My first trip to Maui was to go to a wedding-my own. My wife, Lisa Oyama, grew up in Maui, and introduced me to the islands in 1982, when we were married at the Japanese Garden in Iao Valley. I discovered scuba diving during our honeymoon, and ever since, Maui, and its surrounding ocean, have been my spiritual home.

While pursuing my own interests in resort development and structuring cross-border property deals, I use my Japanese language skills to assist Japanese owners who want to sell properties in Hawaii, and new Japanese buyers who share our enthusiasm for the islands. I am also very interested in helping Asian expatriates who may be contemplating a second home in Hawaii, as an investment, or as an eventual retirement home. I am focusing my own training on the financing, tax, immigration, and estate-planning issues that confront foreign and non-resident sellers and buyers, and have already invested considerable time in gaining the expertise to help people find the best financing, accounting, and legal advice. We may live in a borderless world, but the issues confronting foreign buyers and sellers, or even Americans living abroad, are complex, and demand specialized knowledge.

Which, of course, does not mean that I am not interested in helping resident Americans to buy or sell property in Maui. Most of the areas of expertise referred to above come into play when Americans purchase property in Hawaii.