Kawena HIkari Kumu Hula: Aloha from Nigata

Four years ago, when I first moved here. I visited Nigata for the first time. Two-days ago, I came back to Nigata. I had so much to look forward to on this trip back, a Hawaiian concert and famous onsen. When I first went to Nigata, I actually dreaded it because we drove to and from Kanagawa which is maybe a 6-hours drive one way. This time we went in style. We rode the Shinkansen which was a comfortable 2-hour ride. When we arrived we were greeted by our student Kodama 先生。After meeting us, she took us to a nice bistro that served delicious dishes, for example: osso bucco, iberico ham salad, and deer liver paste. Sounds delicious doesn't it?

The night of the Nigata show was quite awesome. The acoustics in that concert hall were superb. The concert promoters were so pleased with the result and were boisterously pounding their chest when giving themselves props for doing such a fine job with their sound setup. Really though I must agree, the sound was SWEET. God job to my friend Jun and Yonezawa and all their staff.

Nigataʻs concert was special for another reason. Our student Kodama and her students were participants. For some of her students, it was their first time to dance on a large stage. Kodamaʻs students danced Ke Aloha and Akahikuleanaakapiko (Hewett). Watching them was a little nerve wrecking, maybe likened to parents seeing their child take their first baby steps. Needless to say, they all did awesome. I think the beautiful thing about Kodama and her halau is that they all danced with so much care (ていねい） and aloha（あい）. For me and Erisa their dance was the perfect dance. Congratulations to you all.

I have to say one thing about Erisa. She is a loving person. She might not be able at times to say how much she really loves all her students but I know and see from her actions that she will stand behind anyone of you, 100%.

One last mahalo to Kodama and for the students that made my beautiful lei. A lei gift is something I treasure very deeply. I appreciate all the time, effort and expense that went into making my lei. The lei you all made was exceptionally gorgeous. I took care of the lei and wore it during my show in Utsunomiya. I will wear it again during my lesson with my keiki on Monday.

Well my friends, I couldn't pass up this opportunity to write my blog to commemorate my wonderful time in Nigata. All the concert organizers, vendors, that are always kind to me, mahalo and see you real soon. To Kodama 先生 keep up the great work. To Ipo, thank you for coming with me on this trip to Nigata. We got to do more than what we had planned. We got to spend some relaxing onsen time together.

Nigata...hope to see you next year or sometime soon!

Me ke aloha always HI-kari.