day of Hawaii State Legislature with Wanda & Roy Takumi on the House floor
Shari Tamashiro is Uchinanchu of the Year for our Itoman Club
Wearing my traditional Korean dress at Halekulani banquet
Chinese New Year’s party
With Kathy & Derrick at Growlers USA
Ryan puts flowers for his grandparents
Oscars party sponsored by HIFF-Hawaii International Film Festival
Part of Guy Sibilla’s book club: David Jones, Marie Milks, and Judy Segawa w/Guy at my condo
We joined Kim Click at the Intrepid Museum in NYC
Shari gave me an edible birthday bouquet!l
Kiera gave me an edible bouquet for my birthday too!
I belong to a group of ladies who learn spiritual practices from Makiko, who comes to Hawaii from Tokyo yearly to teach us. Last year, we decided to go on a journey to Koyasan in Japan with Makiko, who offered to share some highly spiritual places in that area, which is southeast of Osaka. 6 of us from Hawaii met Makiko in Osaka and embarked on our journey to Koyasan, Tenkawa and Kumano in Nara-prefecture and Wakayama-prefecture on the Kii Peninsula of Japan. Linda Uehara, Mary Ann Kobayashi, Cynthia Chi-Coi, Laurie Ide, Gloria Uyehara & me w/Makiko took a train from Osaka to Koyasan, where we stayed at Fukuchiin, a temple ryokan. We slept on futons on the tatami floor and ate vegetarian (monk) food. We experienced going to an early morning (6 am) Buddhist monk service, and observed the sunrise in the zen garden immediately after. Koyasan is the center of Shingon Buddhism founded by Kobo Daishi aka Kukai. We participated in the annual Keshien Kanko ceremony which was very special. We walked through Okunoin, the largest cemetery in Japan with over 200,000 graves, some very ancient & covered with moss.
All aboard! ready for our train to Koyasan!
Makiko as we left our lunch restaurant in a drizzly rain. Isn’t she the cutest!
Laurie, Linda, Gloria & Mary Ann. Notice there are no tables, our monk food was way down low on those trays!
Right after our 6 am monk prayer ceremony, we turned around and saw the sunrise at the zen garden.
7 spiritual sisters enjoying the quiet morning
When we left Koyasan, Makiko hired a driver-guide, Kenji, who also studies spiritual practices and who knew of special spiritual locations which were new to Makiko. Kenji shared with us several spiritual places in the area of Koyasan, Tenkawa and Kumano. He drove us to Tenkawa & Kumano where we visited temples, shrines and more and stayed in ryokans. The reason why this is Japan’s spiritual heartland, a sacred place where the gods of Shintoism and Buddhism reside, is because the Kii Peninsula sits on a huge rock very deep (6,000 miles) beneath our earth, creating a strong magnetic field and thus a strong energy field. The mountains in the Kii peninsula are covered in dense forests with 3 pilgrimage routes from one mountain to another.
We are receiving good energy from this sacred tree.
This was a special zero energy spot, where 2 families who fought for 60 years, made peace at this spot. Zero because downward and upward energy balanced.
This is a big shrine that represents the Father of Japan.
Nachi Waterfall Shrine represents the Mother of Japan. In back row see Kenji-San our tour guide/driver extraordinaire.
After our last ryokan in Kumano, the rest of the group took the train back to Osaka, but Gloria and I embarked on our own journey along the shoreline of Kii Peninsula. First, we stopped in Kushimoto, a small village at the very southern tip of the Kii Peninsula. There, I lost my iPhone but recovered it at the police station where it was turned in, with the help of the station master, Mr. Miwa. The next day, we took the train to another small seaside village, Shirahama. At our small, old-fashioned ryokan, no one could speak English. But we managed to get around the village by bus, to see all the amazing sites there.
We are ready for our bath at our Kushimoto hotel onsen in our yukata.
Mr. Miwa, Kushimoto train master, helped me get my lost iPhone back at the police station! What a special man he is!
Spectacular Sandanbeki Rock Cliffs, Shirahama.
