New Oahu adventures
September 13, 2023 10:11 PM Subscribe
This is pretty straightforward: can you help me brainstorm experiences to surprise and delight my 43yo spouse on a visit to Oahu? She likes the outdoors, she likes culture, she doesn't care for shopping. Current plans: we're going to try to get into Hanauma Bay. Past plans that she loved but we don't want to repeat: Shangri La, Iolani Palace. A little more below....
She's not a thrill seeker. She loves new experiences and doesn't need them to be fancy. Is there any community theater happening right now? A great local band to catch? Someplace to go dancing that's not a horrid nightclub with painfully enforced chic? An unusual walking tour? I'm researching of course, but often the best tips come from word of (digital) mouth. Dates: Soon! Sun Sept 17 - Tues Sept 19 (I know, probably not the best for local music). Thanks in advance!
She's not a thrill seeker. She loves new experiences and doesn't need them to be fancy. Is there any community theater happening right now? A great local band to catch? Someplace to go dancing that's not a horrid nightclub with painfully enforced chic? An unusual walking tour? I'm researching of course, but often the best tips come from word of (digital) mouth. Dates: Soon! Sun Sept 17 - Tues Sept 19 (I know, probably not the best for local music). Thanks in advance!
Manifest is a nice cocktail bar in Chinatown that will start out quiet and cool, and then gradually turn into a dance party around 10 p.m. Live music some nights, mostly acoustic, mostly early. No dress code. The main idea is that you can show up, enjoy a drink or two, and then decide how rowdy you want to get. Chinatown also has other cool bars and restaurants, all within a two-block radius, so it's all kind of a choose-your-own-adventure.
posted by flod at 1:16 AM on September 14, 2023
posted by flod at 1:16 AM on September 14, 2023
If you’re in the mood for a leisurely drive, the Tantalus-Round Top loop is a break from the heat and congestion of Waikiki/Honolulu. It’s quite high up, misty rainforest in the morning. Several hiking trails.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 3:45 AM on September 14, 2023
posted by TWinbrook8 at 3:45 AM on September 14, 2023
in honolulu
Tonkatsu Tamafuji is incredible I went twice in 5 days.
Ahi Assassins- great Poke, like truly next level.
koko head- great breakfast+lunch spot
kawamoto Orchid Nursury was a very very cool stop- more like a flower museum warehouse than a store
rainbow drive in- classic hawaian drive in very good spam musubi as i recall.
outside honolulu:
'Ai Love Nalo food that dreams are made of. we went here on a way to a free star party put on by the astronomy club- at the dillingham airfield- it was very cool and looks like there is ine on the 16th
you might also look around google or airbnb esxperiences for honolulu forest bathing- we did that at an arboretum near the orchid Nursery and it was lovely!
have fun i am jealous
posted by wowenthusiast at 4:44 AM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Tonkatsu Tamafuji is incredible I went twice in 5 days.
Ahi Assassins- great Poke, like truly next level.
koko head- great breakfast+lunch spot
kawamoto Orchid Nursury was a very very cool stop- more like a flower museum warehouse than a store
rainbow drive in- classic hawaian drive in very good spam musubi as i recall.
outside honolulu:
'Ai Love Nalo food that dreams are made of. we went here on a way to a free star party put on by the astronomy club- at the dillingham airfield- it was very cool and looks like there is ine on the 16th
you might also look around google or airbnb esxperiences for honolulu forest bathing- we did that at an arboretum near the orchid Nursery and it was lovely!
have fun i am jealous
posted by wowenthusiast at 4:44 AM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Seconding the Bishop Museum.
Eat at Chengdu Taste, an excellent, very much out of the ordinary, Chinese restaurant. Pho Waiphu Serves great Vietnamese food. Marugame Udon In central Honolulu is a favorite with my family.
The mobile members of my family recommend Sherwoods Beach and Waimea State Park for swimming.
I found Hanauma Bay crowded and difficult to enjoy. Swimming there is damaging the ecosystem so I'd be inclined to find somewhere less vulnerable to snorkel.
I love Haleiwa and Matsumoto's Shave Ice (partly because going is a family tradition) but you may be put off by the crowds. Nice drive, sweet town.
Have fun!
posted by gerygone at 5:08 AM on September 14, 2023
Eat at Chengdu Taste, an excellent, very much out of the ordinary, Chinese restaurant. Pho Waiphu Serves great Vietnamese food. Marugame Udon In central Honolulu is a favorite with my family.
The mobile members of my family recommend Sherwoods Beach and Waimea State Park for swimming.
I found Hanauma Bay crowded and difficult to enjoy. Swimming there is damaging the ecosystem so I'd be inclined to find somewhere less vulnerable to snorkel.
