Waikiki, OahuHawaii

The Japanese Invasion of Hawaii


Waikiki Half Moon
Panoramic view of Waikiki Bay.
Brief Dry Lesson
Vacationers receive a surf lesson on Waikiki Beach.
The Stupid Factory
Waikiki passersby contemplate a window of "The Stupid Factory"
byodo-in
Facade of the Buddhist temple of Byodo-in, an expression of the strong Japanese presence in Oahu and Hawaii in general.
Waikikki Surfers
Surfers practice in the tranquil sea off Waikiki Beach.
Longboard fleet
Succession of longboards, popular surfboards on Waikiki beach.
Waikiki coastline
Excerpt from Waikiki Beach, in the Hawaiian capital of Honolulu.
Outgoing bathers
Bathers leave the seductive Pacific Ocean that bathes Waikiki.
Forest of bathers
A crowd of mostly Asian bathers, entertained with buoys and mattresses.
overcrowded sea
A conglomerate of mostly Asian bathers, entertained with buoys and mattresses.
Hawaiian at ease
Dock Island Cafe Maid poses for a photo.
A Flowery Recognition
Statue of Duke Kahanamoku, Father Hawaiian Surf, filled with wreaths placed by his admirers.
kendo pose
Kendo practitioners hold an exhibition in the garden of the Byodo In Buddhist temple.
A Bath in the Pacific
Waiki beach goers bathe in the (very) Pacific ocean off to the sea.
Colorful and communal vacations
Waikiki tourists enjoy themselves in the gentle Pacific ocean over there.
in good company
A bather is photographed next to the statue of the Father of Hawaiian surfing Duke Kahanamoku.
Honolulu skyline
The bright skyline of Honolulu, the Hawaiian capital and one of the largest cities in the heart of the Pacific.
Decades after the attack on Pearl Harbor and from the capitulation in World War II, the Japanese returned to Hawaii armed with millions of dollars. Waikiki, his favorite target, insists on surrendering.

We got used to appreciating expressions of the unbreakable Japanese group spirit, on trips through Japan and other places where we came across its people on vacation.

Still, the one we discover when we reach the beach in front of the Royal Hawaian Hotel leaves us awestruck.

On a stretch of the Pacific Ocean that looks more like a swimming pool, hundreds of Japanese bathers have fun floating and splashing around.

Oahu: The Japanese Gathering Island in Waikiki

Several wear wet white t-shirts, but even more strange is the splash of sea on their mattresses and buoys, all green or pink.

Bathers, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii

Waikiki tourists have fun in the Pacific ocean there and then smooth.

We walked along the beach. We almost only see faces and bodies from the Far East, too white to fit the bathing and semi-tropical scenery.

They do everything possible to forget the 355 days a year of social submission, of rules and regulations that straddle the Emperor's land.

A couple imitates the teachings of a native instructor and balance on boards parked a few feet from the water.

Surf Lesson, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii

Vacationers receive a surf lesson on Waikiki Beach.

In the opposite direction, closer to the road, others feed the cult of photography vice versa and line up next to the bronze statue of Duke Kahanamoku, king of surf teachers and sportsmen in the archipelago.

statue Duke Kahanamoku, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii

A bather is photographed next to the statue of the Father of Hawaiian Surf Duke Kahanamoku.

We're on Oahu, the island that Hawaiian mythology called the reunion, and despite their somewhat alien presence, these tourists seem to do the gods' will.

By 1885, Japan was a rural nation and part of its population faced extreme poverty. For some time now, the prospect of emigration has enticed families from various regions and Hawaii, full of sugar cane and pineapple plantations to which the first workers – many, Madeirans and Azoreans – did not give an answer, was revealed to be the preferred destination. .

The "Infamous" Nippon Aggression of Hawaii

Even against the will of the Emperor – who was concerned about the degeneration of their race – the Japanese continued to leave and, in 1920, they already constituted about 43% of the population of the territory, which had since been annexed by the United States. But Japan industrialized.

It became heavily militaristic with expansionist ambitions that spanned the dominance of Asia and began with the infamous surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, one of the largest US naval bases, also located on Oahu.

Kendo Exhibition, Byodo-in, Oahu, Hawaii

Kendo practitioners hold an exhibition in the garden of the Byodo In Buddhist temple.

As time left behind the painful Japanese capitulation in World War II, resentment toward the Americans faded and Japan resumed the family and ethnic ties that linked it to the middle of the Pacific. Shortly thereafter, the advent of jet aviation boosted tourism in the Hawaiian archipelago.