Then we took a longer train ride back to Osaka, and changed trains to Kyoto, where we stayed for 4 nights in a ryokan with hot springs right near the train station! Typhoon Hagibis was scheduled to hit Japan while we were in Kyoto, but luckily, it did not affect us there. We stayed in Kobe our last 2 nights, visiting the Earthquake Museum and Chinatown, as well as the shopping arcades… so many of them, seemingly unending!
In Kyoto
1000 torii at Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto.
Menbakaichidai, Fire Ramen in Kyoto!
Sorakuen Garden in Kobe.
Lari’s Top Ten:
10. Onsens daisuki!
9. Kushimoto village, where my lost phone was found at the police station
8. Zero energy grassy spot where we lay down on the grass
7. Shirahama seaside village
6. Spending quality time with 6 sisters, in hotel room, on train, etc.
5. Kenji and Makiko guiding us to special spiritual places
4. Walking the ancient path of the Okunoin cemetery
3. Nachi Waterfall Shrine
2. My strong emotional reactions to high energies which touched my heart
1. Learning about the Shingon Buddhist sect founded by Kobo Daishi aka Kukai
By the way: I went to a friend’s memorial service and noted that the Buddhist service was very different from the usual Hongwanji type of service. Then I found out that it was from a Shingon Temple here in Honolulu. I spoke to the bonsan and told him that I was recently in Koyasan, and he said he was born and raised there.
Gloria’s Top Ten:
1.We walked partially on an old trail that ascetic monks walk for over 100 miles from one mountain to another and experienced spiritual connections while we were there. They were curious about us as we were about them.
2.Sorakuen garden in Kobe was very beautiful with lovely flowers, the chysanthimums were as tall as we, trickling streams, the color of the leaves were unique to the garden.
3.Fushimi Inari shrine with 1000 red torii in Kyoto
4.Arashiyama bamboo forest in Kyoto
5.Nachi waterfall shrine
6.the peaceful zen garden at Fukuchiin temple in Koyasan
7.Okunoin the huge cemetery with over 200,000 graves
8.Kumano Hongu Taisha shrine where the tree waved to us
9.We stopped at a rock and sweet spring water where Aukai stopped on his journey, and next to it is a small building where we walked up the narrow ladder upstairs to where the monks pray
10.Shirahama, where we saw Engetsu Island with a hole and did beach combing.
Makiko’s Top Ten:
1. Tenkawa Daibenzaiten Tensha (where we happened to be at the ceremony)
2. Kechien Kanjo (ceremony at Koyasan, Kongo-buji temple)
3. Kawayu Onsen (the night of Oct.5th, the water of the hot spring was extraordinary!! My skin became so fresh like a 20-something girl!)
4. The grassy place near Tenkawa Daibenzaiten Tensha
5. Greeting Kobodaishi at inside of the Okunoin (maosuleum)
6. Eating soft cream ice (you were eating shaved ice) near Kumano Hongu Taisha.
7. The first restaurant we went for a lunch in Koyasan
4. Kukai Mausoleum – when you and Gloria felt his love
5. Kukai back of Mausoleum – at shrine where you and Gloria felt his love again
6. Kumano Hongo Shrine – where the trees waved to us
7. Onsens – mainly the last one at the Midoriya Hotel, the sulfur turned all my of Tiffany bracelets black LOL
8. Awesome vegetarian monk food
9. Roykan hard floor futons – hard and painful but happy to have experienced it
10. Zero gravity grass area – lying on the grass like happy children
Cynthia’s Top Ten
1.Makiko and Kenji-san’s earnest collaboration which resulted in an extra special journey for everyone.
2.Walking the same paths, visiting the same centuries-old structures/forests,witnessing or participating in the same services as generations of pilgrims before us.
3.Visiting sacred Okunoin cemetery and the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi; experiencing his energetic presence.
4.The synchronicities which led us to special experiences—notably visiting former living quarters of Kobo Daishi and purchasing rare and powerful “protection poster.”
5.Witnessing our varied, sometimes profound,emotional and physical reactions to places, situations, or energies—notably Lari, after she had kneeled and bowed before all of the altars in the Okunoin temple.
