Hawaii’s Kamehameha Schools sold the land underneath the iconic Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu’s Waikiki area to Japanese investment firm Daisho Co. for $510 million, in one of the region’s biggest property deals of 2025.
Under terms of the November transaction, Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts continues to own the hotel itself, operating it as a Marriott Luxury Collection property under a long-term ground lease now held by Daisho.
School district officials said the sale was part of larger efforts to better manage and monetize its land assets. Brokers at Cushman & Wakefield ChaneyBrooks, which represented the buyer, said the transaction “reaffirmed Hawaii’s position as a bridge between global capital and local stewardship.”
Buyer brokers Steve Sombrero and Kohei Hakamada told CoStar the deal “combined record-level valuation with cultural sensitivity and precise economic timing during a period of strengthening Japanese currency and renewed cross-Pacific investment.”
Kamehameha Schools officials said Daisho Co., a family-owned firm based in Tokyo, is committed to honoring the site’s long-term historical legacy, maintaining long-term stability through the existing ground lease and supporting educational initiatives connected to the school system.
For the size of the transaction in a high-profile and historically significant location, a panel of local judges selected the land transaction for a CoStar Impact Award as sale/ acquisition of the year for Hawaii.
About the deal: Tokyo-based investment firm Daisho Co. acquired 10.3 acres under the Royal Hawaiian hotel at 2255 Kalakaua Ave. in Honolulu for $510 million. Daisho now holds the ground lease through which hotel owner Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts will continue to operate the Waikiki beachfront hotel.
What the judges said: “The sale balanced global investment with cultural stewardship, strategic execution, and long-term community value, ensuring an iconic Hawaii landmark remains both an economic driver and a symbol of local heritage,” said Yifan Chen, assistant professor of finance and real estate at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.
They made it happen: Kohei Hakamada and Steve Sombrero, buyer brokers with Cushman & Wakefield ChaneyBrooks.