After his family moved to Hawaii for work, Rio began playing ukulele and soon started studying with Herb Ohta Jr.
Rio has won numerous awards and has played in concert with Jake Shimabukuro. In 2014 he performed for TEDxTokyo.

Rio has a lot of energy, technique, and personality. You can hear Jake Shimabukuro's influence in Rio's playing, but listen to Let it be and you'll get a foreshadowing of the emerging artist.