Island Life Post Pandemic - Kauai -

I am still dreaming about our week in Kauai. It was harsh coming back to the loud and hectic pick up area of Los Angeles Airport. This was our second time visiting “The Garden Island.” As it was named after its tropical rainforests covering most of the island, Kauai was magical as I remembered and freed us from the long-term pandemic stress.

Princeville and Hanalei - North Shore -

The North Shore was lush and rainy. The rain storm was forecasted for the week when we arrived. We were lucky that it drizzled a little but the cloud drifted away fast and the sun showed up many times. Koa, the little mechanic, was wiggly but entertained well, examining all the buttons, shelves, and armrest during the flight. And of course, watched his favorite shows on YouTube, “Mr. Monkey.”

Around 3 am, the first rooster started its cock-a-doodle-doo. Exactly what we imagined of the sidekick friend in Moana, this little guy woke all the other roosters up too early, and in no time, the noisy ensemble followed. For some reason, Westin put us in the building right next to where the chickens meet and greet. We closed the window and woke up again around 6 am. The morning in Hawaii is always bright and blissful. Koa was happy as a clam walking on the soft carpet of the hotel room. We started off the day with fresh papaya, overly sweetened Hawaiian tropical juice, and macadamia nut pancakes we made at the room kitchen.

We went to several beaches on the North Shore. The water was clear and pleasant. Growing up in Japan, the ocean was something to view and not meant to mess around with. In Hawaii, with the two Vikings with me, there was no way to skip the dipping in the water. Koa, the half Viking with a Hawaiian spirit, was entranced by the salty splashy water. No matter how much water he got on his face, in his mouth and nose, he had the biggest grin and giggles. The sand felt soft and smooth on his feet. He liked picking up small coral rocks and a leaf bigger than his face. The beach was an endless playground for him.

I came to learn more about his personality lately. He is happy, wild, curious, and adventurous. Proud locals would come to us and say “Oh I went to school with many Koa.” as it might have sounded like Koa was the name only granted for Hawaiian borns. Without a doubt, he was a brave warrior in the water. And happy and bright as the sky just like the other meanings of his name in Japanese.

Princeville, where we stayed in, had nothing but great beaches and resort hotels. We were happy to find Bread Company in Hanalei. They had the best breads and pastries in town. We enjoyed their macadamia nut sticky bun and açaí bowl.

Limahui Garden’s self tour was a nice 40 minutes hike, which included all the best features of the tropical forest. The indigenous house at the entry invited us into the lush and mystical rainforest behind it. Sitting up high on his Minimies, Koa was on a little adventure in the jungle. Hiking up the path that led up to the top of the hill, the view opened up to the vast coastline of the Northshore and the sparkly ocean beyond. This was a perfect little hike for a family with a small child. I highly recommend it.

Waimea and Hanapepe - South Shore -

On the way to Kauai, I was reading a book called “Daughter of Moloka’i.” It was a story about a girl who was “Hapa” meaning “half” in Hawaiian. This girl, who was half Hawaiian and half Japanese, got adopted to a Japanese family in 1920. The story takes place in Hawaii, California, and Japan. It was a perfect reading for this trip. Waimea Plantation Cottages was our second and the last place we stayed at. It was a funny coincidence but this place really takes you back to the 1920's just like in the book. Not only was the style of the cottage historic but also the furniture and kitchen were all dated and squeaky. It was like living in a museum.

In the evening of the first night at the cottage, we walked over to the main building to get some late night ice cream. Unfortunately they didn’t have any dessert menu but we got to walk inside the building, which was mostly open air and invited in a nice and cool ocean breeze. We sat on the front porch in a rocking chair, looking over the garden and the ocean beyond. Koa was drowsy but not fussy. He sat quietly on my lap with his pacifier on. We were looking at the old photos on the wall and found out that the owner of the sugar plantation was Norwegian. Hans Peter Faye came to Kauai in 1880 to build this campus for the plantation workers. As in the book I was reading, many of them were Japanese immigrants. I was looking at the photos of the workers and many actually did look kinda Japanese but with a more tanned look.