6.Participating in Scarnionne/group energy work to divert Super Typhoon Hagibis away from Japan.
7.Shojin ryori at Kadohama Goma Tofu Restaurant and Fujuchiin.
8.Enjoying the high quality of service, products, work ethic and artisanal skills of people and businesses in Japan.
9. Onsens.
10.Opportunity to experience and compare vibes of monastic Koya-san, countrysides, and Osaka.
Every other year, TCA (Taiko Community Alliance) holds a North American Taiko Conference. I went to UNLV in 2015, to UCSD in 2017 and this year to Portland State University in downtown Portland. The workshops and performances are amazing. Mary and I were roommates at a nearby hotel and we just walked over to the workshops at PSU. We’d walk by food trucks with amazing food and had deliciousness at the Saturday Farmer’s Market right next to the campus during our break. We took a trip to The famous International Rose Test Garden, where we enjoyed thousands of varieties of lovely scented roses!
Mary at the International Rose Test Garden
We loved the fresh, juicy peaches and delicious lunch here!
Taiko legend from Sado Island, Chieko Kojima.
Our Odaiko sensei, Isamu Kageyama doing a demo on the Odaiko (large standing drum)
Before the conference, I went a couple days early and spent time with old friends from Hawaii now living in Beaverton, Pam Ferreira and her sister Debby Higa. They took me to Willamette Falls and to lunch.
After the conference, I drove over the state line to Vancouver, WA, to stay with cousins, Jonathan & Heather Steinmann. Actually Jon is the son of my Kimura cousin, Kathy Steinmann, who also lives nearby with her other daughter, Tiffany. I got to meet 3 of cousin Kathy’s children and their families. One son live in Michigan. One night we went to dinner at Kathy’s daughter, Sarah Sherland’s lovely home, with a river and pond in their yard, that Sarah’s hubby, Will designed. I had so much fun meeting all my relatives in the southern WA area.
Jon & Heather have a menagerie at home!
Heather has 4 chickens and a trained cat.
Family dinner at Sarah & Wills home.
Yummy lunch with Kathy & Ron
Faith slept over with me at Heather’s and her sisters visited one day. They are Tiffany’s kids.
We visited the Columbia River, separating WA from OR.
I taught Kathy & Jon Hanafuda
Osso Buco for lunch at Swiss Hibiscus with Kathy and Tiffany.
Martin Wyss was in the kitchen helping Jennie at her Swiss Hibiscus restaurant.
I usually go to Japan in the spring and the fall. But this year, domestic trips took up the entire spring season, so I decided to go to Japan in July. The only place to travel to in July is Hokkaido, because the rest of Japan is muggy, humid, and hot. My friend, Kendra had gone to Hakodate, and I had not been there on my trip to Hokkaido 2 summers ago. So this time, I wanted to include Hakodate in my trip. I invited Valerie to be my roommate and Marcus and Linda from Kansas City to join us for their first trip to Japan. So I planned this 10-day trip for the four of us, starting in Chitose near the airport to Lake Toya, to Hakodate and finally to Sapporo. We ordered our rail passes and our pocket wifi from the JR website. I made all the hotel reservations near train stations.
We all arrived at Chitose airport in the evening, so we stayed overnight near the train station. The next morning, we traded our rail pass vouchers for our rail passes and made seat reservations to Lake Toya. The hotel provided a shuttle to pick us up at the station and the driver took us through the mountains on a scenic route. We got to our hotel, checked in, and since our afternoon was free before dinner, we took a lovely, leisurely walk along the lake front. There were sculptures and lake tour boats to enjoy along the way, with flowers and trees and benches. We went back to prepare for dinner in our kimonos. After dinner we went out to the lake to watch the nightly fireworks show. Then back to our hotel for our refreshing onsen baths.
Dinner at our Lake Toya ryokan. Many small dishes!
After breakfast the next morning, I did another quickie onsen bath before we checked out and took the shuttle back to the train station for our 2-hour ride to Hakodate.
Selfie on the train.
