Sport, travel, and the good life — from the Pacific to wherever
Read the StoriesHawaii is more than a backdrop — it's a full chapter. Grass volleyball at Kapiolani, rounds at Ko Olina, shave ice after a tournament, sunsets that make you forget what state you live in. This is Hawaii through the eyes of someone who calls it home.
Japan · Okutama
Two hours west of Shinjuku, the Tama River turns jade. A day trip through Hatonosu Gorge — a swaying suspension bridge, a café perched over the canyon — with a detour through Kichijoji's Inokashira Park on the way home.
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Hawaii
Every Wednesday and Saturday, the Honolulu Volleyball Club sets up at Kapiolani Park. Diamond Head as your backdrop. All skill levels welcome. Just show up.
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Hawaii · Hiking
1,633 feet up. 3.5 hours of forest, birds, and stairs. Then shave ice in Kaimuki. A morning hike with Ayumi visiting from Tokyo that delivered on every front.
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Japan · Travel
Lotus tents, a BBQ plan with s'mores, a forest path to an onsen, and go-karts at a resort built around one of Japan's famous race circuits. Not your typical camping trip.
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Japan · Hokkaido
The Blue Cave cruise, Masazushi for Hokkaido uni and ikura, the umbrella alley on Sakaemachi, and Tengu Yama at night wrapped in fog. Summer in Hokkaido, Part 1.
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Japan · Hokkaido
The Mushroom Kingdom on the drive in, an ostrich farm in open countryside, the Niseko Distillery, mountain lights in the fog, and the Park Hyatt cigar lounge. Summer in Hokkaido, Part 2.
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Hawaii · Culture
Every Memorial Day, tens of thousands gather at Ala Moana Beach to float handwritten messages into the Pacific. Around 6,000 lanterns. One of those nights that's hard to explain to anyone who wasn't there.
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Japan · Tohoku
Matsuo Bashō came here in 1689 and reportedly couldn't find words for it. We came for the Joke Bear curry bread at Pensée and the grilled oysters at Bay Oysters — and stayed for the bay.
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Japan · Kyushu
A shrine in the mountains, a drive over the Aso caldera above a sea of clouds, and a night at a ryokan in Kurokawa where a cat met us at the door and the onsen smelled of sulfur.
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Japan · Kyushu
Kurokawa to Fukuoka, via Saga. A 2,000-year-old Yayoi settlement, a replica of the Dresden Zwinger in the mountains, four hours in Arita's porcelain shops, and Fukuoka's famous motsu-nabe to close the trip.
Read MoreTōshō-gū, Kegon Falls, and the cedar-lined approach up to Rinnō-ji. A day trip from Tokyo that earns its reputation as one of Japan's essential destinations.
Story coming soonA day trip out of Tokyo into the hills of Saitama. Chichibu-jinja, craft sake distilleries, and the kind of quiet that's hard to find two hours from Shinjuku.
Story coming soonTwo courses, ocean views on nearly every hole, and the constant negotiation with Oahu's tradewinds. Turtle Bay is the best golf on this island and it's not particularly close.
Story coming soon
In the logo, the manta ray is John. The whale tail is Ayumi. That was decided for us, and it felt right.
John grew up on Oahu, went to Roosevelt High School, and played college golf at UH-Hilo on scholarship. He won the OIA Golf team championship in 1991 and the OIA Golf individual title in 1994. Golf has been part of his life as long as he can remember. Volleyball came later — he picked it up to understand the sport when his son Jace started playing, and ended up completely hooked. After college he joined the JET Program and spent three years teaching English in Osaka. That’s where Japan got under his skin — and where he picked up snowboarding.
Ayumi is Tokyo-based, bilingual, and handles editing, Japanese translations, and content. She has spent over 20 years working in sports as a professional interpreter, including multiple World Track and Field Championship meets. She is the Japan half of this operation in more ways than one.
They’ve been together seven years — Honolulu and Tokyo, with a lot of miles in between.
The site started simply. John had years of photos and notes sitting on a hard drive and figured some of it might be useful to someone. Travel accounts, golf course reports, random days worth remembering. Small Kine Adventures is where that stuff lives now.
Small kine is a Hawaii expression. It means small-scale, no big deal. Most of the adventures here are exactly that. Some aren’t.
Behind-the-scenes moments, courses, and everyday adventures.
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