Ready to go

Kyla, Shana and Brenna prepare to go on tonight. Kyla will be blogging
herself soon!

Rainy night

It's a cool rainy night in Sendai tonight for the sisters lesson.
Their sensei Tokuo is in the background.

Study?

Brenna studies (?) in her room before practice tonight. 3rd year jr.
high is always a stressful time for students as they have to pass an
entrance exam to get into high school. Brenna's iPhone doesn't help
since it flashes constantly with mail from friends.

Sunday stage

The sisters prepare backstage for tonight's performance.

Tokyo Giants Game

Shana gets help from the Tokyo Giant's Alex Ramirez on her batting
swing before tonights Rakuten game in Sendai. Alex provided free
tickets for the sisters and friends. Thanks Rami-chan!!

Brenna practice

Brenna practices SANSAGARI while she waits for Shana to return from a
break. Brenna is teaching her NIKATA BuSHI for a future performance.

Happy Birthday!

Today was Kyla's 17th birthday. Happy Birthday!

at home

Kyla takes a break from practice to play with Moby, her 40kg. labrador
retriever. She has a performance with her group this weekend. Shana
and Brenna will be attending the Rakuten vs. Giants basebal lgame in
Sendai.

on with the (last) show

The sisters finished up a busy weekend performance schedule tonight at Koyo hotel. They were a little tired as their performance finished at 9 p.m. Tomorrow school starts back.

Follow-up

Kyla, Brenna and Shana just returned back home to Yamagata last night from Tokyo. They had a really good time and got to meet some famous people including Konishiki, Verbal and even Zac Efron. Their performance was to promote study abroad for Japanese to American universities. The venue was in front of TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) which happened to have Zac Efron there doing a TV show. The sisters decided to ride up the elevator to his floor since they had passes and got lucky when he suddenly walked out and posed for a photo with them (see below). Tonight they have another performance in Yamagata and then back to their normal school life on Monday!

On Stage

The sisters are currently on stage.

Zac Efron

The sisters got to meet Zac Efron backstage at TBS. Kyla almost passed
out!

USA Expo

The are preparing to go on stage at 2:00. They just met Zac Efron!!
Photo coming soon!!

Verbal and Konishiki

Here are the sisters posing with Verbal and Konishiki.

TBS Bldg.

The sisters just arrived at the TBS building to see that Zach Efron is
just upstairs! They also just met Konishiki (ex-sumo) wrestler!

Birthday cake

Kyla celebrates her bithday at her grandparents home in Tokyo this
evening. Can she eat all of it before leaving back to Yamagata?

Back in Shibuya

The sisters have a little free time to shop in Shibuya before
rehearsing for tomorrow's performance in Akasaka.

Tokyo Expo

The sisters will next be performing in Akasaka (Tokyo) for a USA Study Abroad Fair Expo. Click HERE or on the banner for more information in Japanese.

Tonight's stage

The sister's played at a private party at Koyo hotel in Kaminoyama - city tonight. The audience was very enthusiastic and supportive. It was good practice for the sisters.

Getting ready

The Sisters practice together tonight for several upcoming
performances including one in Tokyo.

Zao lake

Shana took her two labradors to a lake in Mt. Zao. It's only 15 min
from the sisters house. The dogs enjoy swimming while Shana searches
frogs and other interesting creatures!

Bachi

Shana won this new BACHI at the Odashima BBQ after the Aomori Taikai.
Their Sensei bought it and everyone did a paper-scissors-rock
competition. Kyla and Shana were the final two and Shana finally beat
one of her big sisters! The sisters are planning to enter the Nagoya
competition in August this year.

Goodbye Aomori

The sisters are traveling back home today from Aomori. One last shot of Mt.
Iwaki for the year.

Three times

The sisters small group, Odashimaryu Jr., won the championship for the
third year in a row!

Hirosaki Castle Park

Here are a few photos of Hirosaki Park while we wait to enter the
performance hall. It's a warm sunny day in Aomori.

Outside

Sho Asano listens and gives advice to the sisters' group as they
practice outside. Sho is now professional but used to lead the group
each year. They are trying to win the small group competition for the
third year in a row!

Awards

Brenna and Kyla display their awards they won at the Aomori National Tsugaru Shamisen Contest. Shana plans to be in the next award photo! Congratulatons!

Kyla makes finals!

Kyla placed in the finals of the Aomori Competition. Congratulations!
Kyla has placed in seven competitions in a row now.

Results!

Brenna placed in the finals of the Aomori national competition! She
was fifth overall. Congratulations! Shana will keep trying hard. Kyla
will go in a few hours. She is in the general division.

Waiting

Shana plays outside at Hirosaki Castle while she and Brenna wait for
their results.

Curtain rises

The Competition is just about to start...good luck Brenna! She's no. 5

Early morning

It's early morning and the sisters are warming up outside of Horosaki
castle where the national tsugaru shamisen contest is being held.
Brenna is one of the first to go...

Mt. Iwaki

Shana snapped this beautiful photo of Mt. Iwaki in Hirosaki, Aomori
today. Tomorrow the sisters compete in the Aomori Tsugaru Shamisen
competition. More later...

Stranded

On the way to Aomori, we are stranded in Golden Week traffic. You can
drive anywhere for a thousand Yen over the holidays...