KEY TAKEAWAYS

• New Book: Aaron Rising A story about a young boy who grew up fast with the help of a few ladies from around the world.

• Chapter One: The beginning is the most important part to understand the life and times of Aaron

• From country side to Tokyo's red-light district full of Hostesses and other women across Asia.

Chapter One: From Blizzards to Beaches

Daniel TJ - International Reporter Tokyo, Japan

As an International Reporter for SavvyJapan-Today.com I cover stories in Japan and around the world. I meet many people in my profession that I would not ever get the chance otherwise. When I do meet someone with a story that is special or unusual, I write a book on the subject. This one stopped me in my tracks. It will for you too.

I met an American a few years ago at an event in Tokyo and after hearing his story, I just had to interview him over the next few months to get the details of his life. It's nothing short of amazing. DISCLAIMER: This story is for adults. So, if you are under 18 years old or offended by some rather racy stories, click onto The Life Of Rina instead. ...otherwise, the story continues in a moment.

Aaron as a teenager...

Aaron was born in Canfield, Ohio—a sleepy little town tucked into the green, rolling countryside where cornfields stretched as far as the eye could see. Life in Canfield moved slowly, and most people there were as familiar as the cracked pavement of Main Street.

Almost everyone was white, Christian, and comfortably well-off. It was the kind of place where a new face at the grocery store turned heads, and where nobody locked their doors at night. Aaron had grown up never seeing a mosque, hearing another language spoken in public, or eating anything more exotic than sweet-and-sour chicken from the strip mall Chinese place.

So when his parents announced—rather suddenly—that the whole family would be packing up and moving to Hawaii of all places, Aaron had felt like someone had just turned the page in a book he didn’t know he was in.

They left Ohio in mid-January, just after a blizzard had shut down school and iced over the windows. By the time they landed in Honolulu, it was as if they’d been transported to a postcard.

Aaron stepped out of the airport and was hit with a wall of warm air and the scent of plumeria flowers. Gone were the puffy jackets and frozen breath. In their place: shorts, sunshine, and the salty tang of the sea. The contrast was unreal. One day, snow piled up to the windowsills. The next, they were standing on the shores of Waikiki Beach.

Waikiki Beach: Girls from around the world [on one beach]

Aaron couldn’t believe his eyes. Girls in bikinis walked past laughing, their sun-kissed skin glowing. People of every nationality strolled the sand—Japanese tourists snapping photos, locals speaking in a melodic creole, surfers waxing boards, even families grilling near the trees. So many people, he thought. So many types of people. It was a beautiful, vibrant chaos compared to Canfield's quiet sameness.

His family wasn’t exactly comfortable. His mom clutched her purse a little tighter when they passed groups of teenagers. His dad squinted at the street signs like he was trying to read another language. Aaron's younger brother and sister mostly clung to their phones, texting friends back home with “you won’t believe this” updates. But Aaron… Aaron felt alive.

Waikiki became his after-school spot. He would sit near the Duke Kahanamoku statue, just watching the waves and the people. Sometimes he’d walk to Ala Moana Shopping Center, amazed at how massive and upscale it all felt. Everything buzzed with energy. It made Canfield seem like it had been underwater all his life.

He started wondering if Hawaii could be more than just a stop in his life story. Maybe he could stay. Maybe he could even go to university here. He had no idea what he wanted to study—or even what job he might get. But the idea of staying, of making a new life in a place this exciting, stuck with him.

Aaron never saw girls like these

And every time he saw another girl walking by in the sunlight, skin glistening, eyes flashing curiosity—Aaron’s heart raced a little faster.

He didn’t know it yet, but his story was only just beginning.

Thank you for reading Aaron Rising Chapter One. A new chapter will be written every Monday and / or Friday. So check back, tell your friends, and enjoy a true life story of amazement and thrilling people Aaron met along the way around the world!

DID YOU SEE THIS? The Life Of Rina