Our Sheraton Hotel was right next to the station. We stayed there for 3 nights and every morning we went across the street to the Hakodate Morning Market for fresh seafood breakfast! They had many choices of delicious seafood. On our first afternoon, we decided to look for some famous Hokkaido soft serve ice cream. The next day we toured around the city: we went to a star-shaped fort called Goryokaku, ate hamburgers for lunch at Lucky Perriot, and went to Motomachi-the European district where we had tea at the British Consulate and saw the Russian Orthodox church.
Goryokaku Fort
That evening, we took the ropeway up to Mount Hakodate for the view of the city at sunset and at night. It was very cold up there.
Hakodate city at night from Mount Hakodate
On our second day, we took a bus out to a small tropical botanical garden in a glass building. Then Val and I went to Yunokawa Onsen, while Marcus and Linda went to the Red Brick shopping area. It was only $10 for us to enjoy the lovely onsen and then beautiful 100-year-old garden near the lobby. Hakodate has several locations of Snaffles, where we got their heavenly, light & delicious mini cheesecakes. It was our favorite treat of the entire trip!
Lovely 100-year-old garden
We took a 4-hour train ride to Sapporo and checked in to the Nest Hotel, located between the train station and Odori Park. Great location!
The first thing we did after checking in was to look for Zoff eyeglass shop. We found the closest one back at the train station underground mall.
New glasses for these 3, ready in 45 minutes!
For 3 nights, we had dinner at the Bic building where on the 10th floor are many restaurants, including a ramen hall with several ramen shops. I was so excited to find Tonkatsu Tamafuji, that we had to eat there. I had never eaten at the one in Kapahulu, because of the hours-long wait.
We took a day trip to see the Tomita lavender farm, the blue pond and the Shikisai Hills flower farm. Although I had done these things 2 years ago, I didn’t want my friends to miss these. We were lucky because Yumi from Tokyo booked a private car w/English speaking driver who drove us around all day!
Tomita Lavender Farm
Shikisai Hills flower farm
The next day we took the train to Otaru, where we walked, shopped and ate our way around town. Val and I took a cab to Kim Glass Design where we tried our hand at blowing glass, making our own drinking glasses. It rained in the afternoon, the only rainy day of our entire trip!
Kim Glass Design
Our last full day in Sapporo, we walked to Odori Park, where we were lucky to come across a jazz festival there! Then we went to Nijo Fish market and went shopping at Daiso, Don Quixote and in the shopping malls on street level and below street level where there are mazes of shopping.
Notice the road repair gates with Hello Kitty.
The fabulous food! Of course, everywhere we went there was soft serve ice cream; Melon flavor, chocolate, lavender and more! Also, every city seems to have their own version of light and fluffy cheesecake. The seafood in Hokkaido can’t be beat for freshness and flavor. I’ve never had crab leg tempura until Hakodate. Peaches, melons, grapes, ramen, soup curry, tonkatsu, and ikura were all amazing!
Tonkatsu Tamafuji
Miso ramen, so yummy!
Juicy, sweet peach!
Crab tempura.
Melon soft serve
Lari’s Top Seven: (because I had done some things 2 years ago)
7: Fresh, sweet peach -with juice dripping down your chin
6: Tonkatsu Tamafuji (although Honolulu has one, I never went there)
5: Snaffles cheesecakes in Hakodate
4: Yunokawa Onsen and garden
3: Lake Toya
2: Hakodate Morning Market
1: King Crab and scallop cooked on the fire at Sapporo Nijo Market
Valerie’s Top Ten:
10: Hakodate Fish Market: Kani Tempura breakfast every morning with fresh fruit (preferably $40 grapes! 😂) Cantaloupe and Apples
9: 7-11: Morning coffee, Seaweed Musubi, Onzen (?), and snacks galore – wanted to buy them all!
8: Lake Toya: Enjoyed walking along the Lake’s pathway on that beautiful sunny day taking photographs of the activity, the scenery, the boats, and one another. One regret was not taking the boat to the four islands in the center of the lake.
7: The Blue Pond: Although man-made, the color is beautiful and mystifying. It was hard to leave.
6: Furano: Tomita Farms – The Lavender fields were beautiful; however, the lavender ice cream was remarkable!