I love Haleiwa and Matsumoto's Shave Ice (partly because going is a family tradition) but you may be put off by the crowds. Nice drive, sweet town.
Have fun!
posted by gerygone at 5:08 AM on September 14, 2023
Check AirBnB Experiences - I've found some amazing food and walking tours conducted by locals in various cities that we have visited.
posted by COD at 7:16 AM on September 14, 2023
posted by COD at 7:16 AM on September 14, 2023
I liked the North Shore Macadamia Farm as part of a trip to the North Shore. It's small and old school Hawaiian, a tourist place but not tacky.
On the Windward Side, the Byodo-In Buddhist temple is at the foot of the Ko'olau Mountains. It was a gift from Japan in the 60s, a smaller replica of the temple of the same name in Japan. It's in a pretty setting and there is a lot of other stuff to see and do on the Windward side, especially hiking. Oh, also the Hoʻomaluhia Botanical Garden is on the Windward Side.
I also really like the Bishop Museum. I like the Art Museum too. We did a food tour that was very interesting - I think it was the Tasting Oahu Chinatown tour.
Hanauma Bay is a drag.
posted by vunder at 8:52 AM on September 14, 2023
On the Windward Side, the Byodo-In Buddhist temple is at the foot of the Ko'olau Mountains. It was a gift from Japan in the 60s, a smaller replica of the temple of the same name in Japan. It's in a pretty setting and there is a lot of other stuff to see and do on the Windward side, especially hiking. Oh, also the Hoʻomaluhia Botanical Garden is on the Windward Side.
I also really like the Bishop Museum. I like the Art Museum too. We did a food tour that was very interesting - I think it was the Tasting Oahu Chinatown tour.
Hanauma Bay is a drag.
posted by vunder at 8:52 AM on September 14, 2023
Nthing the Bishop and drinks and bites around Chinatown. Fete, Lucky Belly, Livestock Tavern, lots of good places in just a few blocks. Sadly, Ahi Assassins closed during the height of the pandemic.
Rent a car and make a loop from the windward side through the North Shore, visiting a bunch of beaches (Waimanolo, Kailua, Sunset, so so so many beaches). Enjoy how different they are in sand texture, how people use the beach, the views, the waves, etc etc. In Kailua, check out Over Easy, an awesome brunch place. Find small restaurants or food trucks to stop at, and look for places that have the specific cultural mashups that are really unique to Hawaii.
I haven't been, but the Kumu Kahua theater looks interesting — plays by Hawaiian playwrites about Hawaiian issues.
If you like beer, Hana Koa Brewing makes very good beer with a very Hawaiian mindset (e.g. a POG sour) and is next to Bocconcino, a great little spot for Italian meats, cheeses, and sandwiches.
posted by Schismatic at 2:34 PM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Rent a car and make a loop from the windward side through the North Shore, visiting a bunch of beaches (Waimanolo, Kailua, Sunset, so so so many beaches). Enjoy how different they are in sand texture, how people use the beach, the views, the waves, etc etc. In Kailua, check out Over Easy, an awesome brunch place. Find small restaurants or food trucks to stop at, and look for places that have the specific cultural mashups that are really unique to Hawaii.
I haven't been, but the Kumu Kahua theater looks interesting — plays by Hawaiian playwrites about Hawaiian issues.
If you like beer, Hana Koa Brewing makes very good beer with a very Hawaiian mindset (e.g. a POG sour) and is next to Bocconcino, a great little spot for Italian meats, cheeses, and sandwiches.
posted by Schismatic at 2:34 PM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for all the great ideas, folks. This community is tops.
posted by moonmoth at 3:22 PM on September 14, 2023
posted by moonmoth at 3:22 PM on September 14, 2023
One other thing: the bamboo forests are great. I went to the Lulumahu Falls hike (but I don't think we made it to the actual falls, but the bamboo forest was amazing), and I think there are others including one in/near Manoa. This was a much better experience than the one near Kyoto, which is so overcrowded.
posted by vunder at 4:57 PM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by vunder at 4:57 PM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
I like this particular hike:
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/judd-trail-loop-and-jackass-ginger-pool--2
The trailhead itself is a bit weird but once you're in it's beautiful and (in my experience) mostly empty. There are lots of other trails that interconnect in that area.
posted by eraserbones at 6:19 PM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/judd-trail-loop-and-jackass-ginger-pool--2
The trailhead itself is a bit weird but once you're in it's beautiful and (in my experience) mostly empty. There are lots of other trails that interconnect in that area.
posted by eraserbones at 6:19 PM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by gryphonlover at 11:11 PM on September 13, 2023 [2 favorites]