The airport in Maui was actually very small and very few taxis were waiting. My first tip of the trip. My perception of the hotel from the few pictures that we could get on the Internet, was that of a lonely hotel in a far fetched area where only Hawaiian would work (probably my trip to Malaysia two years ago gave me that impression about exotic vacations). However, we were very surprised to see so many hotels all lined up in front of the same beach. Those made for long walks just looking on one side at people getting suntanned, and people playing in the hotel private pool on the other side.

The Kaanapali Beach Hotel where we stayed is named the "Most Hawaian Hotel in Hawaii" for its very attractive and simple architecture, not pretentious like its rich neighbors (Sheraton and company). Many of its staff are pure Hawaian talking to each other in that curious Hawaian language (not English!).

The first thing that Kiyoka did when she arrived was to dip her feet in the Maui's wonderful sand. (Kiyoka always move her arms in big circles when she is very happy!). We are here finally! After months of organizing this wedding trip to Hawaii, moving to a new apartment, it is nice to finally take a holiday.

The first day in Maui, we were enthusiastic to walk all the way to the Lahaina downtown. Actually I forgot my Lonely planet that I bought in Japan just for our trip to Hawaii where it most probably was written that it is quite far! But we walked it! After passing the row of hotel, we walked along the beach with jungles and old houses, almost all the way to Lahaina where we were so exhausted that we jumped in a taxi for the last few kilometers. Tell me about a honeymoon! But it was worth it for the chance to be with the few otters that we saw relaxing on the beach far from the public.

Lahaina... full of American tourists, a few sketchy Santa Claus and me standing by a flagpole.

Being in Japan for 4 years, my stomach is having trouble with the size of American food. Incidentally, I am on last diet effort for the wedding. I promised Kiyoka that I would weight 60kg for the wedding two years ago... I was 72kg at that time. Through training and proper nutrition (see those pages for the secret of my success: 1, 2, 3,GO!), I can say that my weight is in a very healthy range now and very happy to keep it like this. Anyway, I had this idea when I saw that we could choose between S, M and L for a Coke at any restaurant, but everyone had exactly the same plate size. Is there not anything wrong with that?

Gee! To be frank, I am having probably a bit of a culture shock here in Hawaii...

Whale watching cruise

One of the main attraction of the Maui Island is the possibility to see whales jumping out of water! In fact, there are humpback whales that are spending their summerts in Alaska and come to Hawaii for the winter. Fortunately, the peak season is December, January and February.

Whales were great. And we were lucky to see many of them jumping of the water. I took a film with my 300mm lens. Kiyoka also took one of the really good pictures of me. Any professional photographer would tell you that the small triangle of light on the left cheek is the key to a perfect portrait. And anyone noticed the sumo cat on my small size T-shirt and my new I-lost-10kg-glamour. This cat is quite the trademark of Hawaii. Since I am a big sumo fan, I could not miss the opportunity to buy a T-shirt showing my favorite Yokozuna.

With our below-the-average hotel, our every-evening shows were most-Hawaiian-in-Hawaii but modest.
Hey, I writing English like Japanese!
We are on Christmas Eve. Kiyoka is angry at me because I couldn't get hold on the top shows in the area... Unfortunately, the best shows are in the most expensive hotels reserved for their best customers in that festive time of the year. We walk around and find a few more Japanese couples who are willing to take lovely pictures for us. In a bar, we see brash 90210 American blond girls smoking their first Hawaiian-made cigars. Pakeu. Pakeu. I sip my Moonlight blue cocktail and I am thinking "Gosh! They are my last chance to say good bye to a married life with a Japanese girl... "