5: Shikisai flower Farm – Amazed by the colors and designs created by the method in which the farmers planted their flower beds. Breathtaking!
4: Rooftop Yunokawa Onsen and 100 year old garden: In the garden, all the plantings were perfectly placed around the koi pond. What a wonderful place to find yourself or to become centered.
3: Sculptures: They were all so beautiful and they were everywhere! In public streets, in the park, the fish market… wish I could read Japanese! I’m sure each one had a story.
2: Glass Blowing with Kim: What a hoot, so much fun! The staff were so helpful, no stress! End product was gorgeous… to mine eyes!
1: And last, but not least, I loved the Ropeway Tower and Gorytaku Park with the temple in the center. I LOVE temples! The surrounding trees were phenomenal… The Historical buildings in Otaru, the Russian Orthodox Church, temples in the surrounding area – all AMAZING!
FOOD AND DESSERT: Given a choice, I would definitely eat dessert before dinner! SNAFFLES, all flavors, is my favorite!
Linda’s Top Ten:
10. Goryo kaku Tower and park, Hakodate
9. Blue pond, beautiful and weird.
8. Nikko in the rain.
7. Nebuta Museum WA-RASSE in Aomori.
6. Toilets!! They were clean, abundant, and free. What more could a visitor want??
5. The trains and other forms of public transportation were fantastic, and on time. Like our experience with the Swiss trains when the clock “clicked” the minute the train moved, clean and comfortable, and unlike the TGV you could see the view out the window. They could be that fast but were not, and this was good.
4. Lavender and lupine, et al. fields were beautiful and lavender ice cream much to my surprise was yummy!
3. Rice fields trimmed in marigolds.
2. I loved the social rules (being considerate of your neighbors, not talking on phone in train car, cueing for everything). The “rules” were frequently explained or printed in English, Chinese, Korean, occasionally in Spanish and German and obeyed. Soooo, civilized!
1. The Hokkaido “tour” arranged by Lari and meeting Valerie. It was great seeing you again, meeting Val, and thank you so much for doing the planning, Lari. Hokkaido had been on my 2-do list for decades.
Traveling & Making Connections
Over the past six months, I have been traveling domestically to visit friends and relatives. By staying with them or sharing a meal, I re-connect with loved ones near and far. Before I leave, I make arrangements to visit with different friends and relatives, asking if I could stay with them for a night or two. Then I rent a car and drive from house to house, just spending quality time with them. I don’t want them to go out of their way to entertain me or take me site-seeing in their area. I tell them that I just want to hang out with them in their daily life: chores, errands, soccer games or whatever they are doing, I would just go along with them.
Last October, 2018 I flew to the Bay area, because Hawaiian Airlines had a sale. I visited with Paul and Sigi in Point Richmond and went to a Halloween party with them. Then to Vacaville to stay with the Golden family, who were renovating their house. On to Lafayette to stay with Lovelle, my taiko friend and lastly to Monterrey to stay with my Pahoa HS classmate, Daniel and his wife Toki. (Sad note: I am so glad I spent time with them, because Daniel just died recently.)
Sigi and me at Halloween party
Sigi and Paul in Richmond Point party
Diane & Bronce in their unfinished kitchen in Vacaville
Chad and Cody at home
Lorin, Phil and Lovelle in Lafayette. Lorin and Lovelle are taiko friends.
Toki and Daniel in Monterrey. Daniel just died in May 2019.
In November 2018, I made a last-minute trip to LA, when I learned that Yvette and family would be in Manhattan Beach visiting Joe and Diane Aronesty for Thanksgiving. So I booked a flight and stayed with the Aronesty’s. We got to have dinner with Norway trip friends, Patti and Shunji, who live in Torrance. We also spent a day with Erik’s relatives from San Diego and New Mexico, going bowling and having fun with them. Mostly, we just went to the beach every day.
