What I'm Up Against

A week and a half ago, I started private lessons with a Japanese teacher. My first task is to learn the second alphabet: katakana. As if it were not difficult enough to learn 2 alphabets plus the thousands of kanji characters, I am also up against the similarities between characters....

Hiragana characters:
き and さ
こ and に
め, の, あ, and ぬ
ね and ぬ

る, ろ, and そ
は , ほ, and ま
れ , わ, and ね
り and い

Katakana characters:
ノ, ン, ソ, シ, and ツ

ウ, ク, ケ, ス, タ, ヌ, フ, ラ, ワ, and ヲ!

チ and テ
メ and ナ

ユ and コ

Japundit Posts

Needless to say, I haven't posted many articles to Japundit during the past month or so, as I was pretty busy with a few other things! The handful I posted are once again an eclectic collection. The article on Japanese work culture is very interesting and gives a good insight into part of Japanese society which confounds me I must admit. That article generated a fair amount of discussion on the website. The article on the best defense was a silly article on a woman who outsmarted a robber. The healthy diet article was also silly; it is about "eating champion" Takeru Kobayashi. Japanese whaling is controversial and is dealt with in one of the articles. The article on Japanese technology discusses some of Japan's innovations. I am concerned that developed countries which are more progressive than the U.S. (i.e. all of them) will develop the environmental technologies which we will all need to implement soon, so instead of exporting we will be importing while the profits go in the opposite direction. The last article is on the Ainu; an indigenous population in the northern part of Japan. I didn't know that Japan has it's own native population. It turns out that their fate is similar to that of the Native people in the U.S.

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Japanese Work Culture (Washington Post)

Best Defense: Gun? Knife?... Tea? (Associated Press)
Healthy Japanese Diet? (ESPN)

Japanese Whaling (Newsweek)

Japanese Energy Technology (NY Times)

Ainu Recognition (NY Times)

Notes

Progress Report: FINALLY! All the wedding/honeymoon posts are now up! The backup of posts is long so hopefully I'll pick up the pace now.

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A quick P.S.: My Ph.D. corrections were accepted today!!!!! So that means all that stands between me and those 3 little letters is printing 3 copies, binding them, and submitting the paperwork, all of which my friend Markus is doing for me (thank you again, Markus!).

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Two things to note first:
1. My computer completely died today (this post comes via Yumi's computer), so these posts might be even more intermittent than I had originally thought (and throws a snag into the PhD corrections which are due shortly - yikes!).
2. I'll be posting in the opposite order of normal posts, such that the whole Hawaii travelogue reads in chronological order; in other words new posts will appear below (instead of above) older posts for now - so scroll down to see if there is anything new.

Hawaii Summary

.. Well my wife and I are just back from Hawaii (I enjoy the novelty of the word "wife" but it will take me a while before I'm used to it!). I'd go into great detail about our 10 days there but if I don't finish my PhD corrections soon I will have the shortest marriage since Britney Spears. So today I'll post a summary of the highlights and then go into detail in the coming days.

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Overall, we had a great time and couldn't be happier with everything from the wedding to the honeymoon. We arrived on Friday June 20th and spent the better part of 3 days taking care of last minute logistics and details. On Sunday, June 22nd, we took everyone on the Star of Honolulu dinner cruise which was a lot of fun. The wedding was Monday, June 23rd and we were really happy with the way everything went from the beach ceremony to the cocktail hour to the dinner reception at the Sheraton Waikiki. On Tuesday, June 24th we took my side out to a fantastic brunch which was a lot of fun. Then Yumi and I joined her parents to climb Diamondhead, the iconic mountain at the southeast point of Oahu. After that we flew to the Big Island to start our 4 day honeymoon. Soaking in the beauty of the Big Island and Maui was incredible. The flora and fauna were spectacular but my highlights were the volcanoes, waterfalls, beaches, and cliffs. I look forward to sharing more stories and pictures in the coming days.

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P.S. I'd love to get pictures from those of you who were there.

