profile: rita ariyoshi.

two papers down, tree to go. this was a profile story i wrote. first one i ever wrote; twas actually a lot of fun doing it after putting it off for a month.

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so i turned it in, got a B, just corrected it and can re-submit. woo woo.
below is the *update version of the story:


A Satisfied Traveler: Rita Ariyoshi


In her humble abode which sits along a marina on the East side of Oahu, travel writer and photographer Ariyoshi resides with her husband and curly-haired, lively puppy. Their home is filled with souvenirs and keepsakes from her travels throughout the years could keep one’s eyes amused for hours. Ariyoshi’s favorite amongst them all was a statue of Mary from the Philippines called a santos.

Before sitting down to chat that early Monday afternoon, Ariyoshi generously offered a soda or anything else that I might need. She casually told me about her weekend trip to Maui she had just taken a couple days prior. “A trip for pleasure,” she said, “was a great weekend of writing and reading.” For the past 15 years, Rita and this group of friends, all writers, have been meeting together at various locations amongst the islands from time to relax.

Ariyoshi, also known as Ricky by some, a name given to her because her father was hoping for a son, is world renowned travel writer and photographer. Born in New York City, she has been a Honolulu resident since 1969…

Ariyoshi’s family is Irish which, according to her, is an artistic and creative kind of people. Her mother, to whom she credits her “creative side” from, was a painter; her father a blue-collar worker. Just as Ariyoshi had adventured her way to Hawaii, so have her siblings. She has a sister who now lives in Hilo and another brother who lives in Nanakuli. Her other brother died in the Vietnam War.

Ariyoshi said she always knew, even as a child, she wanted to be a writer. “I always made up stories with complicated plots and they all ended with, ‘and then she woke up…’” Rita said, chucking. Authors such as Zane Grey had long been her heroes.
Ariyoshi attended Convent High School, a Catholic school in New York, and still remains very much a devout Catholic today. Never really attending college besides one photography class at a community college, Ariyoshi went straight into working after high school.

Although she never did much traveling at a young age, once a job out of high school led her to a business trip in Europe she was hooked. Different places of the world engulfed her interest. Getting into the travel writing business early on in her life, Ariyoshi said she never counted all the countries she’s been to, but it seems like she’s been almost everywhere.

After serving at editor-in-chief of the Hawaiian Airlines inflight magazine and then Aloha, The Magazine of Hawaii and the Pacific working, she became a freelance writer. “I did travel writing in they hay day of traveling writing,” Ariyoshi said. She was able to chose where she wanted to go, what she wanted to write about and was then able to sell her stories to multiple places. Today, it seems more and more that people want to tell you where to go, what to write, and with the Internet these days, generally a story can be sold to one only one company as many articles are posted online and so easily accessed.

Though she’s never counted the countries that she’s been to-, such as Jerusalem, Antarctica and Japan stand out. She has been fortunate enough to even experience some historical events first-hand. She was there in Yugoslavia before and during the war, which she considers. She was once even dropped off on an atoll in the Pacific Ocean alone to write about the experience. (An experience she said which turned out to be not one of her favorites).

Ariyoshi led me up to her office on the second floor of her home in Hawaii Kai where it was obvious that the area she calls her space is a reflection of her vibrant personality. The room had bright pink walls, a pink furry rug and a huge window with a beautiful view of Koko Crater. Multiple file cabinets filled with binders of her countless articles aligned the walls. Other file cabinets were filled with slides from all her photography.

Ariyoshi pulled out a binder a couple of binders and flipped through showing me article after article of breathtaking photos she took to compliment her stories. Besides that one photography class, she never had any training in photography. She feels that because her mother was an artist it helped to “train her eye visually at an early age.”

Besides freelance travel writing, writing articles in magazines and guidebooks for companies such as National Geographic Society and United Airlines, Ariyoshi has also written some fiction and published books about Hawaii such as “Maui on My Mind” and “Hula for Life.” Being in Hawaii for more than 40 years, Ariyoshi is highly knowledgeable and truly enjoys the Hawaiian culture. She even dances hula.

Ariyoshi says that of her accomplishments and awards she is most proud of winning the National Steinbeck Award in writing. Aside from writing, however, she said she is most proud of her handful of grandchildren who enjoy listening to their grandmother’s travels; “They are especially intrigued by Antarctica,” she said.

Today Ariyoshi has put the travel writing to a halt for good. She still continues to write but now it is more for her and for the simple pleasure of writing. She enjoys writing things she wasn’t able to write about as a freelance travel writer. She is now able to express more deeply and emotionally with the things she had seen during her travels. “I can’t imagine doing anything but writing,” she told me.

Ariyoshi has seen most of the world and on a much deeper level than most. She compared traveling as a writer versus just traveling in the example simply buying a souvenir. Sure, a traditional Japanese fan is a nice keepsake to have, but it means much more if you find out where each piece of the fan is made. (An intricate process she found out when she wrote an article on Japanese fans).

Ariyoshi talked about everything from embarrassing moments during her travels, to her grandchildren, to advice she gives on becoming a writer. Ariyoshi was very friendly, genuinely took her time to sit and chat for nearly a couple of hours, and even had me laughing. She proved to be warm-hearted, pleasant and a lot of fun.

Ariyoshi’s experiences have been amazing, but as she’s been everywhere she’s ever wanted to go, she has no real travel destinations planned out except for the occasional trip to her family in Ireland and the small interisland get-togethers with friends. Describing herself in one word Ariyoshi would tell you she’s “happy.” Today she likes to take pleasure in simple things such as spending time with her family and hula dancing and seems to be enjoying staying in once place for a while.