I’ve never been a beach person. I prefer concrete landscapes like Tokyo. Spending the day relaxing, tanning, and having fun at the beach is on my list of most unappealing activities. Don’t get me wrong – beaches are objectively beautiful, but the thought of cleaning sand out of my shoes is just mentally exhausting. With that said, I’ve always been fascinated by the vast expanse of the world’s oceans. I don’t venture to the coast too often, so seeing the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii, armed with my brand new Leica Q2, was a treat.

Okay, fine. I was actually able to relax during my trip to Hawaii. Over the past year, I’ve been working nonstop. Between my awesome full time job at Kinsta, blockchain endeavors with RHIZOME, blogging somewhat consistently, and hosting multiple podcasts, I was really starting to burn out. My wife and baby were originally going to travel to Hawaii with a friend and her baby, but that plan got thrown out the window thanks to COVID-19.

Long story short, my parents ended up going to Hawaii to meet my wife and baby, and I showed up a few days later to meet them there before we all headed to Boston. Oh, I should mention that this trip took place back in very early March before COVID-19 cases blew up in the USA. Looking back at it, it was the best choice for my family to leave Tokyo for Boston, so I don’t want to see any condescending lectures in my inbox. Just enjoy the photos.

I like the Pacific Ocean more than the Atlantic, but I couldn’t tell you why – it’s just a feeling. I think it’s probably because I’ve flown over the Pacific Ocean dozens of times. Anyway, I’m not a scientist, but the water in Hawaii seemed pretty clear. If you’re reading this and you’re a villager on a remote island in the Philippines with 100x clearer water, I’m sorry – I’m a city boy.

Strangely enough, we flew all the way to Hawaii, and had no plans to watch the sunset. On our second evening, we left around 6 PM in search for sushi and loco moco. I’m not sure why my parents wanted to eat sushi in Hawaii, but they did. On our way to the sushi restaurant, we saw a ton of people gathered at the beach for the sunset – so we ignored it. Just kidding. We sprinted over to the beach, and caught the last few moments of the sunset. I was still in the honeymoon phase with my Leica Q2, so I had no problem running and kicking sand everywhere for 47 megapixels of sunset goodness.

What’s your favorite ocean? Do you like the beach? What do you think about the contrast between the Hawaii that tourists see and the “real” Hawaii? Let me know on Twitter or send me an email.