Diane, Yvette and Marlowe in Manhattan Beach
Thai dinner with Shunji and Patti and the Aronesty family
In January 2019 I flew to Long Beach airport, a new route for Hawaiian Airlines. Patti & Shunji picked me up and took me home to Torrance, where I stayed for 2 days. Then they kindly and generously loan me their car and I drove to Culver City to visit my cousin Ann and her family there! It was my first visit with Annie and her family and I had a blast getting to know her and her kids and grandkids! Then I drove to northern LA, near Glendale, where my childhood friends, Bev and Ethel Jane (AKA Ettie) live. I then drove to Fountain Valley to visit my former student, Richard & Debbi Ross and then to Nancy Bauer’s home in Fullerton. (I forgot to take a photo of the two of us.) She had just lost her husband, Jim, and we shared experiences. I ended up back in Torrance staying with Roger’s high school classmates, Reto and Nani. The next day they dropped me off at Long Beach airport.
Shunji, Patti, me, Sharon and Wenshing having dinner. We met on a tour of Norway in August 2019.
Cousin Annie and hubby Trace in Culver City
Downtown LA with Annie
Bev Nii in LA
Ettie Nii in LA
Debbi and Richard in Fountain Valley
Nancy w/Jim before he passed.
Nani & Reto in Torrance
In March, I flew to Seattle and first stayed with Phil & Jane in Renton. They are Pearl City HS classmates of Yvette. Then on to my cousin’s daughter, Elda in Bellevue. Then I drove to Federal Way to stay with 2 young doctors, Eve and Jenn, who took me to a friend’s birthday party in Bremerton, and to get a Korean massage the next day. I had lunch with Brett Hudner and his girlfriend Lauren. The next day, I met Wendy & Bridgett for lunch in downtown Seattle. Lastly, I stayed with TJ and Pam Bauer who live in a lovely home on Lake Tapps.
Phil & Jane Pearl City HS class of ’84 now live in Renton
Elda in Bellevue
Jennifer me and Eve on ferry to Bremerton
Lauren and Brett at Korean lunch
Wendy & Bridgett used to work for Symetra, now at Strategic Planning Partners in downtown Seattle
Pam and me in their living room. Zander is photo bombing behind me
TJ & me before he left on a business trip.
In April, I flew to NYC to visit with YENM (Yvette, Erik, Noakai, Marlowe). We celebrated Marlowe’s 5th birthday at a bowling alley party. I took a bus trip to Laurel, MD to visit cousin Gary & Sally. Every visit they have their kids and grandkids come for dinner. Then to Severn, MD to visit Sharmaine, David, Colin and Addison. (I forgot to take a photo of the Hornsby family!) Sharmaine is my cousin Brian Kimura’s daughter. I returned to NY and spent another weekend with YENM, going to another birthday party, this time at a Karaoke room in Korea town. Then I stayed with Shari Tamashiro in a nearby hotel. We spent 4 days eating our way around the city, going to art museums, getting massages and seeing 4 broadway shows.
Date with Marlowe to see broadway show.
Marlowe’s bowling birthday party
Matt & Audrey w/Layla, Grandma Sally, w/Quinn sleeping in front, Billy and Kat w/Lily and Grandpa Gary on far right. In Laurel, MD.
Hornsby’s new home in Severn
Sharmaine waiting for bulbs to bloom in spring
East Village crawl: we went to 3 restaurants! Noakai, Marlowe and Grandma Lari
Shari and I enjoying omakase dinner at Tori Shin.
Shari and I at Whitney Museum
We loved the flower show at Macy’s
In June, I flew to Denver to visit my sister Christine and her family in Boulder. The first night, I stayed in Fort Collins with the Wortmans. They always invite their kids to come to dinner whenever I visit and I have watched their grandkids, Marshall and Audrey, grow up through the years. Chris and I flew to Omaha for a 3-day visit with Kaitlin, Shaun, Kaia(3) and Liam(1). Kaitlin is cousin Brian’s youngest daughter, sister of Sharmaine in MD. It was my first time to Omaha, and Kaitlin with her 2 kids, took us to Old Market with cobblestone streets, to the fabulous zoo, to Lauritzen Garden, to Bob Bridge, and more. Back in Boulder, we visited Brian and Desmonne and played with Coen(2), went to the Farmer’s Market, visited Shirley Stokoe in Denver, had dinner at Riffs with Leslie-taiko friend from Denver(no photo), and I helped Chris cook Father’s Day dinner.
