Those who know me know I tend to pick up and go quite easily, as the travel bug has never loosened its hold. This time, I've made the ultimate getaway to paradise to escape my regular routine of work and college. I'm talking about Kauai, Hawaii.

I remember looking out the window of the plane to see a lush landscape, one unlike anything at home in Los Angeles — and I was startled how close to the water we were as we touched down at Lihue Airport.

Later on, I'd learn that this flourishing flora, and its fauna, is what earned Kauai its nickname of "The Garden Island." Kauai is the oldest of the eight main Hawaiian Islands — all of them fixtures on Japanese tourists' itineraries — and also the northernmost and fourth largest.