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1. June 20-21: Oahu - Pre-Wedding

The first step in our journey was just to get to Tokyo's Narita airport which was no small task. We left the apartment around 5:00 pm for our 10:00 pm flight! Getting to the airport isn't the easiest thing -- we took 3 hours and 3 or 4 trains (and it cost around $25 each), but we made it. The 7-hour flight was relatively uneventful but I had never been so warm on a flight. I'm usually cold and brought a sweatshirt with me which I never even considered wearing. I was also assigned (by my bride-to-be who claimed the window) the uncomfortable middle seat and ended up with a sore neck. The weirdest thing is that we arrived in Honolulu 12 hours BEFORE we left Tokyo (10:30 am)!

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Our wedding coordinator, Sugako, kindly picked us up at the airport and whisked us off to a city office where we got our marriage license. Sugako then dropped us off at our hotel (the Ilikai). Then we walked over to the nearby Ala Moana mall where we shopped for a couple of hours (or more accurately we ate lunch together and then she dropped me off at Barnes & Noble and she shopped).

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Then we walked along the Waikiki beach to the Sheraton where we met up with my Mom and her best friend, Marilyn. Mom took us to Yoshiya the Japanese restaurant at the Sheraton for a fantastic meal.

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The next day, Sugako picked us up at 10:00 am and took us to Phil's Tux Shop where I was measured and then went across the street to Starbucks to meet our officiant, Kahu Bruce Ah Leong to discuss the ceremony. After an hour or two going through things, he left and we remaining three discussed other issues regarding the reception and other logistics. We then picked up the tux and Sugako dropped us back off at the Ilikai where Yumi and I parted ways for the evening. She met up with a friend and I walked back to the Sheraton to meet up with Mom, Marilyn, my brother Larry, sister-in-law Mary, and niece Sarah for a nice Italian meal at Villa Paradiso. The real excitement started on Sunday. Stay tuned...

2. June 22: Oahu - Dinner Cruise

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Sunday, Yumi and I had yet more last minute preparations to complete. In the morning, we got up and walked over towards the Sheraton where Yumi had her nail appointment (and was characteristically 10 minutes late). After dropping her off, I went to a Starbucks and continued to work on the slide show for the wedding (which I am sure I had already logged at least 20 hours working on). After a few hours, Socorro rang me and we met up for lunch and ran a few errands together. Time flew and before we knew it we had to get ready for the "rehearsal dinner" cruise on the Star of Honolulu. Everyone gathered at the Sheraton around 4:15 pm and we called taxis to get us to the Aloha Tower where the ship was moored. The cruise began around 5:30 pm and lasted until 7:30 pm. The time really passed quickly and it seemed that we didn't have enough time for all of the things available to us: the nice dinner, conversation, gorgeous scenery, and the traditional music and dancing which I found very impressive. After the cruise was over, we took taxis back to the hotel. I tried on my tux to make sure it fit and then my brother dropped me back at the Ilikai where Yumi and I continued to work on last minute stuff.

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3. June 23: Oahu - Wedding Day

The day started with Yumi going over to see her parents and me continuing to work on the powerpoint (you finally get to see it below! - I'm happy with the way it came out but am not sure it was worth all of the hours I put into the 10-minute presentation). She came back around noon with Chinese food and we ate lunch in relative calm. Around 1:30 pm we took a taxi over to her parents' hotel (Embassy Suites) where she would get her hair and make-up done. Around 3:00 pm I took the 5-minute walk over to the Sheraton where everyone on my side was staying. I went up to my brother's room and showered and put on the tux - it's harder than it looks! I got down to the lobby where most of Yumi's guests were faithfully waiting for our mini-bus and eventually my side made their way down and we rode over to Waialea beach while Yumi and her parents took a limo.

