The perfection paradox

• By Alicia Yamachika
• Sept. 9, 2024

I’ve often talked about wabi-sabi, the Japanese concept of embracing earthly impermanence and finding pleasure in imperfection. Read more

Miracle on North King Street

• By Alicia Yamachika
• Aug. 13, 2024

The Olympics have always been a miracle for me. Athletes from every country and territory coming together to compete in the name of peace and goodwill, showcasing both the potential of the human body and mind, to triumph over tragedy. Read more

A Midsummer Night’s Gleam

• By Alicia Yamachika
• July 9, 2024

In an extended showing of Diamond Head Theatre’s Tootsie, I had the recent pleasure and privilege of watching a former colleague blossom before my eyes. Read more

Three Drinks Long and a Mile High

• By Alicia Yamachika
• June 11, 2024

I recently returned from my first United States Bartender’s Guild National Conference in Denver, Colorado, where a dear friend and I had the privilege of learning from the most dedicated and inspired minds in the bar world today Read more

Japanese by Design – The Mini Bar

• By Alicia Yamachika
• May 7, 2024
• 1

I recently returned from vacation in Japan, where I had the distinct privilege of touring the beautiful Suntory Hakushu Distillery, located in the mountainous Yamanishi Prefecture. Read more

Restaurant real estate

• By Alicia Yamachika
• April 9, 2024

I read that in 2023, the National Association of REALTORS was one of the largest lobbying spenders in the United States, second only to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Read more

Enlightened hospitality

• By Alicia Yamachika
• March 11, 2024

While a few friends and I were discussing our favorite places to eat, we stumbled upon an interesting similarity. Read more

Crafting your inner boss

• By Alicia Yamachika
• Feb. 12, 2024

As a board member of the United States Bartenders’ Guild Hawaii Chapter, I recently joined forces with two amazing USBG women to lead a seminar on “Crafting Your Inner Boss” as part of USBG Ed Week 2023 Read more

Lingua franca

• By Alicia Yamachika
• Jan. 9, 2024

I love language. It’s the reason I decided to be an English major, why I studied Japanese and French, and am proud to say I’ve been a conversational speaker of Pidgin almost since I could walk. Read more

Raising the bar: my unsung hero

• By Alicia Yamachika
• Dec. 12, 2023

The best thing anyone ever said to me was spoken by a young woman I was training as a server and bartender. Read more

Stopping by bars on a balmy evening

• Nov. 7, 2023

When I was a child, I loved to read and draw. From building blocks to science projects, I loved anything that involved my imagination, and my mother and teachers started calling me “creative.” Read more

The restaurant of mistaken orders

• By Alicia Yamachika
• Oct. 10, 2023
• 3

One of my first restaurant jobs was in the café of a nightclub, where I cut my teeth holding down the day shift, during which I could sometimes count on one hand the number of customers who would walk in. Read more

Kahu for maui

• By Alicia Yamachika
• Sept. 12, 2023

A deep feeling of dread spread down the back of my neck, like an icy hand, as I opened up the midnight text from my friend and United States Bartenders’ Guild (USBG) Hawaii Chapter president. Read more

Tropical depression

• By Alicia Yamachika
• Aug. 8, 2023

My sister was helping me carry the groceries upstairs to my apartment last weekend, and gasped as she walked through the door, “It’s clean!” Read more

Ice, ice, baby

• By Alicia Yamachika
• July 11, 2023

Cool. Confident. Calm. I spent this past Fourth of July weekend, blissfully, at a wellness lodge, meditating on these three words, learning to keep gratitude and warmth in my heart, and ice water in my veins. Read more

Into the ether

• By Alicia Yamachika
• June 13, 2023

Walking with my sister around Diamond Head one day, reminiscing about our childhood, we became deeply engrossed in a conversation about all the things they don’t teach you in high school. Read more

Live to eat

• By Alicia Yamachika
• May 9, 2023
• 1

I recently watched a fictitious movie about a young cook in Southeast Asia, toiling away at her family’s open-air noodle shop Read more

Out of the frying pan, into the fire

• By Alicia Yamachika
• April 11, 2023

Over black coffee, baked eggs and strawberry crêpes at my favorite brunch spot one Sunday Read more

The world through beer-goggle glasses

• By Alicia Yamachika
• March 7, 2023

College was an interesting time for me, during which I experimented with many controversial things, including my tolerance level. Read more

Beer for my horses

• By Alicia Yamachika
• Feb. 7, 2023
• 1

People either love Valentine’s Day or they hate it. Read more

New year solution

• By Alicia Yamachika
• Jan. 10, 2023

My mom once inquired if I could teach her how to tell, just by looking, if a bar could make a good margarita. Read more