After working in broadcasting in Hawaii, he moved to Japan in 1994 where he became an English-language sumo commentator and news anchor for NHK.
He told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in 2012 that in his childhood he had admired anchorman Bob Sevey and realized his ideal job had been "right in front of [his] eyes".
A news director at KITV in Honolulu responded with a job offer for assistant producer that was contingent on moving back to Hawaii; Mihara accepted.
The resignation of the station's weekday sports anchor led to Mihara's appointment as successor in the role.
His charitable activities included playing on a softball team[5] and auctioning himself off on a date at an event billed as "Bidding for Bachelors, A Ladies' Night Out".
[6] The latter was held in 1993 at the Ala Moana Hotel; Mark DeCarlo, then the host of the dating program Studs, was the master of ceremonies.
In an announcement made that month, Mihara said his decision was voluntary and motivated by feelings of burnout, as well as a desire to move on.
[4] A column published in 2000 in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin said that he was fired by a newly-hired director, an outcome that Mihara was said to have considered the best thing that ever happened to him.
[8] Takamiyama, a Hawaiian-born former wrestler and oyakata, praised the speed and thoroughness of Mihara's learning of sumo.