Tom and Tyke Wortman, Fort Collins
Audrey, Marshall, Brian and Lori-daughter of Tom and Tyke
Kaia, Kaitlin and Liam at the museum in Omaha
Chris and I on the Bob Bridge over the Missouri River on the state line.
Playing with Coen in his ball pit.
Grandma Chris with Coen
Fathers Day: Phil, Des w/Coen, me, Chris and Brian
We planned a pilgrimage to our family’s roots in Japan. My mother’s Hokada family came from Kumamoto on the southern island of Kyushu. My father’s Kimura family came from Oshima Island, Iwakuni in Yamaguchi prefecture. So Fred, Fumiko and Maya Hokada went to Kumamoto with us. Our cousin, Elvis Kimura, who lives in Hilo, went with us to Oshima Island. Kazu flew with Ailah and Aulia to Osaka and took the shinkansen to Kumamoto. Christine, Bruce and I met in Tokyo and flew to Kumamoto from Haneda.
Bruce and Chris did not like this hostel
Before flying to Kumamoto, we had dinner with Yumi, Asako and Koji. Yuba is liquid tofu and you eat the cooled “skin”.
My second cousin, Hiroshi Hokada took us to Kumamoto Castle, where we got to see some of the damage from the 2016 earthquake. They were having a festival at the castle, so we enjoyed entertainment with a picnic lunch and the kids got to play all kinds of games.
When we returned to their home in the late afternoon, we walked over to the Hokada grave site. When Chris, Bruce and I scattered our parents’ ashes it was an emotional experience to take Mom back to her ancestral roots. Cousin Fred’s wife, Fumiko comes from Nagoya, so she translated all of our conversations with our Japanese relatives throughout our visit. While we were at Osaka Castle, the ladies at home prepared a huge feast for dinner all spread out on a long table. All of us had a wonderful time getting to know each other and meeting all the relatives.
What a feast!
The next day, Hiroshi took us to Mount Aso National Park and we visited 3 active volcanic craters. Then we went to Takachiho Gorge, where we walked in the gorge and enjoyed the scenery and waterfalls there.
The next morning, we visited Suizenji Park, with miniature versions of the major sites in Japan, from Mt Fuji to Fushimi Inari Shrine. Then we drove to Nabegataki Falls, where we could walk behind the falls to the other side.
We stayed overnight at Ryokan Yamanoyu in Kurokawa Onsen village with Hiroshi and Takako, who left for home the next day. The next day, we did the “Onsen Hop”. Wepaid 1300 yen to visit 3 out of 25 onsens in Kurokawa, walking from one to the next. Then we drove to Yufuin, another onsen town. We stayed overnight, but didn’t get to see much of this town because we had a long drive to Iwakuni-Oshima Island to visit our Kimura relatives.
When we arrived at Oshima Island, Hitoshi Okabatake was waiting for us with Tony, a translator, that stayed with us the entire visit so we could communicate with our relatives. We visited the Kimura grave, and scattered our parents ashes there. The Okabatake family took us to a fine dinner at a restaurant and the next morning, we picked tangerines at their orange grove.
After they served us a delicious home-cooked lunch, we drove to Iwakuni airport and flew back to Tokyo.
Chris & I bought new eyeglasses for $60 made in 30m minutes, including eye exam.
Before Bruce left for home.
