THE BLUE ZONE IN OKINAWA  David Kelly | Owner, Hawaiian South Shore      Most of us have heard of “blue corduroy” (the wave lines that stack up on the horizon during major swell events), but not as many have heard of blue zones. Blue zones are specific areas around the world that have been identified as places where people live much longer than average. According to research by Dan Buettner, blue zones have been identified in several places around the world and includes Loma Linda, California, Icaria, Greece, Sardinia, Italy and Okinawa. Having grown up in Okinawa, I found...

Many of you know that I grew up in Okinawa, and that I often visit Japan for work and leisure. Whenever we are there, my wife and I always make it a point to visit someplace different.  On our last trip to Japan, we went to Akita, which is a prefecture in the northeastern part of the country. It is a really convenient place to visit because there are a lot of options to travel in and out of Akita.  Akita is well known for a few different types of foods, such as Hinai-Jidori (chicken) and Inaniwa udon (which is...