Now, already enriched, many Japanese once again could not resist the journey of their lives.

Some still let themselves be seduced by the climate and the freedom felt in Hawaii and, despite the different reasons, they moved there trying to unburden their existence. Even if only partially.

Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii

Excerpt from Waikiki Beach, in the Hawaiian capital of Honolulu.

We returned from the center of Honolulu tired and decided to replenish energy in a greedy way in an eccentric frozen yogurt shop. The establishment is sophisticated and creative.

Japanese Presence, Japanese Mentality

For this reason, as we fill the glasses with flavors and extras with which we compose the meal, we can't resist photographing part of the crazy design, something that makes the almond-eyed cashier run from her post anxiously and warn us with as much diplomacy as possible. : “Stop, stop. You can't take photos in here!”.

Our commercial interest in the place is below zero as the frozen yogurts that we devoured but still aroused fears of industrial espionage inherent in the lady's high-tech motherland that neither the sun nor the incredible landscapes and Hawaiian culture had relaxed.

Cafe Maid Dock Island, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii

Dock Island Cafe Maid poses for a photo.

If Japanese emigrants find it difficult to divorce their habits, those who land on the island for just a few days feel even more so. Waikiki offers them the beach and exoticism that arrives but saves them from too sudden changes.

Av. Kalakaua: The Hawaiian Way of Rapprochement among USA and the Japan

After walking around it over and over, we confirm that the long Kalakaua avenue is more than the favorite haven of Japanese visitors. It is also a symbol of the close collaboration between Japan and the United States in the 80s that allowed Hawaii in 2010 alone to have 1885 million Japanese visitors (six times more than all immigrants between 1941 and XNUMX) .

The Stupid Factory, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii

Waikiki passersby contemplate a window of "The Stupid Factory"

Most of the boutiques, hotels and other businesses that delimit that main artery belong to Japanese corporations and even the Yakuza mafia.

Accordingly, a considerable part of passersby reveal themselves as Japanese consumers who rejoice at being able to buy with the refinement of Ginza or Omotesando (Tokyo's high-profile commercial zones) locked in by the rising value of the yen against the dollar.

They are honeymoon couples who are just as passionate about the couple as they are about the luxurious windows. And families of salarymen with enviable incomes.

We see them enter stores in a disciplined manner, often greeted in Japanese with the heightened delicacy and reverence one appreciates across lands of Hokkaido, Honshu and Kyushu: “irasshaimaseeee!”, the necessary greeting is repeated over and over again by the thoughtful maids.

But the “Nipponizing” of Waikiki and Hawaii in general is far from everyone's satisfaction. Once we return to the beach, we get into conversation with native surf instructors who are resting in the shade of coconut trees and one of them ends up venting indignantly: “These islands belong to us but we are increasingly forced to leave.

Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii

Panoramic view of Waikiki Bay.

The real estate speculation in Honolulu and Waikiki is such that normal Hawaiians can only live many tens of kilometers from the city center, which forces us to spend a lot of money traveling. But the worst thing is that we also find ourselves cut off from jobs.

After bringing the business here, the Japanese started sending employees. What's left for many of our families is moving to the mainland. Las Vegas, for example, is overflowing with Hawaiians.”

As far as we can see, it didn't happen that the local community had imposed itself in numerical terms. The number of Nikkei Hawaiians has even declined, and immigrants from the remaining 49 US and Philippine states have arrived for decades.

But the Japanese presence gained great relevance and opened the doors to massive investment. Non-Japanese Hawaiians are more aware than ever of the Japanese invasion.

And, in beach and coffee conversations, they play with the situation and repeat, between uncomplexed laughter, that the Rising Sun has returned to finish in peace what it had started to do in Pearl Harbor.

Key West, USA

The Tropical Wild West of the USA

We've come to the end of the Overseas Highway and the ultimate stronghold of propagandism Florida Keys. The continental United States here they surrender to a dazzling turquoise emerald marine vastness. And to a southern reverie fueled by a kind of Caribbean spell.
Maui, Hawaii

Maui: The Divine Hawaii That Succumbed to Fire

Maui is a former chief and hero of Hawaiian religious and traditional imagery. In the mythology of this archipelago, the demigod lassos the sun, raises the sky and performs a series of other feats on behalf of humans. Its namesake island, which the natives believe they created in the North Pacific, is itself prodigious.
Morro de São Paulo, Brazil

A Divine Seaside of Bahia

Three decades ago, it was just a remote and humble fishing village. Until some post-hippie communities revealed the Morro's retreat to the world and promoted it to a kind of bathing sanctuary.
Melbourne, Australia

