Author Archives: JimWoodhull

Another almost hurricane!

If you remember, back in August Hawaii had a kind of hurricane scare. Just before the hurricane hit Hawaii it weakened into a tropical storm and once it hit the Big Island it was pretty much over except for some … Continue reading

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Living in Hadano Japan

After I got married in Hawaii my wife and I moved to Japan. For the first year or so we had an apartment in Tokyo but our dive store was in the Kanagawa prefecture in the city of Hadano. Hadano … Continue reading

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Haiku Poem

many expressions open my bag of stories which net shall I use 海中で心をつかむ小話や かいちゅう で こころ を つかむ こばなし や  潜水艦での船内ガイドのお話です。私は、潜水艦に乗り込んで来るお客様が、どんな顔つきで私を見るかによって、その日、すべき話の内容がわかります。私の話に対するお客様の反応は、様々です。幸せそうな、退屈そうな、或いは、ドキドキした、ワクワクした反応です。お客様の反応によって、私は、軽い話を続けるべきか、もっと学術的なものにするかを決めなくてはなりません。目標は、硬軟織り交ぜたバランスのとれた解説です。私の話がうまくいったか、失敗したかは、お客様が潜水艦を下りる時までわかりません。お客様の態度が、「お疲れ様でした」などと、淡々と丁寧な場合は、私の話が、バランスを欠いた内容だったと言うことです。日本のお客様は、がっかりした時は、もの静かで、丁寧です。しかし、話の内容が納得の行くものだったら、率直にほめてくれます。しかも、鮫のくだりが良かったとか、具体的です。一方、中国のお客様は、ともかく、一杯、しゃべってきます。一杯、文句を言ってきます。水が濁っていたとか、自分の想像と違っていた時は、返金してくれとか、大変、シビアです。私は、お客様にお話しするネタは一杯持っています。しかも、持ちネタの切り出し方、話し方も色々あります。しかし、その場に、ふさわしいものを選ぶのは大変難しいことです。 – Jim Woodhull – Japanese by Jim Woodhull and Nakamura Michiko

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The Hurricane is here!

Around 8:00 this morning the hurricane had passed the Big Island and was about 300 kilometers or so from Maui. When I went to work this morning around 5:30 it was very, very humid with absolutely no wind at all. … Continue reading

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Narration haiku

When my customers come into the submarine, I always look at all their expressions to give me an idea of what kind of presentation I should do. I have a wide range of expressions. Some look happy, bored, scare and … Continue reading

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Our almost hurricane

In Hawaii we are very fortunate for the fact that we have hurricanes only every 20 years or so. Just 2 weeks ago there were two hurricanes heading our way and it looked like our turn had finally come. There … Continue reading

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Haiku Poem

behind the diver the biggest manta ever effortless beauty ダイバーの後ろにマンタ海の舞 ダイバー の うしろ に マンタ うみ の まい While diving off of Ala Moana park, in an area called Magic Island, I was checking my customer when I was surprised to see … Continue reading

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Haiku Poem

busy fishing boat almost destroyed by fire now rests peacefully In 1975 there was a very bad fire on the boat but it did not sink. The owner abandoned the ship so the state of Hawaii took over. It spent … Continue reading

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The San Pedro

One of my favorite scuba diving spots is a shipwreck called the San Pedro. It is an old Japanese fishing trawler that Atlantis Submarines purchased in 1997 and sunk for their submarine tour. The ship has a very interesting history. … Continue reading

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Haiku Poem

a look of panic into the dark submarine smiling person leaves Sometimes before going or when actually entering the submarine the customer’s expression is one of almost panic. Once the customer is in the submarine they calm down and when … Continue reading

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