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Rino Nakasone
Rino Nakasone is a dancer/choreographer from Okinawa who is a member of the Beat Freaks and Harajuku Girls. According to her Facebook profile, she dances with Mary J. Blige, Gwen Stefani, Missy Elliot, Janet Jackson, to name a few.
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Rimi Natsukawa to tie the knot on New Year’s – Tokyograph
On Sunday, the official website of singer Rimi Natsukawa (35) announced that she is planning to get married on New Year’s Day. Her husband-to-be is percussionist Masaaki Tamaki (41), who has toured with artists such as TUBE and Masayuki Suzuki. Sankei Sports had scooped the story a day earlier with some details of the couple.…
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Weekly Eater features Off the Wall, a new restaurant in Pearl Kai
Being the izakaya kind of dude that I am, I’m happy to read news of a new restaurant called ‘Off the Wall’ that opened in the Pearl Kai Shopping Center. The restaurant’s executive chef happens to also be one of the most well-known musicians of Okinawan music in Hawaii (and around the globe), Grant “Sandaa”…
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Community: Congratulations to Kenton Odo, June Nakama and Calvin Nakama
There’s a nice story by Steve Murray on Midweek.com (‘SHAMISEN’) on the accomplishments of three musicians from Hawaii who are “the first foreigners to earn a master’s certificate in the Okinawan shamisen.” Definitely worth a read. All three musicians will be performing in Hawaii on Tuesday, November 27 as part of the 14th annual TOBE!…
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[Updated] Hitoe’s New Move: Yoga
Hitoe’s (26, ex-SPEED) official website from Avex hasn’t seen much action since 2005 now that her music career is on hiatus so I pulled the latest news on this talented artist from an entertainment site. While the other members of the group continue on with music-related careers (me, I’m in the hiro camp), Hitoe has…
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Misako Koja and Kazuya Sahara
It doesn’t get any better than this folks. Misako Koja (known as a member of the 1st generation Nenes and for the hit song “Warabigami”) is in Hawaii now and let me tell you, she and her husband (composer, arranger) Kazuya Sahara are two of the most down-to-earth people you may ever meet. It’s a…
Karakui 