 and welcome to looking to the east. It's a pleasure to be on the air again with my friend and an expert on Japan, Mike Matsuno. So, Mike, welcome to the show. Once again, you're a repeat customer. Thanks for having me. I really appreciate that. Later back. Yeah, Mike has a video broadcast webcast that he does periodically focusing on Japan. It's called Managed Japan, right? Is that the correct name, Mike? Yeah, the YouTube channel. Correct. Yeah. So, he graciously has agreed to be with us this morning. He was able to escape from his normal work this morning. So, I do appreciate that. We're going to be talking about tourism. We did that a couple of weeks ago with Eric Johnson of Japan Times. But I wanted to get Mike on the show because Mike, as I mentioned, is featuring some of the interesting characteristics and things to do, places to go in Japan. So, this is maybe a little bit more practical approach to the fact that Japan has opened up to tours now starting from actually last month. So, Mike, before we get into this, I do want to show our viewers the work that you do. So, Eric, if you could bring up the web page, the YouTube web page for Mike, and we can show everyone what that looks like and the variety of different things. In the last few videos, I concentrated mainly on the opening up of Japan because there seemed to be the most interest there. So, the last part was until the actual opening. And since then, I haven't done a video because there hasn't been that much going on. We're still kind of a wait and see to see how things are going. But as you know, you know, as you had mentioned earlier that, you know, over what, about 500,000 foreign tourists came in the last month in October. So, things are- Yeah, and then start to interrupt. But that's actually, opening day was October 11th. So, it wasn't actually for the full month. So, people probably were buying tickets, maybe expecting things to open up because that's a huge number just in the last three weeks of the month. Yeah, it was really surprising in a way. And, you know, people jumped on it. You know, there are so many people who were just waiting. It was really interesting to see that whole fever of, you know, Japan opening up. And that's why those videos, you know, a lot of people watched because people were just seemed to be waiting. And once it opened, like you said, some people either had planned on it or had bought tickets right away because they wanted to come in early when they thought that, you know, there are still very few foreign tourists, you know, which it was true and still is. There are more people coming in, but it's still such a small amount compared back to 2019. Yeah, I saw the statistics for October. It was over 2,000% compared to October the previous year, but it was still way down when we were averaging. Well, in 2019, it was up $32 million, I think. Yeah, $31 to $32 million. So, averaging two and a half to $3 million per month as Japan was ramping up the tourism. And Abe was very supportive. That was a prime minister at the time and was hoping that for the Olympics there'd be $40 million. But the government's still setting the goal for having $60 million tourists I saw in 2030. So they're hoping that this initial bump, these initial surprising numbers will continue. And the expectation is that for this month, which is coming to a close fairly soon, a couple of days, will be over one million visitors. Anecdotally too, since we live in the Kansai area here, my friends in Kyoto are saying, wow, they're back. You know, Kyo Mizudera is filled now. There's more foreigners and there are Japanese, which has not been the case for the last couple of years. And people are having difficulty getting flights into the country, especially from Southeast Asia. That seems to be the primary source of the bumping tourism is rich Singaporeans and rich Koreans. Yes. Yeah. And others ties as well are coming in. So it's exciting for me, since I focus on tourism and we have a tourism school at Kansai Gaida University. So I'm glad to see that. It's interesting because it's like being from Hawaii to I understand the whole thing about the tourists that people want the tourist dollars, but they don't necessarily want too many tourists around. And that's the whole irony that goes through even with Kyoto, right? I was just visiting Airbnb yesterday and I was talking to the gentleman. And of course, he has an exclusive villa in Kyoto in the Taqueda area. So I went to see because my sister folks are coming next April and I wanted to make sure that it was fine and it's a beautiful villa. But I asked him about, you know, and of course he was happy that the foreign tourists are coming back. You know, however, you know, I was telling him, you know, people are, you know, nobody, none of the locals are actually who are not interest were that excited about it, right? Because of the crowds and everything. However, you know, they need the Kyoto needs the revenue. So it's kind of a, you know, where is that balancing point, right? You know, the optimal level of tourism. And I'm sure you talk about in your classes. Yeah, I'm on the Tourism Committee. Actually, I'm the chair of the Tourism Committee for the ACCJ. And maybe I'll get these guys on the show. They're too whole. I don't know where they're originally from, maybe the mainland. But anyway, they did work in Hawaii on digitally monitoring tourism. So Mike, I don't know if you've