It was 7:30 a.m. when the line began to form outside the HiLife clothing store in Kakaako.
The doors would not open for another 31⁄2 hours for kicker Kansei Matsuzawa’s free autograph session.
Matsuzawa’s University of Hawaii career ended on Christmas Eve with the Rainbow Warriors’ 35-31 comeback victory over California in the Hawaii Bowl at the Ching Complex. But three days later, hundreds of fans attended a session for autographs and selfies and to thank Matsuzawa for the most decorated season in UH football history.
‘We were really surprised by the turnout,” HiLife founder Kyle Shimabukuro said. “We’re super stoked. After they won the bowl game, we knew it might be nuts. You never know. This morning, it was raining. And you never know what the crowd will be like after Christmas. I’m glad people came and hopefully they were happy to get what they wanted with (Matsuzawa’s) autograph and photo.”
Mika Watabayashi was in line for about 90 minutes before giving Matsuzawa two hand-drawn pictures.
Shelley Okubo, whose support of UH dates to the “Fabulous Five” basketball teams of the early 1970s, is a season-ticket subscriber to football, men’s basketball, Rainbow Wahine volleyball, men’s volleyball and baseball. She gave Matsuzawa a green medallion from the Warriors’ participation in the 2008 Sugar Bowl.
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Matsuzawa’s mother and girlfriend also watched the fans’ adoration of the “Tokyo Toe.”
Matsuzawa, a self-taught kicker from Chiba, Japan, earned the nickname during a streak of successfully converting his first 25 field-goal attempts this season, tying an NCAA record to start a season. Matsuzawa missed a 30-yard attempt in the fourth quarter of the regular-season finale. But he rebounded to make two of three in the Hawaii Bowl, contributing to the Warriors’ surge from a 21-0 deficit.
The NCAA recognizes five All-America lists. By being named to the first team by the Walter Camp Foundation, the Associated Press and the American Football Coaches Association, Matsuzawa was declared as the UH football team’s first consensus All-American.
Matsuzawa and local businessman Mike Kawazoe own the trademark to “Tokyo Toe.” Through HiLife, Matsuzawa approved and contributed to the designs of shirts, hats and other merchandise under the “Tokyo Toe” label. Matsuzawa receives royalties off his brand. He was not paid to appear at the free autograph session.
Following Matsuzawa’s session, former UH pitcher Itsuki Takemoto signed autographs. The A’s selected Takemoto in the 19th round of the 2025 Major League Baseball draft. In February, Takemoto will report to the A’s training facility in Arizona. He said his velocity is up to 96 mph.
Not surprisingly, Okubo was in line for Takemoto’s free autograph session.
AloJapan.com