As we mentioned earlier, we had the opportunity to take some Japanese-style wedding portraits in kimono while we were in Honolulu. I’d grown up seeing various cousins’ wedding photos from Japan, and my relatives always urged us to take some, but we never had the opportunity until this summer. Masako Formals in Honolulu is a bridal boutique that specializes in wedding dresses, tuxedos, and other formalwear, but they also offer photography packages in which you can take portraits in traditional Japanese wedding kimonos. It includes the kimono rental (in my case both shiromuku and iro-uchikake), makeup and hair for the bride, and dressing assistance. They did a wonderful job, and both Dan and I were very impressed! Here are some of the photos!
The female staff were especially taken with Dan during the photoshoot, squealing that he looked like Tom Cruise (I perosnally don’t see it!), and were snapping a bunch of personal photos on their cell phones… lol. You can see us featured on their blog as well. A huge thanks to our friend Yumi who referred us to Masako Formals! ã¨ã£ã¦ã‚‚ã„ã„記念ã«ãªã‚Šã¾ã—ãŸâ™ª ã‚ã‚ŠãŒã¨ã†ï¼:D
Continuing from where we left off, we woke up early on Sunday morning of Day Three to drive down to Honolulu to have breakfast at the famous Leonard’s Bakery.
Starting the day off with Leonard's!
When we were asking around for recommendations on places to eat in Oahu, everyone and their mother recommended this place. They are famous for their malasadas, a Portuguese confection… it was basically an unfilled donut covered in sugar. Crispy on the outside, but very light on the inside. Simple but delicious!
My first time trying a malasada.
We also tried the li hing flavor and cinnamon flavor malasadas, but the original was the best!
We then headed over to our appointment at Masako Formals. Dan and I had never taken Japanese-style wedding photos, but our parents and relatives in Japan had been encouraging us to get some taken for a while. We always wanted to get some taken, but there’s no studio that can do them in the San Francisco Bay Area (at least, non that we know of). So when my friend Yumi told me that the place she bought her wedding dress specialized in Japanese wedding photos, we decided to take the opportunity to get them done there.
Arriving at Masako Formals in Honolulu.
Me waiting to change...
This was actually my first time wearing any sort of kimono. The wedding kimono takes especially long to put on.
Dan getting dressed.
The finishing touches. Looking good, hubby!
Masako Formals took very good care of us and the photos came out pretty good, but we’ll save those for another time. I want to get some photo books made for our parents and grandparents so that they can see them first before we post them online. Stay tuned! 🙂 (Huge thanks to Yumi for telling us about Masako Formals!)
Me very relieved to be out of the heavy kimono and wig.
The photoshoot and all the preparations beforehand took over four hours, so by the time we got out, we were hungry again! We headed over to Shokudo, a Japanese restaurant that our friend Megumi recommended! When she told me to try the mochi cheese gratin, I was skeptical, but decided to give it a shot… and it was actually really good!!!
Mochi cheese gratin!
Who knew mochi and cheese went so well together?
Dan got the yakisoba.
...which was also very yummy.
Apparently the Honey Toast there is also a must-eat, and we saw that every table was ordering it, so we ordered it for dessert. It was pretty amazing….
Shokudo's Honey Toast
Can you tell I am excited? There's always room for dessert!
Thank you Gumi for the recommendation!!!
After lunch, we drove up to Hanauma Bay. Dan had been really excited (and I mean really excited) about going snorkeling in Hawaii, so he finally got his chance!
Arriving at Hanauma Bay.
Palm trees in Hanauma Bay... very pretty!
I passed out on the beach while Dan went snorkeling.
Here are a couple photos Dan captured while snorkeling. To see more, check out the photoset.
A rainbow-colored fish.
Lots of fishies.
Dan with a statue of the state fish: humuhumukununukuapua'a
After spending the afternoon in Hanauma Bay, we drove over to Diamond Head Crater Park, in hopes to hike it in time to see the sunrise at the top. Much to our dismay, when we arrived at the hiking location at 6 o’clock, the park had just closed! 🙁 How are people supposed to see the sunset if it closes so early? We were hella disappointed.
Arriving at Diamond Head, only to find it closed.
The hubby is sad, too.
There wasn’t much we could do about the situation, so we just took a photos of the view from where we were. Alas, we couldn’t fit the Diamond Head hike anywhere into the rest of the trip, so it’ll have to be something we try the next time we’re in Oahu…. :'(
Dan and I at Diamond Head.
Since our hiking plans were foiled, we drove over to Sandy Beach instead to relax and take a nap on the beach while waiting for the sunset….
Our matching beach towels.
Look at those clouds!
We weren't exactly in the prime location to watch a sunset since Sandy Beach is Windward, on the eastern side of the island, but we still got some pretty views of the sky.
For dindin, we drove back down to Honolulu for some more Japanese food at Akasaka, which my coworker and friend Estella recommended! (Estella supplied me with a lot of the fabulous foodie recommendations this trip, so I am very indebted to her.)
Arriving at Akasaka. It happens to be in a location surrounded by porn shops and strip clubs, but don't be turned off by the sketchy area.
Scallop Butteryaki! Delish.
Estella was right, these were some of the best spicy tuna rolls I've ever had!
More sushi from Akasaka. Fish was very fresh!
Dan enjoying a drink with his sushi.
A satisfying dinner to end an eventful day!
That’s it for Day Three of our Hawaii trip! Stay tuned for Day Four, in which we climb treacherous trails to see waterfalls and brave the waters of Waikiki Beach….