been to Diamondhead recently, but they have an electronic entry system now. Oh, really? How interesting. Yeah. So they control the crowds. You know, Diamondhead, when I'm visiting Hawaii, I try and go there, not just for the exercise, just to do the climb and so forth. And sometimes it was just so uncomfortable. And, you know, people, there's a lot of people who shouldn't be going up those six. Slow the traffic down. Yeah. Yeah. But now through this, this digital system, you have to apply in advance. And there's also a fee. So they're making this, the whoever owns Diamondhead, maybe it's the state is making millions of dollars there. So maybe at some point, Japan will, like Kyobizodera, you'll have to register in advance before you go there, or Arashiyama during the fall changing of the lease. So it'll be interesting to see how Kyoto perhaps begins to think about how to manage the crowd so they don't have the problem with the local people being so upset. Because you're exactly right. In 2018, some of my friends in Kyoto wouldn't even go out of their apartment. Yeah. They were just overwhelmed. Yeah, it's interesting. Go ahead. Go ahead. Yeah, go ahead. It's interesting because, as you said, the corona kind of spoiled people here. And even for myself, you know, when I went to buy a Shinkansen ticket, if I was going to Tokyo or I was going to Fukuoka, you just walk into the Midori Guchi, the Shinkansen ticket purchasing area. Maybe it's two people in front of you. So it's just like, and then you forgot how it was. And then just last week, when I was going down to Onamichi in Hiroshima, I went in and the line was like 25 people long. And of course, there are foreigners in the line also. And I was making a short video. I never put it up yet. But I was going to say is that plan ahead. If you're coming to Japan, make sure that you try to buy your tickets on a weekday and not on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday because it's really a long line. And just be prepared if you have foreigners in front of you. Nothing against foreigners because I'm a foreigner. But it's going to take them probably three times longer than the Japanese in purchasing. So you just have to kind of calculate your time. But yes, you know, it's very much, it's different now. So I'm sure the locals are starting to, you know, like you said, when it was full on 60 million tourists, I don't know how they're going to really manage that like in Kyoto. And I think that's why the idea is to try and spread them out to, you know, other areas, especially there's a lot of areas that are depressed that want the tourists. But, you know, people mainly do the Silk Road, the Silk Route, right? The Silk Road route, you know, like Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, sometimes Hiroshima. So those are heavily, you know, visited. There was an article, I don't know if you saw it in New York Times yesterday about alternative travel in Hawaii. I'll send it to you. Yeah, please. It's a New York Times writer. And rather than go to Waikiki and hang out on the beach there where everyone goes, basically, she created an alternative kind of sustainable travel path. So she was in remote areas and so forth. And it was actually quite an interesting write-up. So that may be something that will be applied in Japan, especially for the visitors who have come here, maybe for their second or third or fourth time. It's not like ecotourism, were they doing some kind of ecotourism? Exactly, yeah. Ecotourism in kind of remote areas that are not so heavily touristed. And also, just for the Hawaiians here, it was facilitating or trying to encourage usage of native Hawaiian companies and so forth. So that element was included as well. Because in the article, it pointed out that the state of Hawaii picked an alternative tourism organization to promote Hawaii that is more native Hawaiian based than the traditional Hawaii Tourist Bureau. And now they're doing both the article mentioned. But anyway, we're getting a little bit off track here, Mike, because I wanted to talk with you about the things that you've highlighted over the last year or plus that you've been running, your webcast, things that you would recommend to our viewers if they do want to come to Japan. I guess we're trying to encourage more people to come to Japan, despite the issues that we just talked about, overcrowding and so forth. Well, I think you saw that summit forum in the summer that Japan was selected as the number one destination in the world. So Japan has got to a lot of good PR. And Japan really is still, I'm a little bit biased, but I think no matter where you go in the world, you'll never get as good service as you get here, kind people, very helpful people, and the yen being down and safe. I believe it's the safest country in the world per capita for that many people of 127 million people. So you've got an exotic destination for many people. You've got safety, you've got great food, you've got kind people and all of that. So I still think it's a huge, it's a great destination to come to. Now, what I would suggest is that right now, with just in the last couple of days, there's a lot of problems going on in China. So what before, back in 2019, 37% were Chinese tourists and they made up a huge bulk. So right now, I don't see the Chinese coming to Japan for the foreseeable, maybe the next year at the, probably another year at least, which means