eep

During this trip, my Aunty had asked about the ukulele we have

I was shocked when I opened my dad's ukulele case

It was fixed once before though I can’t remember exactly what needed to be done that time

I guess where I store it, it might be humid and hot so the wood on the front and back is separating from the sides of the ukulele

What was cool though was there were also photos and music at the bottom of the case that my Dad had left

On my next trip back I will go to Kamaka and get an estimate for the ukulele to be fixed 

Still, I feel bad that I didn't take better care of his ukulele.

sorry Dad!

paparazzi?!

Saw this guy pass me on the escalator in Umeda and thought it might be Jake Shimabukuro, a famous ukulele player from Hawaii...

I chased after him, and it turned out it wasn't, but I got a pretty good shot of his ukulele case.

Hope you're having a nice Easter Sunday.

aloha festival in osaka

Yesterday was the last day of a 3-day event called "Aloha Festival in Osaka", which was held in the courtyard of the Umeda Sky Building. The Umeda Sky Building has a garden area at the top called Kuchuteien, where you can see other buildings for miles on a nice day. (For some reason all the Japanese get excited about the view, but I can't seem to get excited over seeing miles and miles of buildings.) Holding up the garden are two towers which hold offices and other businesses. (Satoshi's German class is in one of the towers. )

Whenever I hear about events or foods that claim to be "Hawaiian", I try not to get my hopes up too high because most times they tend to be let downs. And a lot of times they tend to have pineapples on them....not that I dislike pineapples or anything like that, I just feel that Hawaii's cuisine has a bit more to it than that. Also, a lot of times the Japanese change the taste of things to match their palates.

So, I met Satoshi after his German class and we were excited to see something rare...the lunch wagons. The one on the left called Funky's and was serving hot dogs and nachos.

We bought their nachos with "real" fake cheese and salsa (350 yen = about $3.50). There was also another vendor selling Kona Brewing Company's Longboard Island Lager, Fire Rock Pale Ale and
Big Wave Golden Ale (600 yen each = about US$6)--we got the Longboard Island Lager.

The one on the right was called Yammy's (I wonder if they meant to call themselves Yummy's?) and was serving Loco Moco & Taco Rice. We stood in line for the Loco Moco & Taco Rice. After about 20 minutes we were able to get our food.

Here is Satoshi's order: Loco Moco (600 yen = about US$6). The gravy wasn't the authentic brown gravy, in fact, he didn't think it was gravy at all. He has decided that the only place to eat a loco moco is in Hawaii.

Here is my order: Taco Rice (600 yen = about US$6). Taco Rice is an Okinawan dish that was influenced by the American military there. I thought this was pretty close to the type of taco meat filling we have in the U.S. There were other booths there selling food but they were mostly hot dogs or curry.

There was lots of entertainment.

Lots of hula halau (hula groups) and ukulele players practicing before their chance to perform.

This group was waiting for their turn.

And even a shave ice stand...though it wasn't the same as Matsumoto's...I didn't get one but I don't think you could order a rainbow either....

but there were TONS of people! We went to the German Christmas Market a couple of times that was held in this same courtyard and the amount of people was nothing compared to what we saw today.

Aside from the crowd, we were happy to be able to listen to the Hawaiian music, although we both agreed there is no place like Hawaii (home).

Have a great week!

local foodie kind of weekend

Saturday, we checked out the Farmer's Market at KCC (Kapiolani Community College). There were all sorts of food items as well as potted plants and cut flowers. One item which I purchased was made by a local company called Honolulu Fudge Sauce Company. They have several different flavors mostly made with Guittard chocolates, but the one that caught my eye was their Premium Hawaiian made from 100% Hawaiian chocolate grown on the Big Island. With a name like "Spoonalicious" you know it has to be good!

Another item which I picked up was locally made honey. There is a co-op (which I didn't know about) called the Hawaiian Honeybee Co-op which makes different kinds of honeys in different parts of the islands. This particular honey was made in Enchanted Lakes (Kailua, Oahu) from a variety of flowers.

Sunday was the start of the Chinese New Year, to which you should greet others saying "Kung Hee Fat Choy" or "Happy New Year". It is the year of the Boar and a Golden Boar at that, which supposedly only comes around every 600 years! It is supposed to be a very lucky year, but also one for many natural disasters, so please be careful everyone!

I also got together with BFF and S for some shopping and noshing. It was a great time. At one of the shopping malls we went to, I searched for the Sahale Snacks, but still haven't found any :( Oh well, I guess I'll just enjoy the one flavor (Sing Buri) that I did find.

Next year or maybe at the end of this year, Whole Foods Market will be opening here, so I'm looking forward to more foodie finds on my next trip back home.

Monday was President's Day--a State & Federal holiday here. We got together with some of my relatives for dinner and a kanikapila (playing the ukelele (hawaiian musical instrument) and singing). It was great!

And lastly, today is Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras--the day before Lent in which rich ingredients such as flour, eggs and milk are supposed to be used up.

Even though my religion does not observe Lent, it gave me a good excuse to get some of my favorite--Champion Malasadas.

Hope you have a great week!