Hawai’i is paradise. You might be expecting me to now make some sort of comment about how it has been ruined or how it’s really not paradise, but I’m not going to do that. Hawai’i is paradise. I love it. It really is every bit as good as you might imagine it is. There is…
One of the top requests among my guests is to visit the Dole Plantation in the center of the island of Oahu. It’s easy to understand why people want to go there. For most American’s, Dole was the first pineapple they ever experienced. Straight from the can, usually, but sometimes it was an exotic and…
I love taking people to Tropical Farms, also known as the Macadamia Nut Place on the Windward Side of Oahu. It’s a different world compared to the rest of the tourist stops. Sure, there are still the Robert’s of Hawaii busses filled with Japanese, Chinese, or Middle American tourists (fun fact which may or may…
It’s no secret that I love Honolulu. It’s an incredibly walkable, bikeable, and public-transportation-able city. The weather is perfect. It has fantastic architecture and wonderful distinct neighborhoods – not to mention beaches, rain forest hikes, and more. But let’s get back to that architecture – I will get into the nitty gritty of the art…
In 2008, I graduated from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, moved out of my apartment in Manoa, said goodbye to my sweet landlady Mrs. Arizumi and then I stayed in a Waikiki hotel before flying to Portland, Oregon for Christmas. From there I took trains across the USA, flew to Europe, took a ferry…
There are few places that can inspire awe and contemplation as those where important historical events – and thousands of human deaths – took place. Pearl Harbor, once the jewel of the Hawaiian Islands – a protected harbor with many streams flowing into it and oyster beds that some say produced the most beautiful pearls…
The Kamaka Ukulele is the gold standard in fine ukulele quality and there is a reason for that. The Kamaka family has been making the best ukes in the world since 1916 when Honolulu resident Sam Kamaka Sr began making the instruments in his Kaimuki basement. Since then the Hawaiian ukulele has made it’s way…
Kaka’ako is one of the fastest growing and most vibrant neighborhoods in Hawai’i. This formerly neglected area between the financial district and Ala Moana consisted mostly of industrial and low rent business for most of the 20th century. In the past ten years it has been transformed with seven luxury condo towers going up in…
If you ask any child in Hawai’i what they want for dessert or a treat – chances are you are going to hear most of them say the same thing- shave ice. That’s shave ice, not shaved ice because Hawaiian language doesn’t have a ‘D’ in it and our local language ‘pidgin’ officially known as…
Sure, you will enjoy this hike more if you pay for it – the guides will tell you lots of stories, you will learn about the plants, the history, the geology – and you won’t have to worry about parking your car. But if you want to go for a great free hike on Oahu…