By Shawna Takaki | Staff Writer

Word on the Street: Where is your favorite place to be in the world?

Yumeno Kubo
Age: 20
Hometown: Kawasaki, Japan
Major: Liberal Arts

“I’d say … Hokkaido. Cuz it’s Japan and my mother’s, [my] parent’s hometown. Because there’s a lot of nature and my grandparents who, how do I put this? I feel comfortable staying there.”

Keahi Akina
Age: 22
Hometown: Kaneohe, Hawai‘i
Major: Hawaiian Studies

“In the water. Surfing, for sure. Makapu’u on a clean day when it’s low winds, 4 feet high, and nobody else is out.”

Shota Kanamaru
Age: 21
Hometown: Fukuoka, Japan
Major: Liberal Arts

“My hometown. Yeah, in Japan. Cuz I can feel relaxed and relieved from the bottom of my heart. I love Hawai‘i too but y’know, my hometown is only one place in the world. When I’m with my friends, walking local. And my parents. I go back to my hometown once a year or once in two years, so my time with my family is kind of limited.”

Keishi Koshikawa
Age: 19
Hometown: Matsumoto, Japan
Major: Liberal Arts

“I have two places. First is my hometown, Matsumoto in Japan. It is surrounded by three mountain ridges and there’s beautiful water and nice weather and yeah, I like it. I love to climb mountains. It’s my love. The second is the beach. There’s no ocean in my hometown so in Hawai‘i, I can enjoy the nice beach. And I want to study Marine Biology in the future so everything that I can see under the water is very interesting and meaningful for me. So, those two places.”

Malie Gonsalves
Age: 25
Hometown: Waianae, Hawai‘i
Major: Medical Laboratory Technician

“With my family. I just like spending time with them, talking to them, having dinner.”