‘Pokemon Go’ craze sweeping the isles

From Kapolei Public Library to Waikiki Aquarium, groups of preoccupied “Pokemon Go” players, smartphones in hand, are combing the island for animated creatures.

Players use the GPS technology on their phones to follow their actual movements on a digital map, always on the lookout for light blue blocks called PokeStops — places where they can collect the game’s PokeBalls, which then allow them to catch Pokemon characters.

Since it’s official U.S. launch July 6, the game has gone viral, surpassing Twitter in the number of daily users, according to the technology website CNET.

In Hawaii the “Pokemon Go” craze quickly took hold.

“I think they struck at a very perfect time,” said Ryan Ozawa, a self-described local geek and social media specialist. “I think people were certainly ready for a game like this, but it needed a hook from something that was approachable, and Pokemon are adorable.”

Ozawa, 41, enjoys the game’s broad appeal.

“‘Pokemon’ is something you could get your kids into,” said Ozawa, a father of three, whose children range from ages 11 to 18. “My mom wanted to try it out, too.”

Several “Pokemon Go”-related groups quickly formed on Facebook, including Pokemon GO! HI, which has more than 3,800 members, shares tips and organizes player gatherings.

Local businesses have gotten on board, too, and have advertised themselves as PokeStops.

City Mill on Nimitz Highway hosted a “Pokemon Go” meet-up on a recent Tuesday evening, inviting guests to walk around the parking lot and inside the store in search of Pokemons. The first 20 guests were offered a free portable ultrabright LED light.

Sekiya’s Restaurant & Delicatessen in Kaimuki sells PokeBall musubis, T-Mobile is advertising free unlimited data for “Pokemon Go” and guided “Pokemon Go” Safari tours are being advertised on Craigslist.

Friends Ethan West and Nathan Nielson decided to ride the swell by hosting the Honolulu “Pokemon Go” Bar Crawl on Aug. 20 in Chinatown, starting at 7 p.m. at Scarlet, a dance club on South Pauahi Street.

West, 24, a student at Chaminade University and Nielson, 34, who works at electrical supplies company Gexpro, wanted to create a fun event similar to ones taking place from San Francisco to New York. They were in middle and high school when Nintendo released its Pokemon Game Boy games.

“When I was a kid, all my friends would play ‘Pokemon,’ ” said West. “There’s also this whole new group of people who didn’t have ‘Pokemon’ growing up that are getting into it.”

More than 600 Facebook users said they are going, and more than 1,400 were interested. “Pokemon Go” fans are encouraged to dress up for the occasion. Proceeds will be donated to three local nonprofits: 808 Cleanups, the Hawaiian Humane Society and Autism Society of Hawaii.

“Pokemon Go” players, or trainers as they’re called, span several generations and come from all walks of life in Hawaii.

“It’s definitely addicting,” said Mark Matsuoka, a senior at Roosevelt High School who was playing on Auahi Street in Kakaako. “I played a lot of video games inside, and I thought ‘Pokemon’ would be a good excuse to come outside.”

In pursuit of “Pokemon” characters, Jerad Mayer and Tricia Coloma of Kapolei recently found themselves in front of the Waikiki Aquarium, a spot they had not been to in years.

It was part of a trek around Oahu to catch Pokemon on their day off. He’s a cook at Zippy’s, and she’s a manager at California Pizza Kitchen.

“It’s a reason to get out and explore,” said Mayer, 31, who played “Pokemon” in middle school. “You know how it is when you’re a kid and something’s that cool, you really wish you could go out and do it in real life? This is about close as we’re about to get.”

Mayer and Coloma went jogging at Central Oahu Regional Park just to see what kind of Pokemon were there. If Mayer is at the beach, he’ll pull his phone out to see what Pokemon are in the vicinity, he said.

Joey Luna, owner of Scarlet, says he got so hooked on the game that one day after work he started looking in Kakaako — in the rain.

“It’s cool seeing all these points of interest on the map,” said Luna, 33, who plays on his walk to and from work in Honolulu. “Some of this has history, sculptures, things that I walk by every day and never actually look at. So you pull it up and see what it is.”

Some PokeStops include the “Bear and Cubs” sculpture in front of District Court at the corner of Alakea and Hotel streets, and the colorful mural in the ground-floor lobby of the Star-Advertiser tower at Waterfront Plaza.

The “Pokemon Go” phenomenon has galvanized herds of Hawaii players to gather day and night in search of the 128 “Pokemon” characters.

In the evenings, crowds have gathered near Hank’s Haute Dogs on Coral Street in Kakaako, hunting for Pikachu, the rabbitlike creature that serves as the face of Pokemon.

At the Waikiki Aquarium at 11 p.m. one Saturday, several hundred players congregated in hopes of catching Gyarados, a rare “Pokemon” character.

Some enthused players, eager to find a PokeStop, have gone where they should not, including two who wandered into a heiau on Kauai. That prompted the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to issue a reminder to practice good outdoor behavior.

The Honolulu Police Department also advised gamers to pay attention to their surroundings, look up while crossing streets and never play the game while driving. Some players have also been cited for loitering after hours at public parks.

But Ozawa said the positives outweigh the negatives, and players in Hawaii have the good fortune of finding PokeStops nearby; in other states they can be miles apart. Hawaii also has temperate weather year-round and is relatively safe.

“In Mililani I see more people walking around,” he said. “Having people out in the neighborhood adds energy and personality in the neighborhood.”

While finding landmarks like the King Kamehameha statue are fun, Ozawa said it’s the lesser-known sites that he finds most intriguing, such as the 1900s millstone in the corner of the City Mill parking lot on Nimitz Highway.

“You’re drawn out by the love of the game,” said Ozawa. “But you might stand next to someone from a different walk of life, and it turns out the same person you might fight with on Facebook likes the same thing you do.”