Overview

Founded in 1982, Nashimoto & Associates has grown to be highly respected and recognized as one of the top Hawaii-based Japanese advertising, marketing, and public relations firm in Hawaii. Nashimoto & Associates specializes in luxury retail, visitor attractions, food and beverage, hotel, and publishing for multi-national clients with the experience, expertise, and ability to help our clients business grow, achieve their business goals, increase their high-end global presence and enhance their brand reputation by providing fully bilingual and cross-cultural capabilities. In addition to the Japanese visitor market, Nashimoto & Associates also has highly developed expertise for the Hawaii local resident and westbound visitor market. Our commitment and contribution of more than 30 years to the Hawaii local community has helped us develop a client base comprised of numerous Hawaii-based corporations and organizations. Masako Nashimoto, founder of Nashimoto & Associates, received the Governor’s Award for Exemplary Service to the Retail Industry in 2006.

Read more about our Signature Projects & Highlights

FOUNDER

Masako "Nashi" Nashimoto Luttrell

An award-winning businesswoman and award-winning watercolor artist, Masako "Nashi" Nashimoto Luttrell has dedicated a lifetime to advancing the art and science of Public Relations. She has pioneered Public Relations methodologies in Hawaii and throughout the pacific region for over 40 years.

She founded Nashimoto & Associates in 1982 after working for International Public Relations Co., one of the oldest and largest PR firms in Japan, and J. Walter Thompson, where she served as director of one of the largest U.S. based advertising agencies in the East.

Nashi is also highly recognized by various community organizations in Hawaii. She is the first Japanese Vice Chairman of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii (VASH), a leading non-profit organization in the State of Hawaii. Their mission is to share Aloha with visitors from all over the world who have been victims of a crime or other adversities and to provide follow-up assistance and support to create a positive memory of their stay in our islands. In addition, Nashi is one of the two founders and Vice President of Hawaii Senior Life Enrichment Association (HISLEA), an NPO approved by the State of Hawaii whose objective is to spiritually and physically enrich lives to promote and encourage an active life for seniors from Japan who visit and stay in Hawaii and interact with active local seniors residing in Hawaii.

President

Anthony Gambino

Originally from Connecticut, but relocating to Hawaii when he was 14 years old, Anthony Gambino has always considered Hawaii home. After graduating from Punahou, he attended the University of Arizona followed by a 5 years of working in downtown Chicago. Although he loved the city life, leaving Hawaii after the holidays to return to 75 below zero arctic wind chill and 9 months of gray skies was tough for Anthony. He spent a lot of time listening to Keola and Kapono Beamer singing “Honolulu City Lights”…which ultimately brought him back to the islands.

Following in the footsteps of his father, who was an accountant for GE Capital, Anthony began pursuing his second degree, Accounting, at The University of Hawaii. It was during his studies that he happened to meet Nashi at a friend's party. The two quickly connected over their love for Hawaii and talked in-depth about how they can spread the aloha spirit not only locally, but globally.

After that fateful meeting Anthony was hired first to handle Nashimoto & Associates' billing, then quickly transitioned to working with Nashi on PR and marketing for the agency's local and international accounts. Over the past 20 years that Anthony has been part of the N&A ohana (family) he has risen from the Media Buyer to VP Communications/Media Director and now, with Nashi's blessing, Anthony is guiding the firm into its next chapter as the President.

Creative Japanese Advertising Capabilities

• 20+ years of experience in public relations with a focus on luxury retail brands and the Japanese market

• Managed PR activities including media buys, press releases, photography and videography shoots, planning and executing events, and communication distribution through our media database

• Developed media strategies in collaboration with each brand to build authentic relationships with the local and Japanese communities

• Created content for press releases, byline articles, and presentations, coordinating all PR activities, and monitored, analyzed, and communicated results on a consistent basis

• Conceptualized, organized and managed a range of events from large-scale store openings to intimate gatherings

• Secured placements for clients in local, domestic and international publications

chief financial officer

Trent Kobayakawa

Trent Kobayakawa has been working with Nashimoto & Associates since 1995 as Nashi's personal accountant and business advisor. Nashimoto & Associates were one of Trent's first clients.

Originally from Hilo, Trent attended Pacific University in Oregon where he earned his degree in 3.5 years. In addition to serving as the company's Chief Financial Officer, he is also a certified public accountant (CPA) who has been practicing Hawaii for over 25 years.

Bi-lingual PR Specialist (Japanese & English)

Yumiko Tamura-Loose

Japan-born and Japanese national, Yumiko Tamura-Loose has been living in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Hawaii (current). She acquired BFA (Fine Art, Painting) at the School of Visual Arts in NYC.

To utilize her cosmopolitan background, multi-cultural thinking, and bilingual abilities, she works as a Bilingual PR staff on News Release and Fact Sheet translation & transliteration (creatively translated to meet media needs) for dispatch to media in Hawaii and Japan, as well as cultivating SNS, mainly/mostly Instagram.

Prior to adventuring in the States, she was a staff writer and photographer for the Japanese national newspaper "Mainichi Shimbun" in Tokyo, where she covered and interviewed all walks of people. In addition, she also covered stories of post 9-11 NYC for the paper as a freelance correspondent.

Besides print media, she worked as a director for the Japanese national TV station NHK and as the PR/Marketing Coordinator for Bandai Visual USA in Los Angeles.

Japanese Graphic Artist

Tamiko Suzuki

Meet Tamiko Suzuki. Born and raised in Japan but lucky for us, now a resident of Honolulu. Tamiko does all sorts of design graphics but is well-known for her work on Waikiki Trolley, JTB and Luxury Row at 2100 Kalakaua Avenue. She also speaks and writes fluently in Japanese which makes her a superior communications designer for tourist-based businesses in Hawaii.

Tamiko is also fluent in working with all graphic design platforms (Adobe InDesign, Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Quark Express, etc.). Tamiko is also spirited. She lives and breaths beautiful design and has a great sense of humor to boot.