An "Asienated" Australia

Cultural capital aussie, Melbourne is also frequently voted the best quality of life city in the world. Nearly a million eastern emigrants took advantage of this immaculate welcome.
napali coast, Hawaii

Hawaii's Dazzling Wrinkles

Kauai is the greenest and rainiest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is also the oldest. As we explore its Napalo Coast by land, sea and air, we are amazed to see how the passage of millennia has only favored it.
Big Island, Hawaii

Searching for Rivers of Lava

There are five volcanoes that make the big island of Hawaii grow day by day. Kilauea, the most active on Earth, is constantly releasing lava. Despite this, we live a kind of epic to envision it.
Mauna Kea, Hawaii

Mauna Kea: the Volcano with an Eye out in Space

The roof of Hawaii was off-limits to natives because it housed benevolent deities. But since 1968, several nations sacrificed the peace of the gods and built the greatest astronomical station on the face of the Earth.
pearl harbor, Hawaii

The Day Japan Went Too Far

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the Pearl Harbor military base. Today, parts of Hawaii look like Japanese colonies but the US will never forget the outrage.
Florida Keys, USA

The Caribbean Stepping Stone of the USA

Os United States continental islands seem to close to the south in its capricious peninsula of Florida. Don't stop there. More than a hundred islands of coral, sand and mangroves form an eccentric tropical expanse that has long seduced American vacationers.
Miami, USA

A Masterpiece of Urban Rehabilitation

At the turn of the 25st century, the Wynwood neighbourhood remained filled with abandoned factories and warehouses and graffiti. Tony Goldman, a shrewd real estate investor, bought more than XNUMX properties and founded a mural park. Much more than honoring graffiti there, Goldman founded the Wynwood Arts District, the great bastion of creativity in Miami.
tombstone, USA

Tombstone: the City Too Hard to Die

Silver veins discovered at the end of the XNUMXth century made Tombstone a prosperous and conflictive mining center on the frontier of the United States to Mexico. Lawrence Kasdan, Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner and other Hollywood directors and actors made famous the Earp brothers and the bloodthirsty duel of “OK Corral”. The Tombstone, which, over time, has claimed so many lives, is about to last.
Miami beach, USA

The Beach of All Vanities

Few coasts concentrate, at the same time, so much heat and displays of fame, wealth and glory. Located in the extreme southeast of the USA, Miami Beach is accessible via six bridges that connect it to the rest of Florida. It is meager for the number of souls who desire it.
Little Havana, USA

Little Havana of the Nonconformists

Over the decades and until today, thousands of Cubans have crossed the Florida Straits in search of the land of freedom and opportunity. With the US a mere 145 km away, many have gone no further. His Little Havana in Miami is today the most emblematic neighborhood of the Cuban diaspora.
Grand Canyon, USA

Journey through the Abysmal North America

The Colorado River and tributaries began flowing into the plateau of the same name 17 million years ago and exposed half of Earth's geological past. They also carved one of its most stunning entrails.
Mount Denali, Alaska

The Sacred Ceiling of North America

The Athabascan Indians called him Denali, or the Great, and they revered his haughtiness. This stunning mountain has aroused the greed of climbers and a long succession of record-breaking climbs.
Juneau, Alaska

The Little Capital of Greater Alaska

From June to August, Juneau disappears behind cruise ships that dock at its dockside. Even so, it is in this small capital that the fate of the 49th American state is decided.
Monument Valley, USA

Indians or Cowboys?

Iconic Western filmmakers like John Ford immortalized what is the largest Indian territory in the United States. Today, in the Navajo Nation, the Navajo also live in the shoes of their old enemies.
Talkeetna, Alaska

Talkeetna's Alaska-Style Life

Once a mere mining outpost, Talkeetna rejuvenated in 1950 to serve Mt. McKinley climbers. The town is by far the most alternative and most captivating town between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
Las Vegas, USA

Where sin is always forgiven

Projected from the Mojave Desert like a neon mirage, the North American capital of gaming and entertainment is experienced as a gamble in the dark. Lush and addictive, Vegas neither learns nor regrets.
Navajo nation, USA

The Navajo Nation Lands

From Kayenta to Page, passing through Marble Canyon, we explore the southern Colorado Plateau. Dramatic and desert, the scenery of this indigenous domain, cut out in Arizona, reveals itself to be splendid.
Esteros del Iberá, Pantanal Argentina, Alligator
Safari
Iberá Wetlands, Argentina