Lari’s Top Ten:
10 Buying new glasses for cheap in Tokyo from Zoff & JINS
9 Kumamoto Castle
8 Yufuin onsen village shops
7 Meeting and “chatting” with Japan relatives. In Kumamoto, we had Fumiko to translate, and in Oshima, we had a professional translator, Tony, with us the entire visit with Okabatake’s
6 Scattering Sue/Kongo’s ashes at Hokada/Kimura graves
5 Nabegataki Falls -walking behind it!
4 Being with cousins and family traveling together
3 Takachiho Gorge
2 Delicious home-cooked lunch at Okabatake’s and home-cooked dinner at Hokada’s
1 Kurokawa Onsen Hopping
Fred’s Top Ten:
10. Convincing Lari to study conversational Japanese?
9. Witnessing Christine scatter the ashes of Uncle Kongo and Aunty Sue at the Hokada grave in Kumamoto.
8. Hotel Breakfast buffet with the Kimura’s 3x
7. Spotting Mt. Aso from the propeller airplane on the way to Kumamoto and the scary landing at Kumamoto Airport.
6. The clouds and the mountains of Kumamoto reminded me of Hawaii.
5. Maya tricked me. She took a nice photo of Kumamoto Castle but it was actually a picture of a picture of the Castle. I didn’t even notice that it was taken before the earthquake!
4. Aulia correcting me saying “I’m not Ailah, I’m Aulia!”
3. The 800 year old tree at Takachiho Jinja.
2. Buying some Kumamoto rice for Mochi Tsuki.
1. Visiting the Hokada home. They were so good to us. It was just like visiting our aunties, uncles, and cousins here at home.
Fumiko’s Top Ten:
10. Okonomiyaki Place.
9.Local super market.
8. Souvenir shops
7. Propeller airplane to Kumamoto.
6. Hotel breakfast buffet.
5. Kumamoto Castle.
4. Mt. Aso.
3. Takachiho Gorge.
2. Hokada ancestors’ Graveyard.
1.Dinner @Hokada San’s House.
Maya’s Top Ten:
10. Hotel breakfast buffet.
9. Singing in the car.
8. Free hotel smart phone.
7. Propeller airplane to Kumamoto.
6. Okonomiyaki Place.
5. Kumamoto Castle.
4. Graveyard.
3. Hokada San’s House.
2. Mt. Aso.
1. Takachiho Gorge.
Christine’s Top Ten:
10 Takachiho Gorge
9 YufuIn shopping area
8 Sleeping & playing with Ailah and Aulia
7 Freddie & Fumiko, Elvis, Kazu & Bruce’s company
6 Lunch at Otabatake’s
5 Oshima (Yashiro) Island narrow streets
4 sunrise at Sunshine Sazanseto Hotel
3 Onsen Hopping
2 IchiRan (Saimin) Ramen
1 Scattering Mom and Dad’s ashes
Bruce’s Top Ten:
10 Picking Mikan at Okabatake
9. Sunrise at Sunshine Sazanseto Hotel
8. Mount Aso
7. Suizenji Esuko Park
6. Kumanoto Castle
5. Toto and other Japanese toilets
4. Kimura Grave
3. Hokada Grave
2. Lunch at Okabatake’s
1. Dinner at Hokada’s
Elvis’s Top Ten:
10 Suizenji Jojuen Garden
9 Yufuin Street shopping
8 Eating Soba in Oguni
7 Visited Kimura Grave
6 Riding Shikansen
5 Picking Mikan at Okabatake’s
4 Museum of Emmigration
3 Dinner at Ryokan Yamanoyu -Family and food (especially the horse meat)
2 Kurokawa Onsens (3 extra ones)
1 Oshima family Dinner: cousins and food (sashimi was fantastic)
Kazu’s Top Ten:
Ailah’s Top Ten:
10 Going on long train rides while playing games (w/ daddy & Aulia)
9 Eating & drinking sweets (a lot)
8 Playing w/Maya(in the car)
7 Seeing and feeding the koi fish
6 Seeing waterfalls -fav.-nabegataki
5 Going to many Onsens -fav.-okunoyu
4 Staying @neat hotels -fav.-Yamanoyu
3 Going shopping -fav-Daiso
2 Sagamihara-favorite -seeing Mia
1 Kumamoto -favorite-seeing my family
Aulia’s Top Ten:
10 eating sushi (it tastes good)
9 going to Kumamoto zoo (seeing the giraffe)
8 seeing coyfish(taking pictures of them)
7 going to see Nabegataki water fall
6 going to the Takachiho gorge (seeing the nice green water)
5 going to the Okunoyu onsen (going in a lot of pools)
lariyasui 