Aloha! As of Sept. 2005, we've moved to a blog site and you can find our recent columns here. We'll be slowly moving our archive of articles over to that site.

 

Hana hou - 'three dot': Two Japanee Bruddahs style

Nichi Bei Times - March 2005

Kikaida and Kikaida 0-1 on the shores of Honolulu

By Keith Kamisugi and Kyle Tatsumoto
The Two Japanee Bruddahs

The Two Japanee Bruddahs this month once again share bits of Hawai'i-related news …

In a column from last year ("Switch On! One, Two, Three!", July 2004) we introduced you to Kikaida, the red and blue android superhero show that captured the imaginations of legions of Hawai'i kids (including us!) in the 1970s.

In each of the show's 43 episodes, Kikaida and his alter-ego Jiro would battle the evil androids and monsters of DARK, a secret organization led by Professor Gill, whose flute playing was Kryptonite to Jiro's flawed circuitry - until a convenient rockslide or explosion interrupted the music and Jiro could transform into his super-self. No phone booth necessary.

After a huge revival in Hawai'i and nine DVDs, Kikaida will debut on KTSF Channel 26 beginning in April. The fully subtitled series is scheduled to air at midnight on Saturday evenings, with no specific start date yet.

Bruddah Keet was able to have breakfast last month with Joanne Ninomiya, president of JN Productions and mastermind of the Kikaida comeback, live action actor Scott Tsukiyama, and Kikaida himself - Ban Daisuke. They were in town for an appearance at WonderCon 2005, the comic book convention, held recently at the Moscone Center. Ban-san also signed autographs at Japan Video & Media and the Super 7 store in Japantown.

The fact that a grown man was thrilled to have eggs and bacon (they didn't have shoyu at this place, damn it) with Kikaida gives you an idea of how big the show was.

Visit generationkikaida.com for updates on when the show will start airing. You can also buy the DVDs online from that site if you can't wait.

Tiki Tiki is one-stop shop for your Hawaii needs

We would love to find those Kikaida DVDs at a new shop called Tiki Tiki, located right next to Hukilau on Masonic near Geary. They got almost everything else from Hawaii: music CDs, aloha shirts, artwork, t-shirts, snacks, books, you name it.

Bryan "Mr. Crack Seed" Li and Bruddah Keet stopped by there recently to check out their latest wares. Manager and part-owner Joni Kinoshita showed us some new aloha shirts and some gyotaku (Japanese fish rubbing) prints.

Next time you visit, head for the very back of the place by the register and check out "The Okazu Guide: Oh, 'Cause You Hungry!" by Donovan Dela Cruz and Jodi Endo Chai. Pick one up if you're headed for Hawai'i - it's a terrific guidebook of hidden eateries.

Tiki Tiki is open Noon to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturday and from Noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays. You can call them at (415) 921-6233. Joni says they're still working on the website, www.tikitikistore.com, but you might as well bookmark 'em now.

Hawai'i Chamber sake tasting and Five-Star Aloha coming up

Some of the investors in Tiki Tiki are the founders and leaders of the Hawai'i Chamber of Commerce of Northern California, which is having two upcoming events.

On March 24, HCCNC's quarterly mixer takes place in Berkeley at the Takara Sake Tasting Room. In addition to sampling sake like their signature Sho Chiku Bai, attendees will be able to learn more about the chamber, make some business contacts and just have a good time. The event is $10 per person, but business members of the chamber are free and can bring one guest.

I'm sure during the program at the mixer, the chamber leaders will tell you about the Five-Star Aloha gala, scheduled for May 21. The third annual celebration will take place at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, featuring music, dancing, entertainment, food, drink and prizes. The evening will also include the presentation of the 3rd Annual Kulia I Ka Nu`u Awards honoring leaders and trailblazers in the community.

For more information about either of these events, visit www.hccnc.com/0305.

And in other news…

HCCNC board member extraordinaire Susan Haramoto recently joined the staff of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California to work on the organization's membership programs.

And globalpauhana.org founder Dave Kozuki got married March 5 to Cynthia Justo at Saints Peter and Paul Church in Honolulu. Congratulations!

--

Keith Kamisugi and Kyle Tatsumoto are da Two Japanee Bruddahs. Visit them on the Web at www.twojapaneebruddahs.com. Or e-mail them at wot@twojapaneebruddahs.com.

 

Read past articles here