Hawaii 1997
or "What I did on my Summer Vacation"
This summer marked the 80th birthday of Professor Wally Jay, founder of Small Circle Jujitsu (tm). His birthday was celebrated in a big way; two days of seminars and a huge banquet at the Sheraton Waikiki in Honolulu, HI. Ron Ogi, a teacher of Wing Chun Do and Small Circle Jujitsu, spent four years preparring for the event. It was a great celebration for Professor Jay.
Since I have studied Danzan-Ryu Jujutsu for many years, I have often heard stories about Hawaii and I have often dreamed of going there. Well, this was the perfect opportunity! I packed my bags and my daughter and I winged our way to the tropical bliss of Oahu. (By the way, you California folks had it easy with your 4 hour hops. The Chicago-to-Honolulu leg of my flight lasted nearly nine hours!) Anyway, the following is a collection of photographic memories of that trip. Some of these pictures relate to the Wally Jay birthday bash; some relate to Danzan-Ryu; and shucks, a couple are just pictures from the trip. I hope you enjoy!
Text and photographs Copyright © 1997 George E. Arrington III
Waikiki
After arriving at Honolulu Airport on Wednesday June 11, 1997, I checked in at the Outrigger Reef Tower hotel in Waikiki. This area is densely populated with hotels, restaurants and stores. To add to the fun, the streets are narrow and often One Way. One of the first things we did is headed for the beach where we beheld the beauty of the most famous beach in the world. Of course, the ever present Diamond Head, an extinct volcanic crater, punctuates the eastern side of the shore.
By the way, if you ever get to Waikiki, be sure to remember the name of your hotel. There are about 14 Outrigger hotels in Waikiki. Most of them are on a street that begins with the letter "K" and all of them are next to or around the corner from an "ABC Store".
Diamond Head
Our first major jaunt occured the next day when we went to the Diamond Head crater. You drive around the back and go through a short tunnel to get inside. Once there you hike the 0.7 mile to the top. The trail consists of dirt and rock switchbacks up the inside of the crater. Since the crater rim was once part of a military installation, there are some steps, a couple of tunnels and a dark spiral staircase before you reach your final destination. It's a fairly tough walk, but the view at the top is an ample reward.
The picture above shows the view of Waikiki from Diamond Head. The large hotel in the center is the Sheraton Waikiki, where the celebration for Prof. Wally Jay was held.
Thanks to gravity, the trip down Diamond Head is much easier. The photo above shows a weary "yours truly" heading back for the car. In this view, you can also see some of the trail further down.
(By the way, if you get a chance to do the big climb, remember to take a flashlight for the dark spiral staircase.)
Nikko and Hachiro Okazaki
After all that climbing, I was ready for a good massage. Fortunately, the best massuer in the world was only ten minutes from my hotel. Hachiro Okazaki, the eldest son of Danzan-Ryu founder Henry Seishiro Okazaki, still runs the restoration massage business that his father started back in the early 1930's. While the physical building has changed, the address is still 801 S. Hotel St. and it is still called Nikko Restoration Massage.
I had heard stories of Hachiro putting you "through the table" with his massages, but I found his treatment fairly tolerable. To be sure, it is deep tissue massage and you will feel it, but Hachiro is sensitive to the patient's tolerance and works on you accordingly. The treatments I had on Thursday and again on Monday were definitely two high points of my trip. When Hachiro was working on me, he had a very pleasant manner and told several funny jokes. I think he purposely told the punchline just before he would get into a deep spot. (I wasn't sure whether to laugh or scream! It wasn't that bad.) He also related some interesting stories about the old days. Maybe I'll pass some of those along in future writings. Here's Hachiro and me in the Nikko waiting room.
If you go to Honolulu, a stop at Nikko is a MUST! Be forewarned however, Hachiro is normally fairly solidly booked, so make your reservations a couple of months in advance. By the way, the steam bath after the massage was "to die for". The address is Nikko, 801 S. Hotel St., Honolulu, HI 96813 (1/2 block from Stroub Hospital and across the street from the new Police Station.) The Phone number is (808) 533-1948.
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