The ceremony started around 4:45 pm. We were happy with how it went; with a blend of English, Japanese, and Hawaiian. The setting was absolutely beautiful; we couldn't have asked for a nicer location. First, my Mom escorted me down the aisle, followed by my niece Sarah who was our flower girl. Finally, Yumi's parents escorted her down the aisle. Yumi and I presented leis to our parents and to each other. Of course we did the standard things such as vows and exchanging rings and we also said "personal sentiments." It's a bit of a blur (I'll have to check the video when we get it). I said to her that I was first attracted to her beauty, then intrigued by her intellect; I was captivated by her idealism and passion but what I enjoy most on a day to day basis is her sense of humor and playfulness. She said that when she first met me she knew that she wanted to marry me. We walked back down the aisle, officially signed the marriage license, and then proceeded with pictures; first a few with our guests and after they left on the mini-bus, Yumi and I continued with pictures on our own.

After 45 minutes or so of pictures, we took the limo back to the Sheraton in time for the 6:45 pm cocktail hour. We were out on a veranda at the Sheraton and enjoyed the hors d'oeuvres and drinks with a gorgeous sunset over the ocean. Around 7:30 pm we were ready to begin the main meal. The salad, french onion soup, and filet mignon were interspersed with a few speeches, the slide show*, and a song I was coerced (er, encouraged) to sing by my new bride (True Companion by Marc Cohn - thankfully after the videographer was gone!). It was topped off with our wedding cake and two other cakes that Yumi bought - one for my and her friend's birthdays and the other to celebrate my Ph.D. I was worried that the reception would go very quickly and be over by 9:30 pm but I shouldn't have been concerned because it went until the limit of 11:00 pm. After we collected our things, Sugako drove us back to our hotel where we got out of our get-ups. The tux was relatively straightforward but Yumi's dress and hundred hair pins took significantly longer!

P.S. Special thanks to Socorro for giving me her 147 pictures she took on the wedding day! :-)

*For full effect, watch slide show to the tunes of Billy Joel's This is the Time and The Wedding Song by Noel Paul Stookey (slides spaced 9 seconds apart). :-)

Slideshow

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4. June 24: Oahu - Day after Wedding

Tuesday morning, I got up at 8:30 am and started packing up, letting my new bride sleep in. I thought we'd have plenty of time to pack up but I was wrong. After an hour of packing, I awoke Yumi and she helped me pack up for another hour and we finally left to meet my familiy and friends at 10:45 am despite agreeing to meet at the Sheraton at 10:30 am. Nevertheless, we finally made it and then walked over to Eggs 'n Things which had been recommended to us. The brunch was fantastic. The servings were huge and delicious. It was a fun time; we were finally able to really relax. After breakfast we rolled out of the restaurant and said our goodbyes. We walked back to the Sheraton and on to Embassy Suites and met up with Yumi's parents.
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From there we took a taxi to Diamond Head which we duly climbed. I enjoyed the moderate challenge and the gorgeous views. After descending, we took a taxi back to the hotel, showered, and took a taxi to the airport, with a stop to drop off my tux.

Our Go! flight took us uneventfully from Honolulu to Kona on the Big Island, depositing us around 8:45 pm. We picked up our rental car and drove the short distance to our hotel: the Kona Seaside Hotel. It was bad. It must have been built in the 1970s and not touched since, although I have to say, we did have an ocean view. We were pretty unhappy but I took solice in the fact that Yumi booked it. :-) We walked next door to Quinn's for dinner and had a glutonous meal, then walked back and went to bed.

5. June 25: Big Island - Kilauea

Wednesday was one of my best birthdays ever with one $182 exception. We got up and hit the road with the idea that we'd take our time and enjoy the scenery between Kona and Hilo; the two opposite ends of the Big Island. We headed south and made a few stops at scenic points including a few that looked like they may have been on other planets; the volcanic landscapes were awesome.We continued south and in fact made it to the southernmost point in the United States. After an aborted attempt to find a green sand beach, we had a nice lunch (hamburger on Hawaiian bread) at the southernmost bakery in the United States (woohoo!). Our dining guests included some very curious birds.After lunch things really got exciting. Our first stop was the Punalu'u black sand beach. Yumi and I were mesmerized by the fine black sand and the ocean waves. We were walking along, transfixed, when we came upon a sign facing away from the ocean. We read it. "Turtles Resting: Stay 15 feet away." Hmmm... we wondered, I wonder when they come here to rest. We turned back towards the ocean and nearly had a heart attack as they were right there behind us. Huge. And well camouflaged by the black sand. We must have just stood there 10 or 15 minutes watching these huge and ancient creatures resting. Wow.Amazingly, the best was still yet to come.