that you've taken 37% of the foreign tourists out, which means it's still very viable now to come in and to visit places. It's not that crowded. Yes, you know, Kiyomizu Temple will always be crowded and the main sites, but it's still a really good time to come. I would suggest coming, you know, now December, January is a bit cold, but if you're interested in like coming for, you know, for skiing or snowing Hokkaido or maybe Nagano, but from April, I see a lot of people coming and when we say a lot, it's not, it's still very small compared to the 2019 level. So yes, I would say in the next year, I would suggest that if you're thinking about Japan, it's a great time to come because the Chinese tourists still will not be coming in as well as people are still, you know, it's still ramping up. So, you know, March, end of March, April, great time to come. Yeah, your, your notice about March, April, of course, that corresponds with cherry blossom season, which is just magical in this country. I really, I've been here for so many years. I know you have, Mike, but every cherry blossom season, I'm still just in awe. I'm amazed at how wonderful that is and the feeling you get and how it changes the mood of the Japanese people themselves. Yeah, so it's just an incredible time to visit and that corresponds with Victor Asuno, who's the head of Delta Airlines. He joined the Tourism Committee meeting a few weeks ago and he was talking about how they're expecting their business to pick up. He also said the late first quarter is when he expects his planes to be full. So, they'll be coming. March, April, right? Yeah. March, April. Yeah, he was, he said that the timing for the opening in October kind of caught them flat footed. Also, the hotels are saying this as well, and they couldn't really properly prepare for the New Year's season. Yeah, but they're getting ramped up now for the spring season, for sure. Yeah, I'm sure everyone was caught off guard at that October 10th or when they started that announcement. Just because I thought too, it was going to be end of the year or earlier, probably January, February, I was thinking, you know, interesting time for the cherry blossom season. But I think it was because of the weakening yen, because the yen was dropping so fast and that they had to do something to that suddenly, you know, Kishida, Prime Minister Kishida, two weeks before he makes an announcement and two weeks later he changes that announcement. So, it was like that quick. So, you know, in Japan, things move slow. I always think really almost too slow for me. However, when there's a need, things can happen quickly. So it's just a matter of needs versus, you know, following the normal protocol. That's my impression of Japan as well, that things move very slowly. But then when finally it comes to the point where a decision has to be made or needs to be made, then it happens really quickly and catches you by surprise. That's why I think a lot of people weren't ready and they're still hiring. I mean, there's several articles you can read online that talks about how a lot of the places are still 50% understaffed. And so a lot of places that you may have visited before may bear clothes or the restaurants not running. And those stories, of course, are true. But I think as far as just service, like I just went down to Onomichi Shimanani to cycle the Shimanani Kaido route. Can you describe that mic for the people who don't know? This is one of the wonderful experiences. Yes, CNN calls it like one of the most stunning bike routes in the world. And some people say it's the most beautiful coastal scenic area of Japan. And I thought I had to do it. It's a 75 kilometer, about 43, 44 mile ride. And even though I'm getting much older, I decided I had to try it just to see. But it was really tough. And so I'm working on a video now to kind of explain to people what they should know before they go, because there's no video about that. People just think, oh, you watch those videos and you go like, oh, I can do that. It's not that far, right? And then you see it connects six islands by six huge massive suspension bridges, one of them being the largest in the entire world. And when you're riding over those bridges and seeing the coastal scenery, it's magnificent. As long as the weather is pretty good, because if it's raining, it's a little bit more difficult to see everything. But anyway, I did that. And I think what I've seen is that the surface is still there. Everyone's still high Japanese level of service. I always think Japanese service is the best in the world. You cannot even compare. Every time I leave Japan, I always feel disappointed no matter where I go, because you start to get expect, right? Like the minimum and think about it, the minimal service, I mean, I'm sorry, the maximum, the best service in the world, and you don't even have to tip, right? I just saw a news clip on the new NHK just yesterday that said, now in New York, they're asking for people to tip if you went into retail or you go to a car. It's like it's going the opposite way in America where, yeah, retail. They're asking like for, you know, they have on the credit card automatically comes up, do you want to tip? And things like, and I'm going like, yeah, it's like it's got it. Yeah. So you get not so great service in the United States, not every place, but not so great service. And you still have to tip. When Japan, you get the