This is not about Japanese travel but my favourite islands, Hawaii. Please skip this article if you search for Japanese domestic travel information.

I love Hawaii just like I love Japan. This is not simple meaning because I really feel like Hawaii is my home town or birth place although I was born and raised in a small country city of Japan.

When I first visited Hawaii, I flew from LA to Honolulu on business. I had a little business meeting there so I needed to.  I didn’t expect Hawaii to be my favourite place, nor I didn’t want to go there. I thought Hawaii was such a childish place because many Japanese girls liked Hawaii for fun and shopping.  That was not my type.

After a little boring flight from LA, I reached my Hotel in Waikiki.  When I poped the window of my room and on seeing the ocean and on breathing the air of Hawaii, my mind was blown away.  The image I had before visiting Hawaii suddenly disappeared from my mind and totally new sight of a paradise covered my eyes.

The first impression of Hawaii was a perfect surprise for me. Then I began to explore the city and began talking with people on business and sometimes at restaurants.  I gradually was impressed by kind heart of local people. They never let me feel any kind of racial difference, or I didn’t feel something like superuority or inferiority of people, which I often feel in traveling the world big cities. So what I felt there was a total comfort as a human.

As a business person, I was always battling with something. That was a kind of sense of win or lose. But in Hawaii, on business or for pleasure, the contact with people were almost like a mind communication based on humanity or friendship.  That amazed me very much.

As I more and more know people, the first impression about Hawaii became a confidence in my mind. I first time in my life encountered a place of harmony of people being out of Japan.

After some conversation with Hawaiians, they taught me it’s ALOHA SPIRIT. They welcome any, they care each other’s heart, and they respect people. When I learned it, I was nearly crying with joy.

In Tokyo, I spent more than 20 year as a student and as a business person. Tokyo is like a competition metropolis. People must live not to be starved. Survival game allows to produce losers with no food for tomorrow. I was rather enjoying it than lamenting it. I was such a miserable guy to be proud of my success in spite of ignoring the losers. I was thinking I was happy if  it’s OK with me only.  That was my Tokyo life.

When I knew Hawaii, flashback memory of small hometown came up in my mind. I was raised in a co-operative community that peopl take care of each other.  There was love rather than a competition, there was hope rather than fear of losing, and there were people like Hawaiians.

I suddenly noticed in Hawaii I already forgot something most precious. I found out then happiness is not always a success of business or wining of money but it’s a heart of peace and love with the people.

What I experienced in my childhood was re-visualized by the time of Hawaii, or by the people of Hawaii. Hawaii reminded me of my best time, and I now know it’s really the same feeling as my hometown  community. 

Now when I come back to Hawaii, I still remember my hometown.

Moreover, Hawaiians let me recall the most important mind of my life, and since then, my life concept totally changed and maybe I could return to the life value of my hometown days. I will always be in debt to Hawaii and people in Hawaii.

Recently when I stay in Hawaii, again I need to see some new aspects of Hawaii. New investment business invades into Hawaii and land price gets higher. Local people consequently lose houses. For total business of Hawaii, it may be a good thing. But for the people living in Hawaii, I’m not sure if they really like it because the local Hawaiian don’t always talk to me about money, they talk more about ALOHA.  If it destroys ALOHA SPIRIT of long cherished Hawaiian mind, I can’t agree much on capitalism even if it brings more money to Hawaii.

Now world is suffering from the result of money game, capitalizm.  It’s just a virtual image of wealth.  Money is digitally produced by financial computer works, and what’s more, money is just a paper. If financial system breaks down, all the money in our hands will turn into REAL PAPER, which makes no value then.

I hope ALOHA SPIRIT will never be faded away by such new waves. Otherwise, I’ll have to lose one of my hometowns.