Meet Hawai'i's Bachelor

By Tanya Bricking
Advertiser Staff Writer

Introducing Hawai'i's Bachelor, Kelly Komoda He's 26, and a fourth-grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary. He's looking for a wholesome girl his grandma would approve of, and he admits he's pretty picky. He's a happy-go-lucky type who says the girls he's dated say they've never met a guy so much into fashion. He played basketball at Maui High but is more into golf and spearfishing these days. He's more of a cat person than a dog person. He likes to cook. His favorite food is sushi, but he can't stand vegetarian platters because he likes to eat protein. He's usually on time and he's not too interested in politics. He's a child of divorced parents, and his left ear is pierced with a diamond from his mother's wedding ring. Russell Tanoue What's next on Hawai'i's Bachelor Coming Wednesday: Read Kelly Komoda's latest online diary entry. Find out whether this is giving him butterflies. Go to honoluluadvertiser.com, look for the Hawai'i's Bachelor logo and click on the "diaries" link. A week from today: Watch for pictures and profiles of the 10 bachelorettes who will date Hawai'i's Bachelor. You will be able to view streaming video from their interviews on our Web site. Keep checking back with us, because the dates begin in April. And we'll be following with stories of matches or mistakes.

Maybe second place would have saved the family from any potential embarrassment, jokes "Grandma Amy" Aoki. (At least I think she was kidding.)

Aoki was the one who read about the Hawai'i's Bachelor contest in the newspaper, cut it out and encouraged Komoda to apply. Now the 77-year-old Honolulu grandma is watching as her only grandson basks in the spotlight of winning the dating game.

Komoda, 26, a fourth-grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary in Waikiki, lived with his grandmother when he was going to the University of Hawai'i-Manoa. She has seen him go from boy to bachelor.

"When he first came here he was a real country bumpkin, you know, he's from Maui," she said. Thinking about how he's changed, she said, "I'm getting chicken skin."

Komoda admits he has changed. He speaks standard English rather than the pidgin of his youth. He often trades his surf shorts and slippers for khakis and collared shirts. He has become a "townie."

He's been on spring break since the voting hoopla about The Advertiser's top three bachelor finalists began.

He beat out runner-up Cory Mitsui, a 27-year-old financial planner, by 144 votes and 35-year-old firefighter Ken Lee by 233 votes.

(The final tally was Komoda: 576; Mitsui: 432 and Lee: 343. That's quite a difference from a week earlier, when we allowed multiple votes from the same computer. That week, when the vote narrowed the list from 10 bachelors to three, the tally was Mitsui: 5,761; Lee: 5,660 and Komoda: 5,569.)

Upon learning the results, Komoda, who was on a snowboarding vacation in California, did what any twentysomething would do upon finding out he might soon find true love. He celebrated with a bachelor party with his snowboarding buddies.

His mom, Laura Komoda, jumped the gun a little when she heard the news about her son's new status.

"Maybe I can plan a wedding," she said. "No! Don't write that down."

OK, maybe his mom was kidding, too. But she might not be kidding about showing up on some of his dates, maybe eavesdropping from the next table over. (Spies are welcome to spill the details at hawaiisbachelor@honoluluadvertiser.com).

Don't worry, we'll be keeping tabs on Komoda's dates for everyone to see. Next week, we'll reveal the 10 women with whom he'll go out on the town. Then the dates will begin, with Komoda and his new friends trailed by a reporter and photographer.

Kyle Nishimitsu, Komoda's best friend from Maui, isn't too worried about how his friend will do.

"Don't be fooled by his good looks," he said. "He does do rugged things, you know. Outdoor activities. He doesn't mind getting his hands dirty. He will show people a good time."

Komoda, an avid spearfisherman and golfer "normally goes out with girls into fashion, not really the outdoorsy type," cautions Forest Munden, another friend of Hawai'i's Bachelor.

Komoda says his requirements in a date are that she not smoke, she must be in school or have a job, and he would prefer someone who has never married or had children. He says he likes "wholesome" girls who are mature, educated, outgoing and caring but not overly affectionate.

"I guess I'm more nervous now," he said. "I don't want nine girls hating me at the end of this."

The happy-go-lucky teacher is trying to take the whole thing lightly.

He will have plenty of people looking out for him, including parents of his students, such as Michelle Oh, who e-mailed this comment: "Kelly used to teach at my daughter's school, Kuhio Elementary." she wrote. "All the kids love him, and I think that shows how good a teacher he is ... Kids tend to show their true feelings because they haven't learned 'class' yet, so if the kids like him, that should be a good indication for the bachelorettes."

And if Komoda doesn't mind his manners, we will reveal that, too.

Then he'll have to deal with Grandma Amy.

Got some advice for our bachelor? E-mail hawaiisbachelor@honoluluadvertiser.com.