In a recent article in Pacific Edge Magazine, “Who’s Idea Was Magic Island?” I was surprised to see a pre-1972 shoreline without Oahu’s most famous peninsula.  As someone who was not born and raised here, I had no idea that Magic Island was man-made.

I took this photo from Yacht Harbor Towers and it’s difficult to tell what is natural, and what is artificial.

View of Magic Island from Yacht Harbor Towers

I love checking out local events and there were many in the past weekend in Honolulu.  We went to “Family Sunday,” which takes place every third Sunday at The Honolulu Academy of Arts and the 5th Annual Hawaii’s Book and Music Festival on the Honolulu Civic Center Grounds.

A Samadhi performer at the Honolulu Academy of Arts

The Academy of Arts is one of my favorite places.  I love the building and small courtyards.

Book and Music Fair at Honolulu Civic Grounds

I also love the Honolulu Civic Center Grounds.  It is like an oasis in town.  As Honolulu is busy town, I certainly appreciate this big green lawn space with chirping birds and canopy trees.  It’s so relaxing…No wonder I picked these two events to spend my weekend.

Just posted a virtual tour of 425 South Street, Makai 901… also known as One Waterfront Towers, two classic icons near the Kakaako waterfront.

This is a corner 2-bedroom, 2-bath unit on the ’01′ stack with views from Diamond Head to the Leeward coast and great views of Honolulu Harbor.

４２５　サウス通り　マウカ　９０１号室のバーチャルツアーを載せました。　カカアコのウォーターフロントにあるツインタワーのひとつ。

２寝室２浴室タイプの０１号室は角部屋でダイヤモンドヘットよりリーワードの岸辺の辺りまで見渡せる。特にホノルルのハーバーは絶景。

It’s been a while since I visited Waikiki Beach, I was a little surprised to see how crowded it was. There were thousands of people lounging on the sand, surfing, and taking the catamaran tours. If there’s a recession, there was no sign of it in Waikiki.

ワイキキビーチ訪問

久しぶりにワイキキビーチに寄って　少し驚いたのはたくさんの人であふれていた事。　何千の人がビーチでリラックス、サーフィング、ボートツアーなどを楽しんでいました。　ワイキキには不況の兆しがないようです。

Las Vegas just edged Detroit as America’s emptiest city. Detroit was in decline for decades, Las Vegas was flourishing with new construction and economic development and hit hard by the housing collapse. Empty neighborhoods are becoming a problem across the country. Detroit’s population of 900,000, is half of what it was half a century ago.  Will Las Vegas suffer the same fate?

Honolulu ranked the best with a homeowner vacancy rate of 5.8%, and .5% for rentals.

Last Vegas: Rental Vacancy Rate: 16%, Home Vacancy Rate: 4.7%

アメリカの空き都市
ラスベガスはデトロイトのようにアメリカの見放された空き都市化してきている。デトロイトはここ何十年間下落、ラスベガスは新しい建設工事と経済開発で事業繁盛、しかし住宅急激下落の影響を大きく受けている。アメリカでは人が住んでいない住宅地環境が問題になっている。デトロイトの人口は半世紀前と比べ半減の９０万人。ラスベガスも同じ運命なのだろうか？

ラスベガス：賃貸空き室率15％、住居用空き室率4.7%
ホノルルはベスト空き室率にランキングされています。　賃貸空き室率0.5%、住居用空き室率：5.8％