The China clipper and other commercial propeller aircraft began making long, slow, 10-hour flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles to Honolulu. It comes as a surprise to some that Hawaii is so far away and isolated. Approximately 2500 miles southwest of Los Angeles, the state is approximately on the same latitude as Mexico City. And it's about as far from the U.S. West Coast as the West Coast is from the East Coast. Airline routes change frequently, but generally speaking you can fly direct or non-stop to Hawaii from the U.S. on any of several different airlines.
Some groups also run charters on non-scheduled airlines.
From Japan, there are frequent flights on Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airlines. Philippine Airlines flies in from Manila, Korean Airlines from Seoul, and Garuda Airlines jets to Honolulu from Jakarta and Bali. Unfortunately, it is virtually impossible to sail to Hawaii by ship these days. An exception are on cruises which as part of longer itinerary continue on to other ports. A restrictive law prevents passengers from embarking in one American port and disembarking in another American port in a foreign ship.