Jodie Chiemi Ching

Jodie Ching is the editor of The Hawai‘i Herald: Hawai‘i's Japanese American Journal and is a member of Afuso Ryu Ongaku Kenkyu Choichi Kai and Tamagusuku Ryu Senju Kai. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Japanese from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and is a 1998 recipient of a scholarship sponsored by the Okinawan Prefectural Government for Okinawan descendants. Ching is also the author of IKIGAI: Life's Purpose (Brandylane Publishing, 2020), an Okinawan children's book under the pen name Chiemi Souen.

Updated November 2021

food en

The Legendary Waffle Dog and the Japanese American Family Behind It

By Jodie Chiemi Ching
19 Jan 2022

What is a waffle dog? In Hawaii, this hand-food looks something like a long UFO—basically a hot dog encased in a waffle with delectable crispy corners. While it looks futuristic, it came to Hawaii in the late 1920s and is now considered a food legend. But for the Asato family, the waffle dog also symbolizes a legacy rooted in gambari (persistence), kökö (filial piety) and gisei (sacrifice). Waialua-born Nisei Agnes (Gusukuma) Asato and her husband, Jiro Asato (from Kita-Nakagusuku, Okinawa), featured the distinctive treat at their KC Drive Inn and other family restaurants fo…

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Kaua‘i-Grown Gambaru Girl

By Jodie Chiemi Ching
1 Dec 2021

Hawaii News Now’s Anchor Ashley Nagaoka Embodies Perseverance, Grace and Humility Sophisticated and cheerful, Yonsei Ashley Toshiko Nagaoka — Emmy award-winning anchor of Hawaii News Now’s “First at 4” newscast at 4 p.m. and “This is Now” at noon on KHNL — is, at her core, a local girl with a huge heart proud to be from Kaua‘i. Just a few days after returning from a family visit on Kaua‘i, Nagaoka and I met for a Sunday morning Zoom chat. She began by talking about growing up in Kapa‘a — a place where she always felt sa…

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Discover Nikkei

Japanese migrants and their descendants

Jodie Chiemi Ching

The Legendary Waffle Dog and the Japanese American Family Behind It

Kaua‘i-Grown Gambaru Girl

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