Signs of Hawaiian life in the universe in 2015

Courtesy Robert Katzman

Greece. Marilyn Katzman of Waikiki spotted a sign advertising a Blue Hawaii cocktail on the Greek island of Santorini in September.

Courtesy Lindsay Taira

Tokyo. Jessica Taira of Hawaii Kai came across the Forty Niner Hawaii — a restaurant reminiscent of the classic diner in Aiea — while walking in the Roppongi area of Tokyo in September. The menu included the same famous pancakes and French toast as its Hawaii counterpart.

Courtesy Cissy Boyer

Thailand. ElliKaleihoopio Boyer of Makakilo discovered a can’tmiss-it painting of an island girl on the side of a building in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in May. Boyer was there visiting her parents before spending the summer college break in South Korea teaching English.

Courtesy Jeff Rohrer

Paris. Jeff Rohrer found the Waikiki Cafe Brasserie while walking in Paris near the University of Paris in October. “From the posted menu the only thing Hawaiian seemed to be a salad with pineapple,” said Rohrer.

Courtesy Alison A. Miyasaki

Yukon. Alison A. Miyasaki of Honolulu came across the cheerfully painted Aloha Tacos in July while in Dawson City, Yukon. Miyasaki was on a cycling trip from Missoula, Mont., to Denali National Park, Alaska.

Courtesy Helen Gibson

Prague. Helen Gibson Ahn of Hawaii Kai stopped for a photo outside the Aloha Cafe and Bar in Prague during a visit in June. Her husband took the photo.

Courtesy Patti Nakamoto

San Francisco. Jenna Nakamoto and her mother, Patti, were on a walking tour of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Heights neighborhood in September when they discovered what seemed like a sure sign of home: Aloha Street.

Courtesy Allan Hubacker

Vietnam. Finding Aloha in Vietnam was “very special,” said Honolulu resident Peggy Hubacker, who took a cruise there with her husband, Allan, last spring. The small Aloha cafe is in Pho My.

Courtesy Justin Furuyama

Yokohama, Japan. The Kahiko store in the Chinatown area of Yokohama, Japan, looks as if it were transplanted from the Waikiki of the 1970s, right down to the tiki carving at the front door. Justin Furuyama said the store was full of busy shoppers. He was in Japan in October with his wife, Shaula, parents John and Hsiu Mei Furuyama, and friend David Tanaka

Courtesy Stuart Shimazu

New Zealand. Stuart Shimazu and his wife, Patricia, passed this sign during a visit to New Zealand in September. The town of Pearl Harbour, New Zealand, got its name after the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Courtesy Frank Terrazas Jr.

Bangkok. During a trip this year throughout Southeast Asia, Frank Terrazas Jr. of Salt Lake discovered a Hawaii-themed restaurant in Bangkok. Mokuola is in one of the newest shopping malls in the Emporium Complex.

Courtesy Carrie Higo

Hakadote, Japan. While touring Japan in July, the Higo sisters — Sydney, left, Krislyn and Lauren — of Honolulu spotted the Hakadote studio of Oahu’s Halau ‘Olapakuikalai o Hokuaulani.