Kinki business.

Nine years after his arrival, Kintetsu International's Masaaki Ono is redefining his identity in Hawaii's business community. Parent company Kinki Nippon Tourist is doing the same. Kintetsu International Express (USA) Inc., #67. Once a year, Masaaki Ono throws a big party. It's called "Matsuri

in Hawaii," it lasts 10 days and some 10,000 Japanese fly over to participate in it. As Honolulu branch general manager for Kintetsu International Express (USA) Inc., one of the largest Japanese travel agencies in Hawaii and the festival's 16-year sponsor, Ono spent $2 million this year to put on bon dances, karaoke competitions, choral performances and traditional Japanese food and craft exhibitions.

Kintetsu doesn't sponsor the festival for short-term business reasons, Ono says. "Every year we increase the amount of money and every year we lose money." Rather, the goal is to enhance the company's good-neighbor status in Hawaii and its reputation as a tour operator in Japan.

Ono has been enhancing his reputation as well. He's chairing the Aloha United Way's International Division - a position traditionally held by established, respected Japanese business leaders - and the Japan Hawaii Travel Association's Crime Prevention Committee. He's counted among a handful of highly visible heads of Japanese companies in Hawaii. His nine years in the islands constitute a long tenure for a Japanese executive, many of whom are rotated home and abroad in four- to five-year intervals.

But Ono's new prominence isn't self-serving. It's in keeping with his parent company's push for a new corporate identity. From the top down, Kinki Nippon Tourist is in the middle of a worldwide campaign to establish an identity as a diversified, value-oriented, environmentally and culturally sensitive travel provider. In Hawaii, one of its most competitive markets, Kintetsu uses that to distinguish itself from three major Japan-based travel companies. The largest of these is Japan Travel Bureau, whose Hawaii operation has been estimated by its rivals at $210 million in 1994 sales. Ahead and behind Kintetsu, respectively, are Pacifico Creative Service Hawaii Inc. at $170 million and Vita USA Co. at $78.4 million. Kintetsu, with 1994 sales of about $100 million, is making its first-ever appearance on the Hawaii Business Top 250 at No. 67.

RIDING THE RAILS. Kintetsu's corporate pedigree contains some confusing nomenclature. Its parent, Kinki Nippon Tourist Co. Ltd., is a member of the 152-company, $37 billion-in-sales Kintetsu Group, which in turn is a subsidiary of Kinki Nippon Railway Co. Ltd. The Kintetsu Group owns hotel chains, resorts, air cargo and transportation companies, department stores, real estate businesses, an art museum and a professional baseball team, the Kintetsu Buffaloes. The railway company began operating in 1908, the tourist company in 1955, and Kintetsu's Honolulu branch in 1974.

Ono, 52, has been with the company since he graduated from college. He was with Kintetsu's head office in Tokyo for his first 10 years, then transfered to the sales department and worked around the world before going back into administration. He's seen the Japanese travel boom, the slow, steady growth of today's industry, and the changes in travelers' preferences over time.

Kintetsu's visitor numbers have risen steadily over the last couple of years, according to Ono. Last year his branch arranged accommodations, transportation and tours for 180,000 people. That compares with 150,000 in 1993 and a prediction of 200,000 this year. For many years Kintetsu sold mainly packaged, all-inclusive group tours. Visitors came to Oahu for an average stay of three nights and five days, saw the same sights together and slept in the same hotels.

Now, Ono says, Japanese travel to Hawaii is becoming more individualized. There are still the traditional honeymooners and middle-aged couples, but there are also more adventurous young adults, parsimonious families with young children, and solo travelers. "For Japanese, Hawaii is a destination for all seasons. There is no off-season. And now it's a destination for all ages. Before, only middle-aged Japanese without kids came. Now it's young boys, kids, old people - whole families are coming." One vacation no longer fits them all, and Kintetsu is looking for ways to diversify its packages. Based on customer surveys in Japan, it now offers scuba diving and parasailing tours - activities formerly prohibited by Japanese insurance companies.

In its race to capture a share of this new market, Kintetsu's size and longevity give it some advantages. "The name of Kinki Nippon Tourist is very strong in Japan," Oho says. "We have a strong sales department with all kinds of specialty salespeople - in the student market, in family tours, in tour packages. Some small companies have only the student market, so if the student market slows down the company loses. But we have all markets. Kinki Nippon Tourist is a total travel sales company."

Kintetsu also has the advantage of longstanding relationships with its Hawaii vendors - transportation companies like Gray Line Hawaii and Trans Hawaiian Services, retailers like DFS Hawaii, and hoteliers like Hilton, Sheraton and Hyatt.

These days Kintetsu benefits from the strong yen, but not as much as Japanese-oriented local retailers, Oho says. Fare wars between domestic and international carriers in Japan are also lowering travel costs, he says. Still, with competition among the four major Japanese travel companies increasing and fixed costs rising, more arrivals may mean lower per-customer rates, not more profits. "Maybe this year we will lose money," Oho says. "The Hawaii branch is increasing - passengers 15 percent up more than last year - and sales revenue is the same as last year. But profit is down 30 percent compared to the first half of 1994."

While slumping profits are a pressing industry concern, a chief long-term concern is the safety of Japanese visitors in Hawaii. As chair of JHTA's crime prevention committee, the onus is on Ono to orchestrate a solution to the problems of violent crime, theft and fraud where they involve Japanese tourists. He's advocating for more tourist companies to educate their clients before and after arrival on ways to deter crime, and encouraging victims to return to Hawaii to testify. Japanese, he says, must consider the islands a non-threatening place in order to continue patronizing businesses like his. He's redefining his company and his role in the business community, but when it comes to travel, Masaaki Ono plays it safe.