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We entered Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and I was like a kid in a candy store. There were the incredible plumes of water vapor clouds rising into the sky, the vast volcanic landscapes, the calderas; I could barely contain myself.

In order to see Kilauea's fireworks show, we had to leave Hawaii National Park, head east, then south to the coast. Along the way, we stopped for a quick Chinese food take-away and started to make our way to mother nature's show. Ensuring that I was not dreaming my perfect birthday, John Q. Law stopped me for a very questionable $182 speeding ticket for supposedly 50 in a 25 mph zone. Of course the speed limit had been 45 mph on this 4 lane road and somehow I happened into a speed trap. Amazingly, this was my 2nd speeding ticket on a birthday! (I've only had a handful in my whole life, yet two on birthdays.) Anyway, after a little while we shrugged it off, filed it as a miscellaneous expense of less than 1% of our Hawaii/wedding budget, and drove on.
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We made it to the parking lot and walked over really neat, hardened lava flows to our viewing spot; about 200 yards/meters from where Kilauea's lava flows into the ocean. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

The cherry on the sundae was looking up at the night sky and seeing the beautiful Southern Cross; the first time I've seen it since I lived in Papua New Guinea. After the nearly perfect day, we drove to our B&B outside Hilo.

6. June 26: Big Island - Kona to Hilo

Wednesday night we got back to our B&B (the Inn at Kulaniapia) pretty late (again), so we weren't able to take advantage of the main feature: the private waterfall! So Thursday morning while my beautiful new bride slept in (again), I walked down to the picture-perfect waterfall. The owners of the place seemed to be a mismatched couple. He is a hippy-type from California that came out to Hawaii and stayed. She appeared to be an uptight, arrogant, aristocrat (or at least wannabe). In any case, the waterfall had been only accessible by helicopter or presumably serious hiking until they bought the land around it, and built the road and eventually the inn (and several others). Quite a cool project. When Yumi was ready we hit the road, this time heading north and took in a few more nearby waterfalls: Rainbow falls and Pe'epe'e Falls. We stopped for Mexican food at a place called Tako Taco which I was delighted to see. You see, as I'm learning Japanese, I come up with tricks to try to remember new words and characters. Yumi thinks I'm silly and have the sense of humor of an old man when I tell her my little tricks. For example, to remember ohashi (chopsticks), I envision saying "ohayo ohashi" (good morning, chopsticks). Well to remember tako (octopus), I thought of eating a tako taco! Vindication was mine. :-)

After our satisfying lunch, we headed on to the Waipi'o valley. It's a gorgeous coastline that would have been even more gorgeous if it weren't enveloped in fog and drizzle. From there we drove the Akoni Pule highway, stopping at a few view points, en route to the airport.

Once there, we ate a quick dinner and flew to Maui, arriving at 8:45pm. After picking up our rental car, we drove about an hour to our hotel, the Kahana Beach Resort. It was late and we were tired but there would be several hours before we got to sleep. First, we got there after the reception was closed, so we had to go through an elaborate proceedure to get the keys. We schlepped our stuff up to the 5th floor but the keys didn't work. So I walked next door to their sister property and they gave me new keys. Then we decided to do laundry (out of necessity) but the machine used quarters and we didn't have enough. So I walked back next door and got some quarters but not enough to wash and dry two loads. So I walked over to a bar I could see down the street. There I got us some (very late) dinner and some quarters. I hiked back to the hotel and we started doing our laundry. We didn't finish until 1 am which didn't give us much time to sleep because we already had plans for breakfast the next morning with my Mom and Marilyn at their hotel. Lastly, the "hotel" is really a condominium/resort/timeshare sort of thing. I was fine with it but Yumi was hoping for something a little nicer; she was not pleased that our bed pulled down from the wall!

