While most computer models predicted that Hurricane Nolo would make that left turn to the west, and keep sufficiently away from Hawaii to only bring winds and rain, this serious threat was still possible yesterday. Now:
Here are two photos I took this morning from my apartment. The eye of Hurricane Nolo is 355 miles to the south, beyond these shots.
So the State of Hawaii was able to escape utter doom. Yet:
Hurricane Nolo yesterday not only stalled and made that 90 degree turn to the west, but also weakened from 105 MPH to 100, then this morning dropped even further to 95 MPH.- However, Nolo later this morning, will re-strengthened back to 105 MPH, with a expected continue movement west, attaining Category 3 intensity tomorrow.
- If all that goes according to projections, the islands of Hawaii will escape serious damage.
- Keep in mind, though, that models show Nolo beginning to turn north tomorrow.
- Important not to make a right turn north, for that would send the eye over Niihau/Kauai.
- However, the northward turn is slightly northwest, so Nolo will pass Niihau/Kauai sufficently to the west as a Category 3, or maybe Category 4, on Tuesday, September 29.
- Kauai has still not totally recovered from Hurricane Lowell. The Norwegian Pride of America has for weeks now avoided that island, but was planning to finally stop there on October 1 and 2.
- We need to continue to be watchful....and hopeful.
Today, I continue my series on the roots search of my grandfather Kenjiro Takahashi. There was a 3-day period in April of 2009 when Harumi Hotta (right), Pearl (my wife) and I spent time in Sapporo, Otaru and Akita seeking information. Harumi is the wife of Kenji Hotta, a close friend and professor at Nihon University. She also has roots on Hokkaido.
We were led by Hiromi's cousin Yoshi Kumamoto and his wife Kaoru, who live on that island.
- Yoshi is a recently retired architect who worked on the tunnel that connects Hokkaido to Honshu, and our Tokyo hotel, the Westin.
- That photo to the right shows Yoshi, Hiromi, Pearl and Kaoru at the Hokkaido Tower.
- In April, there were still piles of snow in Sapporo.
- Yoshi and Kaoru drove us to every possible potential source of information involving the keywords: roots search, Kenjiro Takahashi, Utashinai (from where Kenjiro was sent to American in the 1890’s), coal tunneling, Otaru (where he was born and potential home of his grandmother from his father’s side) and Hokkaido lifestyles from 1800 to 1900.
We went to Hokkaido University, visiting their museum library and archives.- Turns out that an American, William Smith Clark (former president of the University of Massachusetts) helped start Hokkaido University in 1876. This was the first modern college in Japan to award bachelor degrees. He is saying, Boys Be Ambitious. Of course, no females in Japan universities in those days.
That graphic to the right shows how the populations of Otaru and Sapporo shifted over time. Today, Sapporo at 2 million and Otaru 105,000.- With the help of the library staff, Hiromi, Kaoru and Yoshi initiated a computer search for books in Japanese. Pearl and I don't really know the language.
I found a 1930 book in English on folklore of the region, but there was no hint of a possible female samurai.- Had Sapporo ramen for lunch, toured the Sapporo Beer Museum and ended the day with lamb (which is the local epicurean meat of choice) BBQ and Sapporo beer at the Sapporo Bier Garten.
The next day we went to the Historical Village of Hokkaido, which features actual homes and recreations from the mid-1800’s, many from Otaru. The photos, depictions and lifestyle descriptions will be very useful to portray the time of Kenjiro’s grandmothers. We followed with several museums in Otaru (half an hour drive from Sapporo), again providing invaluable visuals of life from 1800 onwards.
- I'm at the Historical Village of Hokkaido, which shows 52 historical structures of what the area looked like from 1800 to 1900.
- Here is the entrance, but the village occupies 134 acres.
We are staying at the Okura Grand Park Hotel (former Hilton), located in the general neighborhood where Kenjiro lived in his youth. A shrine is in close walking distance where we hope to search through their archives tomorrow, while the Otaru City Office is also nearby. We had zaru soba (70% buckwheat, 30% wheat) today, followed by shellfish and beer. Otaru is noted for sushi, glassware and shoyu containers that do not drip.
Part 4 will be the the roots search for Kenjiro in Otaru, where he was born. Then, Akita, from where his parents came. Actually, while this series of searches in Sapporo, Otaru and Akita proceeded in that order, the following year, 2011, I actually traced the chronological itinerary from Akita to Otaru to Sapporo to Utashinai, the path of Kenjiro's parents.
I started in Akita, from where Kenjiro's parents came, caught a ship to Otaru, took a train to Sapporo, where the family stopped for a while, then a train to Asahikawa, then bus to Utashinai, where they settled, Can't imagine how they got from Otaru (3) to Sapporo (1) to Utashinai, for the first railway line connecting Otaru and Saporro did not occur until 1880. On this map, Utashinai is a long taxi ride to the east (left) and slightly south (lower) from Asahikawa (6).
To close, Season 52 of Saturday Night Live premiered last night with the cold opening featuring James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump seeking refuge with Johran Mamdani.
- You can also watch Jalen Brunson as host. His monologue about the Knick's historic 2026 NBA championship, and more.
- Oh heck, also The Weekend Update, featuring Trump and Xi.
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