Aniki Ken, Day in the life of Ken Takahashi: July 2006

Dad's funeral

Got into Osaka, took the train to leave...

Staying at the Rihga Royal Hotel in Osaka

The funeral ceremony was held at the hotel......

this was taken before the service because I had to sit in the fromt row i couldn't see how many people came.

This is the staff that helped out during the service. Cores International is a division of Autobacs, my father was the founder of the company

alot of people came.....

to show out of respect each member comes up to the front and placese a white rose on the alter turns and bows to my mom, it's a Japanese custom

I will miss him.......

HNL

my mom and I at the Honolulu international airport.....

Going to Osaka

Wednesday 26th. we went to Honolulu International to hope on a flight to Japan.

Since we were flying 1st class we got to stay in the Japan Airlines VIP lounge "Sakura Lounge"

It's totally cool, they have free internet, computors to check mail, massage chairs, free drinks and foods

Me and my Mom.....

This is were we sat, at the nose of the plane.

Even all alcohol beverages were free, JAL even has a exclusive can from Asahi. Notice the Hibiscus for the Hawaii flights.

this is what the dinner was like in 1st class

We arrived in Kansai around 5pm, the weather was nice and still had some time to enjoy the day!

Duty Free Shopping

Soo like I said earlier, I have to leave to Osaka to attend my Dad's funeral. so, before I go I decided to go shopping at the DSF (Duty Free). They wount let you in unless you have a ticket that proves your leaving the contry. and you can't take pictures in side this department.
They have some really nice shops inside. and the prices are pretty good.
I picked up a Platinum Rolex Yacht Master..... it's the little thing that makes me feel pretty!

Later that afternoon I rented a tri-moped for the whole day. it's pretty cool, I always see them running about wakiki, these little 50cc mopeds seat 2 side-by-side. as soon as I got it to my parents house I let my brother-in-law ride it.... BIG MISTAKE! he didn't even get 50ft & flipped it, broke the windshield and I was done for the rest of the day.... :(

Trip to Hawaii

Saturday 22nd, I flew back to my parents home in Kahala Hawaii....
my vacation was for a week to rest up after Formula D in Sonoma... boy that was a tuff one, and D1.

It's always nice to come home...! but the first thing we did once I got in was grab my golf bag and went golfing.

after that I went shopping for food & stuff to get me settled in, but the cost of living is alot more higher that LA. even the cost of cerial what pretty crazy!

this weekend was my dad's 49th day that he pasted away..... In Japan it’s a custom that we celebrate the passing of a love one on the 49th day. On the 49th day his spirit no longer stays on this earth instead it’s ready to go to heaven, that’s were a priest is asked to come and send him off properly.

After this I had to prepare to leave for Osaka Japan to attend my Dad’s funeral hosted by the company he’d worked for. (it’s a Japanese custom to have a corporate funeral). BUT... since I get to travel outside of the US I finally got to go to the Infamous (DSF) Duty Free...! They wount let you in unless you have a international ticket that shows you will no be using this stuff in the US. the prices are cheaper and you pay no taxes!!!

they have some really nice high end shops in there... and they are really strict about letting people in with camera's you can't take pics or videos on this floor....

Helping a Friend.....

Today, (sunday) I helped a good friend (Amanda Lam) move her car from her house to my friend Garry (McKinney Motorsports). We started at 7:30am....

today was a really HOT day!!!! this is Coco kickin it in front of the fan.

Here's my car and trailer in front of Amanda's house.

This is Amanda, one of the most talented drifters I know. She really has nature talent. (which is rare) She’s just financially handicapped.

This is Gerry of McKinney Motorsports, he's located in Murrieta (for those of you know don't know where that is..... it's far!) Gerry's know to pump out some of the US's most talented drift drivers... like Tanner Foust.

It was very very far and very very Hot out there... over 102! I felt like I was in a oven. but hey.... what are friends for....?

Playing with toys...

Wednesday, went to El Segundo to meet up with the Boyz at Hot Wheels. We went out for lunch, you know LA style busniess meeting! they were totally cool!
FYI: you might remember they sponsored our last Hot Version shoot "American Touge 2".

What was I doing meeting up with them again? huhmmmmm.... just wait, you'll be seeing Hot Wheels more involved in the JDM/ Drift scene really soon....

shhhhhh.............

Small world

On tuesday, I met up with Dai down here in Torrance to eat with me and my fellow co-workers at a local Izakaya called "Icho".
The food is GREAT! Dai saids after awhile of eating American food all the time it's kinda nice to come down to Torrance and eat real "J" food. But, when we got there we bumped into some intresting people.... I would have never thought I would see them here!

Me & Dai hanging out at Icho.... great japanese food, you got to try it. It's on Crenshaw blvd. just north of PCH, in the city of Torrance. Everybody comes here.

We bumped into Kenji Yamanaka......!
And his sponsor's

Look how else was sitting at the table across from us.... it's Toshiki..!!!
Japan's D1 driver he drives for DRoop, the Espelir Hachi....

Just go's to show you how small this industry is.

if you come down to Torrance your bound to bump into somebody. I see Yoshia at Nigya all the time.

This is Lawrence owner of A-Spec. One of the most active companys in the industry & pretty sucsessfull too....

Formula D Sonoma

July 8th in Sonoma California was the stage for round 4 of the Formula d drift.
located north of San Fransico in the Napa Valley, we had to cross the Golden Gate brigde to go into Sonoma.