best service in the world and you don't tip. I always go, why isn't that the model for the world, right? You know, like, why is there this constant thing like, you know, getting something, I don't say for nothing, but still it's completely different. But anyway, the service in Japan is still really high, still really good. But there might be places that you had visited before that maybe has closed or some places that, you know, are just not there like before when you, if you had come before. Right. Yeah, that's interesting. You know, I've, I've attempted to tip a couple of times here because the service was so good. And then the like the taxi cab driver or the restaurant owner will say no. Yeah. And we'll let you even do it. It's so deeply embedded in Japanese culture that that's just not something that you do at all. So a remarkable difference in culture between Japan and the United States when it comes to that particular activity. Yeah, it's all about expectations, right? What you expect, right? I mean, in Japan, they just expect that you give, you want to give the best service and that's your job, right? You know, it's not about getting a tip or maybe, you know, so yeah, I, I'm sorry. That's one of the real not so good feelings I have when I, when I leave Japan, especially if I go to United States about the tipping thing in restaurants and things are different. But outside of that, you know, where everybody wants, you know, subway, you know, tip jar or this or that, you know, sorry, you know, the other thing is safety too. I have to remind myself when I go back to the United States, go, go back home basically, that I can't leave my bag for a second. So I mean, it's not something I would recommend if you do visit Japan, you should keep an eye on your things because there is some crime here, but it's nothing like in the United States. So yeah, you know, I consciously, I don't know if you do this too, I get on the plane, I'm going, I'm going to US now, I'm going to US now, I can't behave like I do. Yeah, living here in Japan. For me, the radar goes up the rate, you know, Hawaii is not so bad, but still the radar has to go up, you know, I mean, it's almost that you get, you almost take it for granted too much, and you have still have to be careful, like, you know, people leave their iPhone on at Starbucks to hold a seat, they just leave it on the, on the counter or the table, you know, or even their computer, or I go to the gym here, you know, and the lockers are all open, and you see their keys and their wallet, I didn't take pictures of that. I was supposed to make a video about that. I've been like, you know, motorcycle, I'm at the gym and the motorcycle is there with his helmet just sitting on the seat, you know, I mean, like, it's like nothing's locked down or anything. And it's like, you almost get, you know, you get too comfortable. But yes, when I go to United States, especially the radar goes up and you're always kind of, I don't want to say paranoid, but it's, you have to take out like, you have to have street sense when you're moving about, you know, but that's what I love about Japan though, where I think, I think number one thing in any country should be safety, right? That you don't have to worry about your things or, you know, where, you know, where you leave it or, you know, that people are basically honest, yes, there's crime, yes, there's murders, and yes, you know, you still have to be careful and you kind of, you know, but still it's, it's unbelievable. Yeah. So you and I have lived in Japan a long time and we're both still amazed at that, I guess, coming from the United States where kids, our expectations were spent sat high, but we're, we're, I wanted to talk about Hawaiians and you're Hawaiian born. Okay. Right. And I have many Hawaiian friends through my time at the University of Hawaii, and I've noticed that Hawaiians more than, I mean, everybody loves Japan. Yeah. I'd like you to mention Kiyotos number one, Japan's number one. But Hawaiians love Japan the most, it seems like to me. So I have two friends that have already come here and they've come once and like I told you before we started the show, they're coming again, you know, within two or three months. So what is this connection between Hawaii and Japan? I mean, obviously, there's many Japanese descent, people of descent in Hawaii, but it's, it's beyond that, I think. Yeah. It's a strong, strong affinity. It's like a, it's, it's a, it's a, it's a mutually loved relationship between the Japanese love Hawaii and the people from Hawaii love Japan. And I think it's several different aspects, but I think one, you know, it, Hawaii is an Asian state. So about 67% are of some, you know, Asian background, Asian, you know, Japanese, American, Japanese, Chinese. There's an Asian connection, I think. So, excuse me, excuse, but there's also, you know, so Japanese Americans also have this connection. But I think it has to do with just it first, we talked about the service and people just being so nice and they love the shopping and of course the food. For example, Hawaii, people love Las Vegas, right? They always call it the ninth island, right? I mean, that's like the number, you know, for most people, the number one destination. However, what I found out, especially with my relatives is, you know, maybe they've been going to Las Vegas three times a year for the last 10 years, then they'll go once to Japan for