Tokyo, Japan

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A Buddhist Temple outside of Tokyo.

My first trip to Japan was a business trip that included stops in Amsterdam and Tokyo. At the time I was working for a big four accounting firm. The client was a software company located in San Francisco California’s Silicon Valley. My responsibility was to go to the Europe and Asia subsidiaries to look at controls they had in place to ensure that the company was in fact receiving all the royalties they were due for licenses issued.

After leaving Amsterdam, I flew to Hong Kong by flying over Russia and China, a twelve hour flight. There was a short layover in Hong Kong and then I flew for another eight hours to Tokyo. Arriving in Tokyo's Narita International Airport was a much greater language challenge than Amsterdam. The customs information to be completed was thankfully in both Japanese and English. However, due to security concerns and Japanese immigration procedures, customs took about an hour to clear.

After going through customs and picking up my luggage, I quickly found an ATM and picked up some Yen. Then using a tour book that explained about the JR (Japan Railway) Narita Express Train to downtown Tokyo and a helpful person at the travelers’ information desk; I was able to navigate the airport, purchase a train ticket at a ticket office in the Narita terminal, and then locate the correct train to the Tokyo station.

The trip to downtown was about an hour on the train. Sitting on the train I couldn’t understand the announcements, but there was a scrolling English language sign that indicated the various train stations. A Japanese mother with a small boy sat across from me on the train and even though I didn’t speak any Japanese, the boy kept laughing and talking to me. I just smiled and said hello. My stop on the JR Express was the Tokyo station where I was able to grab a taxi to my hotel the New Otani Hotel. When I entered the taxi I just said "New Otani Hotel" and the driver said "Hai" (Yes) and we were off. Evidently, even though he didn’t speak a word of English, he knew my hotel or at least I hoped he did. One word of warning about taxis in Tokyo is to be careful opening the door. The driver opens the passenger door automatically and if you reach to grab the door you can end up with a smashed hand. I only made that mistake once.

Flower Arrangement in the lobby of the New Otani Hotel

Arriving at the hotel, I was greeted by ladies in kimonos that bowed and welcomed me to the hotel. I checked in and was up to the room in a flash. I showered and waited for a call from Catherine, my wife. Catherine was flying in from San Francisco so we could spend the time together in Japan. Very shortly, I received the call from Catherine (thank God for cell phones). She had also grabbed a taxi and let me know she would soon be at the hotel. I ran downstairs and was very happy to have her with me. After some rest we went out on the town for dinner.

The gardens at the New Otani Hotel in Tokyo.

The accommodations at the Hotel New Otani included an American style breakfast and you could look out at the hotel's ten acre Japanese garden that has waterfalls and ponds. On a clear day, when you got off the elevator on the way to our room you could see the Tokyo skyline and off in the distance Mount Fujiyama. The main hotel in Tokyo opened in 1964, to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics and I remembered seeing the hotel in an old Cary Grant film made during the 1964 Olympics.

Another view of the gardens at the New Otani Hotel.

In the mornings, as I got ready for work, I watched Japanese Television that had a show of puppies playing with classical music in the background, nothing else no commentary, just the puppies playing for about half an hour. I don’t know why, but I found it to very peaceful and entertaining. Catherine was especially helpful on this trip because her mother was Japanese and Catherine had heard some spoken Japanese when she was growing up. As a result even though she doesn’t speak or read Japanese she could use a Japanese phase book and correctly pronounce the words.

My wife Catherine flew from San Francisco, California to meet me in Tokyo, Japan

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Island of Hawai'i (Big Island) - Hawaii

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Catherine and I went to the Island of Hawai'i, also known as the "Big Island".

Hawai'i is said to have been named for Hawai'iloa, the legendary Polynesian navigator who first discovered it. However, other accounts attribute the name to the legendary land or realm of Hawaiki, a place from which the Polynesians originated, the place where they go in the afterlife, the realm of the gods.

At San Francisco airport waiting to board our flight to Hawaii.

Photos from our plane before we landed. In the background (at the top of the photo)you can see the volcano Haleakala, on the Hawaiian island of Maui and at the botton is the Island of Hawai'i.



In this photo, you can see some of the volcanic rock surrounding the Kona International Airport.

When we landed at the Kona airport, we were greeted by Hawaiian music and hula dancers.

During our stay on the Big Island, we stayed at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel.

The entrance to the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel.

The view of Hapuna Beach from our hotel room.

The lanai (balcony) of our room.

Our room at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel.

There were all sorts of birds on the grounds of our hotel.

Photo of Plumeria blossoms.

Views of the grounds of the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel.

Our first night we went to a luau at the Royal Kona Resort.

Removing the pig from the underground oven at the Royal Kona Resort luau.

Desert table at the luau.

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Waipi'o Valley - Big Island Hawaii

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While Catherine and I were on the "Big Island" of Hawaii we were driving to the Hilo side of the island and we saw a sign to the Waipi'o Valley. We decided to go exploring to see the Waipi'o Valley.

Waipi'o Valley also known as the Valley of the Kings. This was the place where the Hawaiian royalty resided. There are 2,000 foot cliffs around this valley and waterfalls drop 1,200 feet from the Kohala Mountains to the valley floor.

Waipi'o was once the center of Hawaiian life and somewhere between 4,000 to 20,000 people lived here from the 13th to 17th centuries. In 1780 Kamehameha I, was singled out as a future ruler by reigning chiefs here in Waipi'o Valley. In 1791 he fought Kahekili in his first naval battle at the mouth of the valley. In 1823 the first foreign visitors found 1,500 people living here. The valley was full of fruit trees, banana groves, taro fields, and fishponds. In 1946 a tidal wave drove most residents to higher ground.

View of the coast from the road we took to the Waipi'o Valley.

A tree in bloom we saw on our trip.

View of Waipi'o Valley

There is a black sand beach at the mouth of the Waipi'o Valley.

Today only about 50 people live in the Waipiʻo Valley. These are taro farmers and fishermen living in the valley. In this photo, you can see some of their houses.

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