"We paid for blood!"
Date: December 6, 2020
COVID-19 Update No. 2: Tired of nobody posting Hawaii vacation pics on social media? I gotchu, fam. The lockdowns and travel restrictions that characterize the year have not made it easy for people to experience the island life. However, with most of the craziness behind us and with several vaccines being developed it is possible we are on the precipice of a return to normalcy, which is great because I really want to go to Japan.
For the past 9 months Hawaii has been in a constant flux of opening, closing, and reopening things. The government response, while frustratingly slow, fickle, and clumsy, nevertheless helped curb the infection rates. Combined with a high level of cooperation from the people, the state has fared well compared to most of the country.
This chart graphs the daily COVID case count since the beginning of the year. Hawaii was doing really well through July until complacency seemed to set in and cases started to surge, reaching a peak of 353 daily cases on August 12. This was a big deal when it happened, which is kind of hilarious compared to a peak 12,162 daily cases in Orange County alone in late July. With a population of 3 million versus 1.5 million, the peak case count per person in OC was 17x greater than Hawaii's worst day. Nevertheless, severity is relative and lockdown orders were reissued when triple digit daily cases became more common. They closed the parks and restaurants again and it felt like we were back where we started. Today, everything is allowed to be open with asterisks. Restaurants are at half capacity, flights are resuming with testing protocols, and everywhere you go requires masks and social distancing. Cases nowadays average around 50-100 per day.
An interesting statistic is that while comprising only 4% of the population, pacific islanders represent almost a third of all cases. I'm not very knowledgeable on the factors that contribute to this, but one appears to be due to a culture of multi-generational housing. COVID clusters would often originate from a single large family household. This community also tends to be less financially stable and less educated, leading to reduced healthcare access and more preexisting health issues. While some native Hawaiian neighborhoods share similar circumstances, it could be the population is large and established enough to occupy all socioeconomic strata, thus leveling out the playing field.
In October, Hawaii issued an exemption program to bypass the 14-day quarantine mandatory for those arriving into the state, essentially reopening to tourism. As it shows on the graph, this led to a noticeable spike in arrivals which quickly slowed down. I was surprised that it didn't surge back to a near-normal, and to this day Waikiki remains mostly a shell of its former self.
Speaking of Waikiki, this is what happens to a global destination hub during a pandemic. Deserted beaches, empty hotels with the lights on, a lot of closed shops. Since the time this was taken the crowds have somewhat returned to the beaches, although with locals rather than tourists. People are starting to walk Kalakaua once more but obviously not in the same numbers.
Outside of Waikiki life goes on. Traffic seems to have picked up again and people are out and about. For the most part my life has not been affected in a major way this whole year so I should consider myself lucky. The biggest things I miss are being able to sit at a restaurant to eat and to chill at McDonald's and get free refills.
Speaking of food, one silver lining to the shutdowns is that it pushed many high-end restaurants to offer discounts or takeout options, unheard of in normal circumstances. This allowed regular folk like me to get a taste of places that are typically out of budget. Some notable restaurants that have been offering "COVID specials" include Sushi Ginza Onodera, Sushi Sasabune, and best of all, Sushi Sho.
Sushi Sho, located in the Waikiki Ritz Carlton, is normally a $300 course and a 6-month waiting list. They resumed business in October with a 20% reopening discount, but just as important was that the reservation calendar was blank so we were able to book as little as a week out. Even though it was still expensive I figured it was a once in a lifetime deal. I've been meaning to go and this was a great catalyst to pull the trigger.
There is a Sushi Sho in Tokyo by the same chef but what is special about the Waikiki location is that it tries to incorporate local ingredients into a traditional Edomae preparation. I believe this is Ono, a local fish.
My favorite of the night, monkfish liver with pickled watermelon on top. Sounds strange, but the liver tasted like foie gras and the pickle had a surprisingly strong taste, sweet and tangy. So good.
Opah with fingerlime on top, another local fish. This was another one of my favorites. Extremely tender, full of flavor, and not a fish commonly found in sushi.
I think this was aged buri but I could be wrong. As far as more traditional sushi this was one of the best. It is hard to tell but the rice was also aged with koji, a fungus used in the production of sake, shoyu, and miso.
At the end of the meal the restaurant offers additional courses if you are still hungry. I got the Hamachi Kama which was scored and lightly seared. In total the meal was 30 pieces of sushi and other small bites with two desserts and it lasted about 2 hours. We also had a sake flight, so with the extras it ended up being around $300. I guess we didn't get the discount after all.
