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What I've learnt in my short history in Hawaii
We moved from Los Angeles to Hawaii in 2014.
Our team decided to leave LA and start a business in Hawaii. One of our team members was from Hawaii, and the other visited the islands frequently so we had 2 who were familiar with the area.
Our plan was to open a small restaurant in Honolulu area to serve local people great Japanese and LA inspired dishes. Our plan went pretty smoothly, and we opened and operated the business for 5 years until April 2021 when pandemic struck all businesses mercilessly.
It was timely that our lease ended then, so we decided not to renew it, and withdrew from food business. Those 5 years was filled with great memories, and I'm sure I'll write about it a lot more in the future.
Tourism in Hawaii
Hawaii is the most popular oversea vacation destination for Japanese people in Japan.
Before pandemic, average 1.5-1.6 million Japanese visited the state annually, concentrated in May, August, and December. During the pandemic (2020-2021), it went down to near zero at one time.
Lot of the stores and restaurants serving tourists were closed, and most Japanese owned services we knew were hit so severely, they had to close permanently.
According to Hawaii DBEDT (Dept of Business, Economic Development and Tourism), in 2021, total Japanese nationals who arrived in Hawaii from Japan was 21,820. I know the majority of them were Hawaii residents and business travelers, not tourists.
It was obvious that almost no "pure" tourists were in town during those times. In April 2022, we finally started to see some tourists from Japan, but still far from normal.
Hawaii depends heavily on revenue generated by tourism. When we first got here in 2014, we were told that the State's revenue was 1/3 tourism, 1/3 agriculture, and 1/3 military related. I didn't confirm the ratio, but they seem convincing. Tourism is the lifeline for Hawaii.
Real estate developments replacing agriculture?
Within 5 years of our arrival, we saw more than 10 high-rise condominiums built in central Honolulu , the area called Ala Moana and Kakaako, and there are more coming as we speak. They are all within 1 mile of the coastline, and the price goes well above $1 million for higher floors.
Just like Tokyo or New York, even though Honolulu is so much smaller in scale, it's only the small area that's so congested and developed. If you drive 10 minutes outside of central Honolulu, you still see the rustic, older housings, shops and parks where no tourists would stop by.
That rustic scenery is what I thought of Hawaii before we arrived in 2014. The tiny islands in the middle of Pacific Ocean with smell of tropical flower in the nice breeze, blue water, white sand, tanned local surfers and long haired hula ladies. Friendly and layback "Aloha" spirit everywhere.
It's still there for sure, but I see a lot of posters, stickers and ads that promote "Aloha spirit". And unfortunately, that is the sign that Aloha Spirit is losing its force...
Japanese tourist coming back to Hawaii - Summer 2022 (hopefully)
In 2021, Hawaii was ranked number 1 for "the place Japanese people searched most online". (according to Hotel.com). That means they were either planning to visit Hawaii, or seeking some information about Hawaii.
Not only Hawaii is the top international vacation destination for Japanese, it's also the top destination for repeating visitors. Many make Hawaii the annual vacation place. Many invest in time-share condo, or fully owned condo.
It's the tropical layback environment, fairly close distance from Japan (a little over 7 hour flight), and Asian friendly culture that lure them back time and time again, and make Hawaii their second home.
One year has past since we closed our restaurant. Each of us spent a few months recuperating from the hectic work hours, and now we are back in business of reaching out to people, this time not only the local people of Hawaii, but anybody anywhere in the whole world who might be interested in Japan and Japanese or Hawaii.
I'm looking forward to seeing how this will turn out.
See you next time! 
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