the first time and it changes their whole mind and they want to go to Japan. It even can override Las Vegas to a certain degree because I think they're just fascinated by things being, okay, things are different, exotic, new, it's safe. People are just nice, you know? You don't have to worry. You know, I mean, just people at the service. I mean, you really can't beat the surface, right? Stick about it. Hey Mike, you know, MGM's working on opening up an integrated resort in Osaka. Once that happens, then maybe the Hawaiians going to Las Vegas will go down even more for those that are motivated by gambling. Yeah. You could get, you know, kill two birds and one stone, right? Yeah, that would be ideal. But so, you know, all of that, and I think a lot of, before when I first came to Japan, you know, when I came back over what, 35 years, 35 years ago, Hawai'i people were not traveling to Japan very much. It was still considered far exotic. Yes. It's only been in the last maybe 10, 15, 20 years when, you know, flights became more common. Japan, you know, maybe thanks to Kiku Television in Hawaii and, you know, people watching more Japanese on the, on the television that they feel more, you know, closer. But all they have to do is come one time and then they're hooked, you know, and then they come back and they tell their friends, hey, you got to go to Japan. Originally, it used to be all group tours, mainly, you know, like, you know, they used to come and everybody was coming on a group tour. This was back maybe, what, 20 years. And from that, you have a different generation. You got SNS, you got the internet now, right? When we first came, there was no internet, so you had to do it by yourself. But now you've got internet, you can make your reservation on what, booking.com or whatever you use. It's now, it's so easy to come, you know. And it's closer and faster coming to Japan from Hawaii than going to the East Coast, right? You know, and you don't have to change a plane if you have a direct flight, right? So it's like, why wouldn't you come, right, to Japan? So you can get everything, the full package, you know, something unique, different, good food, safe place, learn something, nice people. What more could you ask for, right? Yeah, my friend Arlene, she's the one who came in November and is coming again in January. In her neighborhood, she goes and walks with the neighbors. It's kind of like a routine. Maybe very Hawaiian kind of thing. Yeah. And what do they talk about? Japan. Yeah. And the next time they're going, I mean, all of them. It's just incredible. You know, when I used to go back, I used to go back and take care of my parents when they were, you know, getting older and things for the last like 10 years. And every time I would go back, no matter who I would talk to, you know, CNAs, you know, many of them were from the Philippines or anyone. Everybody loved Japan and every and many, most people had a Japan story, you know, just like being from Hawaii, you travel to the mainland and then you meet somebody for the first time. And if they've been to Hawaii, a lot of people have a Hawaii story they want to share because they had a good time in Hawaii. Well, Hawaii people have, it's the reverse, they have the Japan story about, you know, oh, they went here or they went there or they tried this. And, you know, because Hawaii being so small, everything spreads among, you know, like my sister is coming in April and she had this intense, intense itinerary for two weeks. Like everything had to be checked. She's researching in advance where she wants to go. And it's not only her, she got this from her friends who have like a intense, intense, like every single minute almost is to the dime scheduled. And they're sharing that among themselves. So it's spread and spread. That's why April, so many people are planning to come. And so that's why I had to go and check out the Airbnb yesterday. My sister sent me an assignment that it had to be perfect, you know, you're there for one week. Yeah, you need to see this place. So we're running out of time, Mike, but maybe the last question I have, do you see, you know, we talked about, are you know, because we live here, the more common places for general tourists to go. The Hawaiian lists that you're talking about, are they different? Are they like more refined or are they going to places that normally tourists wouldn't go? Or maybe something relating perhaps to their ancestry is on that list as well? I think people are still going to the regular places, the Tokyo kill, because there's still a lot to see, right? Like my sister, this is probably her third time, but we're still going to do Tokyo and we're going to do Kansai, right? But I think that, and of course people, if they're from a certain area, like we went back to visit our family, I'm fourth generation, but in Hiroshima to visit the grave when my parents used to come. So there is that aspect, but I think people will start to venture out more and more, especially young people. And I suggested them, yeah, to get off the Silk Road route, you know, whether it's Hokuriku or Tohoku or, you know, sighing, you know, you know, of course there is still, okay, there is the one challenge for some people is the language, you know, like everybody's really nice and the service is great, but sometimes you may go out to an outline area and it might be difficult to communicate and things, you know, take