The Pantanal of the Pampas

On the world map, south of the famous brazilian wetland, a little-known flooded region appears, but almost as vast and rich in biodiversity. the Guarani expression Y bera defines it as “shining waters”. The adjective fits more than its strong luminance.
Faithful light candles, Milarepa Grotto temple, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 9th Manang to Milarepa Cave, Nepal

A Walk between Acclimatization and Pilgrimage

In full Annapurna Circuit, we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). we still need acclimatize to the higher stretches that followed, we inaugurated an equally spiritual journey to a Nepalese cave of Milarepa (4000m), the refuge of a siddha (sage) and Buddhist saint.
Architecture & Design
napier, New Zealand

Back to the 30s – Old-Fashioned Car Tour

In a city rebuilt in Art Deco and with an atmosphere of the "crazy years" and beyond, the adequate means of transportation are the elegant classic automobiles of that era. In Napier, they are everywhere.
Salto Angel, Rio that falls from the sky, Angel Falls, PN Canaima, Venezuela
Adventure
PN Canaima, Venezuela

Kerepakupai, Salto Angel: The River that Falls from Heaven

In 1937, Jimmy Angel landed a light aircraft on a plateau lost in the Venezuelan jungle. The American adventurer did not find gold but he conquered the baptism of the longest waterfall on the face of the Earth
Tiredness in shades of green
Ceremonies and Festivities
Suzdal, Russia

The Suzdal Cucumber Celebrations

With summer and warm weather, the Russian city of Suzdal relaxes from its ancient religious orthodoxy. The old town is also famous for having the best cucumbers in the nation. When July arrives, it turns the newly harvested into a real festival.
Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Azores, City Gates
Cities
Ponta Delgada, São Miguel (Azores), Azores

The Great Azorean City

During the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, Ponta Delgada became the most populous city and the economic and administrative capital of the Azores. There we find the history and modernism of the archipelago hand in hand.
Obese resident of Tupola Tapaau, a small island in Western Samoa.
Meal
Tonga, Western Samoa, Polynesia

XXL Pacific

For centuries, the natives of the Polynesian islands subsisted on land and sea. Until the intrusion of colonial powers and the subsequent introduction of fatty pieces of meat, fast food and sugary drinks have spawned a plague of diabetes and obesity. Today, while much of Tonga's national GDP, Western Samoa and neighbors is wasted on these “western poisons”, fishermen barely manage to sell their fish.
Tabatô, Guinea Bissau, tabanca Mandingo musicians. Baidi
Culture
Tabato, Guinea Bissau

The Tabanca of Mandinga Poets Musicians

In 1870, a community of traveling Mandingo musicians settled next to the current city of Bafatá. From the Tabatô they founded, their culture and, in particular, their prodigious balaphonists, dazzle the world.
Spectator, Melbourne Cricket Ground-Rules footbal, Melbourne, Australia
Sport
Melbourne, Australia

The Football the Australians Rule

Although played since 1841, Australian Football has only conquered part of the big island. Internationalization has never gone beyond paper, held back by competition from rugby and classical football.
Creel, Chihuahua, Carlos Venzor, collector, museum
Traveling
Chihuahua a Creel, Chihuahua, Mexico

On Creel's Way

With Chihuahua behind, we point to the southwest and to even higher lands in the north of Mexico. Next to Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, we visited a Mennonite elder. Around Creel, we lived for the first time with the Rarámuri indigenous community of the Serra de Tarahumara.
Indigenous Crowned
Ethnic
Pueblos del Sur, Venezuela

Behind the Venezuela Andes. Fiesta Time.

In 1619, the authorities of Mérida dictated the settlement of the surrounding territory. The order resulted in 19 remote villages that we found dedicated to commemorations with caretos and local pauliteiros.
Rainbow in the Grand Canyon, an example of prodigious photographic light
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Natural Light (Part 1)

And Light was made on Earth. Know how to use it.

