Meet the Therapists

Aran Nakano, LMT (MAT-7539)

Principal Massage Therapist, Co-owner

Hi! I’m Aran, the founder and co-owner of Ka Hale Ola Massage Therapy. Born and raised on Oahu, I graduated as a Son of Iolani in 1995. With a desire to help others and an interest in science, I continued onto Oregon State University and majored in Exercise and Sports Science with an option in pre-Physical Therapy, graduating in 2000. With my academics and schooling geared toward Physical Therapy, I decided to follow down that career path and attended Idaho State University. Despite enjoying my time in Idaho working with patients and learning, the situation there was not ideal and after almost 7 years in the mainland, I returned to Hawaii to reassess my future, not wanting to pursue Physical Therapy as a career anymore…

Many of the patients that I worked with during my time in Physical Therapy school complimented me on my skills massaging them. Despite their kind words and compliments, I knew that I had so much more to learn about massage, and wanted to attend a massage school when I got back home. One day while surfing the web, I found a massage school on the Windward side of Oahu, the American Institute of Massage Therapy (AIMT). I greatly enjoyed my time there learning massage and becoming a more well-rounded, open-minded person, but it also provided me something else, the “itch” to open my own business…

I never envisioned myself as a business owner, or an entrepreneur, but upon graduation from AIMT in 2003, I began writing the business plan for a massage clinic. Through many revisions, blood, sweat, tears, sleepless nights, and a LOT of hard work, I opened up Ka Hale Ola Massage Therapy in 2004. Thanks to all of my schooling and experiences, I not only have extensive knowledge in human anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology, great technical skills with massage, but also care and empathy for every person that comes in to see me, and an understanding that there’s more out there for me to learn. I enjoy specifically working on individuals with neck and/or upper back problems and helping people to return to their active lives, pain free!

Outside of massage, I enjoy all types of sports, especially basketball, baseball, and football, listen to a wide variety of music, watch a lot of movies, and play with my pup, Kiyo.

Educational Background and Certifications