7. June 27: Maui - Road to Hana

We got up Friday morning and drove from our hotel near Kapalua airport (north-east of the island) to Kihei where my Mom and Marilyn were staying. We had a nice breakfast together and then took them to the airport on our way to Road to Hana. It was nice to get to see them one last time and have some quiet one-on-one time (or two-on-two as it were).
.The Road to Hana is a twisting, winding, gorgeous drive which rivals any I've ever seen (think California's Highway 1). My Lonely Planet guidebook claims it has more than 600 twists and turns. It was a lot of fun just to drive it and soak in the scenery.
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Our first stop was Twin Falls which was nice enough but a bit disappointing after yesterday's waterfalls. After the 1/2 hour hike each way to the falls, my tired new bride was a bit grouchy so at the next stop we both agreed that I would hike the 45 minute Waikomoi nature trail while she took a cat nap.
.We continued on, stopping at various scenic points. We also stopped at a local stand for lunch and one of the biggest coconuts I've ever seen. It harkened me back to Papua New Guinea and the great coconuts I had there. We drank the coconut milk then ate the flesh and got back on the road.
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At the end of the road is the southern part of Haleakala National Park which contains the absolutely stunning Ohe'o Gulch which we hiked around on a bit of a lark but were very glad we did.
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It was here that our plans had to be revised due to some unforseen circumstances. First we learned that if we wanted to see the sunrise at Haleakala we would have to leave our hotel around 2:30 am. Then we found out that we couldn't continue driving around the island as we thought because the road was closed so we had to double back and redrive the entire Road to Hana in the dark as it was just past sunset. My wife is not only beautiful but smart, too. She realized that since sunrise is so early that we could manage to go to Haleakala on the day we left Hawaii before our flight. That took off the pressure to get back to the hotel quickly and essentially gave us an extra day to do what we wanted, sleep in a bit, and relax. So I took a deep breath, made a U-turn, and retraced the 600 twists and turns arriving back to civilization around 9 pm. We had a really tasty Italian dinner near the main airport. I was so tired from a whole day's driving that I could have fallen asleep in our little booth. Thankfully dinner rejuvenated me because there was still one surprise left for the day. If you look at the map of Maui you can see northwest part looks like a circle stuck onto the main part of the island. Because we thought our hotel was near Lahaina, we drove the southern path from the airport the day before and since Kihei is south, we drove that southern road again in the morning. Coming back from dinner, we figured it would be closer to take the northern road. In fact, I'm sure it is a shorter distance but what we didn't realize was that it was another "Road to Hana" with scores of twists and turns but this was completely rural and only one lane most of the way. What we thought would be a 45-minute drive, turned out to be another hour and a half. After the unexpected excitement, we finally got back, showered and collapsed into bed, happy with the knowledge we could finally sleep in and relax the next day.

8. June 28: Maui - Driving the Northwest

Saturday we finally were able sleep in! After a leisurely morning we drove south a short way to Lahaina where we walked around the shops and had a cheeseburger in paradise with an ocean view.From there, we drove back north to picture-perfect Napili beach. After some serious negotiation, I managed to convince Yumi to retrace our steps of the night before but this time being able to see the scenery. I'm glad we did because it was a gorgeous drive which rivaled the Road to Hana.

Upon reaching civilization again, we went shopping; mostly for lots and lots of omiyage (gifts) for friends and coworkers. After several hours of shopping we had dinner at a food court, drove back to the hotel, packed up and went to bed. Of course we had planned on going to bed between 9 and 10 pm in order to have at least a little sleep before getting up at 2 am to drive to Haleakala for the sunrise but true to form, we didn't get to bed until around midnight.