your pocket Wi-Fi or SIM card, make sure you have that, and then have your translator program and you can use that, you know, you can translate, take that with you. But again, because it's safe, it may be inconvenient at times, but it's part of the adventure, I think. So I would suggest to many people, if you've been, if you've done the Silk Road route, to go out to more like, you know, Tohoku, sighing, the Kyushu, Shikoku, when I was riding the bike around Shikoku. But amazing, isn't it? Shikoku is fantastic. It's like old traditional rural Japan. If you want to see how Japan was, the real Japan, quote-unquote, you can go to Shikoku, maybe South Kyushu, you know, yes, it might be difficult to get a, you know, not many people speak English, but you got the translator, take a risk, you know, and, you know, you book your accommodations on booking.com, you know, the train schedule, you should be fine. And, you know, somebody usually is always there to help you. You know, people are just nice, right? Yeah. All right, Mike, we have run out of time. We can go on easily for another half hour. This country is just so magnificent and all aspects of it, not just the traditional places where tourists want to go, for example, Kyoto. When I was a student, I traveled all throughout the whole country, pretty much, you know, on a shoestring. I had no bad experiences and every place I went, the volcanic areas, the beautiful lakes, the mountains, the rainforest, the deserts, my God, this country has it all. So, if you get out from Osaka, Tokyo in those areas, you're going to discover just some beautiful, fascinating places. That's been my experience. And I remember it as a Mr. Walsh. When I first came to Japan, I was 23 years old, he was 65, and he was like my senpai in teaching English in the company. And he had told me, he said, Mike, Japan is so diverse, even though it's a small country, you know, it's the size of California, right? He said, you could travel every weekend for the rest of your life and not see it all. And that's what he told me. And I did that same as you when I was young. I used to go every chance I had, I was trying to see most of it. I think I've seen all of Japan, except maybe South Kyushu, I think I've seen the majority. And when you tell you Mike, South Kyushu is fantastic. Oh, really? How good she went everything, right? Oh, beautiful. Just absolutely a magnificent thought. Like you said, more people will go out and see these areas, you know, take the risk because, you know, people are, it's a safe country. That's the whole thing. You can take a risk. And you might be inconvenienced a bit with the language, but with the internet and with, you know, it's safe, take the risk and go out and see Japan. All right, we'll close on that. Thank you so much, Mike. This is, I think we've done a good job maybe creating more problems for the locals, right? It sounds like you're preparing a bunch of videos now, having to do with tourism and some of your experiences. Yes, I'm going to switch more towards tourist focus things. And I'm going to do one about what you should know before you cycle the Shimonani Kaido. And I'm going to do another one about my experience of, oh, I had a lot of, I mean, a lot of mistakes. You know, I was naive going on there. And so I hope people watch the videos before they go. So they don't make the same mistakes about you should maybe get an e-bike versus a standard bike and, you know, don't plan to do the, yeah, don't plan to do the 75 kilometers unless you're a real advent cyclist or very young and tough. So, you know, little things like that, like, you know, when you watch these videos on YouTube, you go like, oh, yeah, that's fun. I could do that, right? You get there. It's like, holy cow, this is something totally different. I hit the first bridge coming up and I knew I just rode maybe 15 kilometers, struggled to get to the top of the first, basically pushed the last maybe 200 meters. And then I said, I cannot do this. And I'm stuck. I started the trip, you know, but anyway, it'll be in the video about what eventually happened. Okay. Yeah. So, so for our viewers, check out Managed Japan. Yeah, Managed Japan. It's under my name, Mike Matsuno. Yeah, the Managed Japan. Yeah. Thanks, Eric, for putting that up again. And for those of you that are interested in food, I know you've done shows on ramen and yeah, I do a lot of like, yeah, YouTube shirts. I started to do YouTube shirts on food and travel. And then the regular long format was more on issues and a little bit more deeper. But yeah, I want to do more about food and travel for the YouTube shirts. It's only like a minute long. All right. Okay. Thank you so much, Mike. It's been a pleasure hosting you. Thank you. We really appreciate you sharing your experiences and your enthusiasm for this beautiful country that we live in. Well, thank you very much for inviting me. Thank you, Steve. Oh, you're very welcome. We'll be doing a show again in two weeks, a kind of a round table, end of year discussion with my normal cast of characters. So please tune in for that. For now, this is Looking to the East. Thank you so much. And I guess in honor of Mike, I'll say Aloha. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please like us and click the subscribe button on YouTube and the follow button on Vimeo. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and donate to us at ThinkTechHawaii.com. Mahalo.