Hawaii Energy Drink Journey 2019

Changed Waikiki

Waikiki has changed drastically since the time I lived here, and the number of tourists has clearly increased. I was curious, so I looked it up, and it seems that Hawaii’s total number of tourists has been on the rise for the past seven years.

I decided to visit Hawaii because ANA’s massive jumbo Airbus A380 started operating, and with a capacity of up to 520 passengers per flight between Tokyo and Honolulu, and with three planes running, it’s no surprise that the number of Japanese tourists has surged since 2019.

After arriving with about 500 passengers and several hundred more from other flights, it took a bit of time to get through immigration...

First Stop: Ala Moana Center

I headed straight to Ala Moana Center! First, let’s check out the energy drink situation while doing some shopping.

There’s a large new supermarket, Foodland, which didn’t exist before. The area has been completely expanded, and it’s so large now that it’s easy to get lost.

Energy drinks seem to be well-stocked, and I got the impression that if you're just after major brands, Hawaii has plenty to offer.

Since a Target had been built at Ala Moana Center, I moved over there. Hawaii is overflowing with too many things to enjoy, honestly.

Bang is hugely recognized in the sports and fitness categories. I never imagined it would grow this much when I first encountered it five years ago.

In a different section from the energy drink aisle, the new Monster Energy Mule was out in the U.S. This isn’t a limited region or quantity product, so be careful not to get tricked by listings on flea markets or auction sites.

I decided to hold off on buying Mule for now and focused on getting Rockstar cans, especially the GEARS5 collaboration flavors and designs.

Although I hadn’t checked into my hotel yet, I thought I’d buy a bit extra. Since it was the launch time for Rockstar’s GEARS5 cans, I grabbed 3 flavors with 6 designs in total. I found 3 flavors and 3 designs here.

While walking around Ala Moana Center, I was surprised to see a Japanese-style area that had been newly added to the expanded section.

When I lived here before, I hated how Japanese it felt, but now, after seeing so many Chinese and Korean restaurants and food stores opening in almost every country I’ve visited, I feel like supporting Japan-related shops in Hawaii. These days, even the basement of the Waikiki Shopping Plaza is totally Japanese.

Even though I thought I’d be tired after the flight, I was doing well... (^_^;) After shopping, eating, and taking a walk to Ala Moana Beach, I headed back to the hotel.

Moving to the Waikiki Hotel

My hotel room was on a high floor with an amazing ocean view. It was the best! I rested in the room for a bit. Since I had time before sunset, I decided to check out the convenience stores nearby.

When you think of Hawaii, you think of the ABC Stores, Hawaii’s local convenience store chain. I visited several stores before returning to Japan, and basically, the product selection is the same.

It’s not cheap, so if you want to buy a lot of energy drinks, it’s better to go to a supermarket rather than an ABC Store. But if you’re in a pinch and need to grab some souvenirs, it's fine. I ended up buying a few Mule drinks the morning before returning because I had a bit of extra space in my luggage. There aren’t many affordable supermarkets in the center of Waikiki, so it's handy if you forget something.

By the way, if you’re looking for cheap alcohol, there are certainly lower-priced beers, so if you need a drink late at night, you’ll be fine at a convenience store.

In Hawaii, you’ll find couples needing to show their passports when buying alcohol, which reminded me that, yes, Hawaii has that rule. It was a moment when I felt like I had truly returned to Hawaii.

I recognized this bottle right away. It’s the same 473ml Monster Energy bottle that was released in Japan. I knew about its existence, but this was the first time I found it in Hawaii.

While I was taking a walk around the back, the sunset started. The beach at Waikiki was on the other side of the horizon.

Although the main street of Waikiki, Kalakaua Avenue, has become too refined, the vibe on the other side of Kuhio Avenue still feels the same as before. My old condominium was on this side, and some of my friends used to live here too, so it’s nostalgic for me (*´ｪ`*)

Since I only had limited time, I made sure to fully enjoy the Waikiki sunset.

Night in Hawaii

Since time was limited, I decided to go out hunting for energy drinks at night!

This used to be a McDonald’s (a long time ago), but now it’s a 7-Eleven.

It’s a go-to store for energy drink enthusiasts, but the selection here was pretty standard. It seems like a typical 7-Eleven, so it didn’t have anything special compared to other stores.

Next, I went to Don Quijote. This place used to be a Daiei long ago.

The exterior hasn't changed at all, so it’s quite nostalgic (*´艸｀*)

It has an overwhelming selection. I think it’s popular with Japanese tourists for souvenirs.

The prices are relatively reasonable, so I think you can find almost all types of energy drinks at Don Quijote.

After leaving Don Quijote, I remembered the night view from Tantalus Hill, so I decided to visit there in the middle of my hunt.

Tantalus Hill offers a great panoramic view of Waikiki, and it turns out I had never visited before. It was pretty chaotic with tourists taking turns for photos.

The numerous high-rise hotels and condominiums of Waikiki. Many of the buildings are over 50 years old, but their value has not decreased, and it seems like the overall value has increased.

Other Hunting Highlights

I’ll briefly introduce some other places I visited for my energy drink hunting.

I found an XDURANCE sticker that I had never seen before. The energy drinks there were pretty standard. (^_^;)

A large supermarket with lots of stock. It looked like a typical American energy drink aisle.

Another large supermarket with tons of high-caffeine Rockstar drinks. This store is very close to Ala Moana, so it might be easy to stop by.

I went to another supermarket. I just checked the selection and then left, but it was quite cheap, so I plan to start my next energy drink hunt here on my next trip to Hawaii.

Looking back at the photos, I realized I missed some supermarkets, but I think I covered most of the energy drink stores around Waikiki. Walgreens and convenience stores, which didn’t exist before, have increased massively, and you can pretty much complete your energy drink shopping by visiting a few stores.

This time, I was able to return to the transformed Waikiki, make new discoveries, and enjoy some nostalgic moments. It was a happy time. I even ran into some old friends by chance.

I used to drink energy drinks just as a substitute for nutritional drinks, but this time, after hunting for them, I realized there’s a surprisingly rich variety. I think I can enjoy the energy drink life even in Waikiki.