Mike Feya, who later built the resort, said "This is the real Hawaii, people of every ethnic group living together in harmony. The sugar camps are Hawaii's cultural legacy." The book wasn’t about this plantation but it did talk about how the Japanese family who lived a harmonious life in Hawaii were shocked when facing the racism in California. It was a surprise to me that living in Hawaii in the 1920's was less prejudiced than living in California. In this town, you will mostly find Japanese names on the storefronts like everywhere else in Hawaii. As a Japanese, who was born and raised there, racism used to be a foreign word to me until coming to the US. Japanese were typically not great at making a big community and settlement but Hawaii welcomed them.

Our days at the plantation cottage were dreamy. Surrounded by the coconut grove, we were in paradise. For some reason, we saw very few people during the day. It felt like we had the entire island on our own, just me, Nicolai, and Koa. We took Koa to the pool in the morning and walked the garden in the afternoon. There were many amazing trees probably aged thousands of years. The trees were the size of a 3-story building or more. We were the cute little family (That’s what our friends and families like to call us.) under the big tree.

The little town in Waimea had the color of 1920’s as well like those black and white pictures on the wall. It was not just because the town was simply worn out but because of the red dirt coming from Waimea Canyon. Some people might find this place unattractive but I kind of like the antique washed out look of the town as I was inspired by the book.

Too much fun at the water made Koa overtired and impossible to make him fall asleep for the afternoon nap. We decided to take a short trip to the famous Kauai Coffee Company. It was a nice place to visit, a little touristy for our taste, but as a coffee lover, I liked walking through the mini coffee garden tour that lightly teaches you how to grow, harvest, and prepare coffee beans. I brought home expensive coffee beans, which they said we couldn’t get outside Hawaii.

On the final day, we stopped at another little town called Hanapepe after our morning dips at the beach. We came to buy some morning buns and coffee but we decided to stay longer to stroll around the town. It was a lovely little walk finding a few galleries and little shops. Later we came back to dine at Japanese Grandma’s Cafe, which was introduced by a kind gentleman, who shared a table with us at the açaí bowl place a couple days ago. Grandma’s Cafe had a little shop, where I found a couple of prints made by the local artis, which I almost bought but decided to just note down the names of the artists. Later I found out the town was known to be the art capital of Kauai and called “the biggest little town.” It made sense. I loved the whole place.

We have always loved traveling to Hawaii but this trip felt very special to me. While Dada (Nicolai) was taking a break at the cottage, Koa and I walked to the oceanfront. The waves were high and the wind was strong. I held him in my arms and thought of the little one, who once came with me to see and feel this ocean. We greeted the ocean and walked back to the cottage.

Greetings in Japanese

7年ぶりのカウアイ島はいつになくのんびりと美しく、またひとつ、私たち家族にとって素敵な思い出が増えました。

とにかく幸空は水遊びが大好きで、アクシデントで海水をがぶ飲みしてもへこたれず、頼もしい一面を見せてくれました。我々はほぼ毎朝ビーチへ出向き、朝日でキラキラする浜辺で家族3人ハワイの海を満喫しました。

旅の後半は、サウスショアのプランテーションコテージで数日を過ごしましたが、リゾート感満載のノースとは反対に、1920年代のハワイにタイムスリップしたような、不思議でロマンチックな滞在でした。敷地内は壮大な芝生の両側にココナッツグローブが並んでいて、その先には海が見え、昼間はプールに庭の散策、夜は海の音を聴きながら本を読み、ロサンゼルスでは味わえないゆっくりと流れる時間を楽しませてもらいました。

旅のひとつひとつの瞬間が素敵すぎて、どうにかこの感覚を覚えておこうと、必死にブログに書き留めてみました。一歳2ヶ月の幸空は、初めてのハワイでたくさん冒険をし、歩くことにも自信をつけたようです。綺麗に日焼けした顔と体で今は自宅でスヤスヤとお昼寝しております。