Dessert was thin obi-noodles with a sweet brown sugar sauce. They also served ice cream which, when drizzled with the same sauce, was fantastic. It reminded me of something that would be served at a traditional Kyoto inn, but how would I know that since I've never been to one?
Everyone wants to know if a place like this is worth the cost. While I wouldn't recommend Sushi Sho for lunch every day, if you are in the market to try a high-end dining experience then this is a great place to consider. I can't say the food tasted 10x better than a normal restaurant, but it was easily the best sushi I've ever had, and maybe as good as sushi can be. The price reflects the experience as a whole, which includes the atmosphere, the great service, and the unique flavors that can only be found at a place like this, and for that I would give it 10 shakas.
Dessert was thin obi-noodles with a sweet brown sugar sauce. They also served ice cream which, when drizzled with the same sauce, was fantastic. It reminded me of something that would be served at a traditional Kyoto inn, but how would I know that since I've never been to one?
Everyone wants to know if a place like this is worth the cost. While I wouldn't recommend Sushi Sho for lunch every day, if you are in the market to try a high-end dining experience then this is a great place to consider. I can't say the food tasted 10x better than a normal restaurant, but it was easily the best sushi I've ever had, and maybe as good as sushi can be. The price reflects the experience as a whole, which includes the atmosphere, the great service, and the unique flavors that can only be found at a place like this, and for that I would give it 10 shakas.
That's enough for world topics, I'll get back to more local observations about Hawaii life in subsequent posts. There are a few topics I've been meaning to cover but obviously I've been lazy. Until next time, またね!
Date: April 7, 2020
Since the world is ending I figured I would update in case the aliens need something to read when they find our long lost civilization. Oh yeah, and Happy New Year I guess.
We are in the middle of COVID-19, the virus that shook the world. Hawaii is no exception to the outbreak but is holding out surprisingly well compared to parts of the mainland. Restaurants are takeout only, parks and beaches are closed (although surfing is still allowed), most employees are working from home, flights are shutting down, and cruise ships seem to be permanently docked in the ports either out of service, unable to leave, or unable to go anywhere else. Any plans of moving, travelling, or changing jobs are out the window for now. On the bright side, it's nice when that kind of pressure is taken away.
The response to the virus has been similar to the hurricanes, that is, irrational buying of supplies of which there is no shortage. Except now the scale has increased to span the entire country. In the middle of the frenzy I legitimately needed some toilet paper and it took four different stores to find.
The toilet paper racks at Walmart and Target were raided. In addition, the pasta, water, and lots of canned goods were emptied as well. I tried looking for unusual things that have been hoarded but only slightly out of the ordinary was a moderate lack of bed sheets.
Ala Moana, once an overcrowded hotspot for tourists and locals alike, looked like a ghost town. I was fortunate to visit when this happened since shortly after this picture all the entrances to the main atrium have been barricaded and the entire mall is essentially shut down. For a while the food establishments remained open however I doubt that is still the case.
I found it interesting that all the jewelry, watches, and luxury goods were gutted at every store. On a different day it would look like they were out of business. I wouldn't be surprised if that fate still comes to pass for many stores here once this is over.
The meat section at the Don Quijote was raided which I found somewhat odd. Sure enough, the next week it was all back in stock and has been since. I'm glad the panic buying has somewhat subsided and hope you all learned your lesson.
Costco on the weekend and most likely on the weekdays too. Fun fact, this particular Costco at Iwilei is often cited as the busiest in the United States.
Saimin Festival cancelled AND no free samples? We truly are living in the end times.
It's a shame they closed Kokohead just as I was starting to get used to its extreme incline. This is the sunset on my last hike, quite metaphorical I dare say. At the start of the craze the public parks were beginning to be taped off, yet many people were still on the trail. I doubt it's very active now.
In a state of 1.5 million there have been 350 cases and 4 deaths. In general people here are being considerate of the mandates to cease most gatherings (Costco is an exception), and despite some flaws in the government's response I believe Hawaii will come out relatively unscathed as far as infections. The impact to businesses however may be severe. Tourism is the mainstay of the economy and many people work in the service sector. With travel shut down and probably slow to trickle back, who knows how many shops or hotels or services will be throttled before things return to normal. Construction is going full steam still, probably hoping to finish projects just as the market starts lifting again. I'm sure anyone in the nation is experiencing similar. Hang in there everyone.