The theme of light in photography is inexhaustible. In this article, we give you some basic notions about your behavior, to start with, just and only in terms of geolocation, the time of day and the time of year.
San Juan, Old Town, Puerto Rico, Reggaeton, Flag on Gate
History
San Juan, Puerto Rico (Part 2)

To the Rhythm of Reggaeton

Restless and inventive Puerto Ricans have made San Juan the reggaeton capital of the world. At the preferred beat of the nation, they filled their “Walled City” with other arts, color and life.
Teide Volcano, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Islands
Tenerife, Canary Islands

The Volcano that Haunts the Atlantic

At 3718m, El Teide is the roof of the Canaries and Spain. Not only. If measured from the ocean floor (7500 m), only two mountains are more pronounced. The Guanche natives considered it the home of Guayota, their devil. Anyone traveling to Tenerife knows that old Teide is everywhere.
Geothermal, Iceland Heat, Ice Land, Geothermal, Blue Lagoon
Winter White
Iceland

The Geothermal Coziness of the Ice Island

Most visitors value Iceland's volcanic scenery for its beauty. Icelanders also draw from them heat and energy crucial to the life they lead to the Arctic gates.
Lake Manyara, National Park, Ernest Hemingway, Giraffes
Literature
Lake Manyara NP, Tanzania

Hemingway's Favorite Africa

Situated on the western edge of the Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park is one of the smallest but charming and richest in Europe. wild life of Tanzania. In 1933, between hunting and literary discussions, Ernest Hemingway dedicated a month of his troubled life to him. He narrated those adventurous safari days in “The Green Hills of Africa".
Tamul Waterfall, Aquismón, Huasteca Potosina, San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Nature
Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico

The Water the Gods Pour From Jars

No waterfall in Huasteca Potosina compares with that in Tamul, the third highest in Mexico, at 105 meters high and, in the rainy season, almost 300 meters wide. Visiting the region, we set off on a quest for the river jump that the indigenous people saw as divine.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Cahuita, Costa Rica, Caribbean, beach
Natural Parks
Cahuita, Costa Rica

An Adult Return to Cahuita

During a backpacking tour of Costa Rica in 2003, the Caribbean warmth of Cahuita delights us. In 2021, after 18 years, we return. In addition to an expected, but contained modernization and hispanization of the town, little else had changed.
UNESCO World Heritage
glaciers

icy blue planet

They form at high latitudes and/or altitudes. In Alaska or New Zealand, Argentina or Chile, rivers of ice are always stunning visions of an Earth as frigid as it is inhospitable.
aggie gray, Samoa, South Pacific, Marlon Brando Fale
Characters
Apia, Western Samoa

The Host of the South Pacific

She sold burguês to GI's in World War II and opened a hotel that hosted Marlon Brando and Gary Cooper. Aggie Gray passed away in 2. Her legacy lives on in the South Pacific.
Unusual bathing
Beaches

south of Belize

The Strange Life in the Black Caribbean Sun

On the way to Guatemala, we see how the proscribed existence of the Garifuna people, descendants of African slaves and Arawak Indians, contrasts with that of several much more airy bathing areas.

Chiang Khong to Luang Prabang, Laos, Through the Mekong Below
Religion
Chiang Khong - Luang Prabang, Laos.

Slow Boat, Down the Mekong River

Laos' beauty and lower cost are good reasons to sail between Chiang Khong and Luang Prabang. But this long descent of the Mekong River can be as exhausting as it is picturesque.
Executives sleep subway seat, sleep, sleep, subway, train, Tokyo, Japan
On Rails
Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo's Hypno-Passengers

Japan is served by millions of executives slaughtered with infernal work rates and sparse vacations. Every minute of respite on the way to work or home serves them for their inemuri, napping in public.
A kind of portal
Society
Little Havana, USA

Little Havana of the Nonconformists

Over the decades and until today, thousands of Cubans have crossed the Florida Straits in search of the land of freedom and opportunity. With the US a mere 145 km away, many have gone no further. His Little Havana in Miami is today the most emblematic neighborhood of the Cuban diaspora.
Women with long hair from Huang Luo, Guangxi, China
Daily life
Longsheng, China

Huang Luo: the Chinese Village of the Longest Hairs

In a multi-ethnic region covered with terraced rice paddies, the women of Huang Luo have surrendered to the same hairy obsession. They let the longest hair in the world grow, years on end, to an average length of 170 to 200 cm. Oddly enough, to keep them beautiful and shiny, they only use water and rice.
Cliffs above the Valley of Desolation, near Graaf Reinet, South Africa
Wildlife
Graaf-Reinet, South Africa

A Boer Spear in South Africa

In early colonial times, Dutch explorers and settlers were terrified of the Karoo, a region of great heat, great cold, great floods and severe droughts. Until the Dutch East India Company founded Graaf-Reinet there. Since then, the fourth oldest city in the rainbow nation it thrived at a fascinating crossroads in its history.
Passengers, scenic flights-Southern Alps, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand

The Aeronautical Conquest of the Southern Alps

In 1955, pilot Harry Wigley created a system for taking off and landing on asphalt or snow. Since then, his company has unveiled, from the air, some of the greatest scenery in Oceania.