A whale of an art…read more.. Titled "Earth Day Hawaii" this is a a sight that I can never resist to glance at every time I pass it which really isn't as frequent since you need to head into Waikiki on Kalakaua Ave driving past the Hawaii Convention Center and you'll see it on your left which is painted on the side of a condominium. Wyland Whaling Wall #67 apparently is what it is I just recently learned this and whenever I grab something from the 7-Eleven which is right beside it I do take a quick glance before I carry on my way to start my day and like how we appreciate seeing nature's beautiful rainbow which oddly I thought this mural had as well this artist rendition of nature is certainly greatly appreciated for all of us to enjoy. Thank you!

What an experience!! Highly recommend! Lopaka is a great guide and story teller…read more The tour is engaging and mysterious. We started off sitting on the steps of the bandstand in Waikiki. Walked over to Kapiolani park, then the tennis courts. Lopaka told us stories throughout the entire tour. You do get to participate, I don't want to give too much away. You'll walk away with memories and stories to share. There is walking involved on this tour. Bring a jacket. Park at Waikiki Shell or the metered parking between the bandstand and the tennis courts (Kalākaua Ave). I can't wait to go on the next tour!

What a fun thing to do, whether your visiting or a local. A great guide and even if you don't…read morebelieve in Night Marcher's of spirits, there is a lot of history related in the tour. Allow about 90 minutes, come a little early for parking if needed. Can't say much more as I don't want to ruin the tour. Great guide with 30 years experience.

My eye has been on this place for a few years and I have often visited whenever I was in town…read more Their selection of stationaries, incents, to clocks, and travel items were amazing. All curated for those with an eye of minimalism and simplicity. The prices here are fair as I feel that the quality really exceeds the average patron. I purchased a water bottle that has traversed the United States with me and has done well. A few incenses that smelled amazing and a few other items. The guy at the cash register was super friendly too. We had a small talk about mid century modern vibes and it was great to speak to someone that had a real good sense of the vibe I was trying to aim for.

Amazing quality pens. If you love writing/journaling this place is heaven for you. The store is…read moreamazingly curated, and you can test the most of the pens before buying (Yes even Kawecos). I'm amazed at the good quality writing paper selection. Plus, they have a cute store stamp for your journal at checkout. 10/10.

Hidden gem! The second floor is an incredible showcase of a collection from across the world, and…read moredon't miss the full jade Buddha on the first floor. I did significant damage purchasing pearl and angel skin coral jewelry from Flora and they are now some of my favorite pieces in my rotation (and I'm normally a Cartier girl!). Really interesting that they do school field trips here to have students familiarize themselves with all different types of rocks, minerals, and other similar material. Highly recommend for folks stopping by in Waikiki, not a tourist trap for sure!!!!

What a great cause from this small family run business. No admission price. Kids from schools are…read morebrought to see up close gems, stones, corals from all over the world to see and touch first hand. Large intricate sculpted figures on display. There is a wide variety of quality jewelry for purchase. Better priced than many other establishments I've went to. Such as 3 for $20 or 2 for $30 for bracelets, earnings and necklaces. Much better quality too. Very nice people. Parking can be tricky. If you luck out on street parking I suggest Target/international market place perhaps?

Punahou Carnival is an Annual Event usually held the first weekend in February! It usually rains…read morebut this past Carnival was sunny blue skies! The Junior class is responsible for choosing the theme, song and booth names and manning the food, drinks, games, plants, and white elephant booths. Of course there are a lot of volunteers helping them including parents, staff and alumni. This is Punahou's largest fundraiser! And people come to this 2 day event: Friday and Saturday 11am to 11pm. There are so many booths! Food includes Punahou's famous 1 script malasadas; gyros, corn, noodles, hamburger, smoothies, acai bowl, Portuguese Bean soup, and Hawaiian Plate. There are kiddie games that always is fun for kids because they can win tickets to redeem for prizes! There is the popular white elephant tent that usually has a line! Also, there is a Silent Auction, Art Gallery and plant booth. You need to check it out next year! You'll be sure to have lots of fun! Bring lots.of monies and patience for the long lines!

I've been going to the Punahou Carnival at Punahou School for years as it was a mere 7 minute…read morewalking distance from where I once lived. But for this year, it was a different experience, not just travel wise but overall. As expected, parking can be difficult to find for this weekend event. You can either pray to the street parking gods to have a spot available nearby the campus or pay at nearby locations like Central Union Church or neighboring school and churches ranging from $10.00 to up to $30.00. Food items and games (except for the E.K. Fernandez games) can be purchased through scrip. There are many scrip booths available on campus for you to purchase scrip from. Most of the crowd tends to go to the scrip booth at the entrance of the school, but I found it more convenient to go to the other areas like by the white elephant tent or kiddie land as the lines are much much shorter. One key thing to remember is that the booths only accept credit/debit, Apple Pay or Google Pay to purchase scrip. No cash will be accepted. One scrip is 50 cents, a whole sheet of scrip is $10. It does tend to get busy during this event and it is highly expected that you will be waiting in line for the food. Unfortunately this year, the food was just...meh. The regular gyro that costs about 15 scrip had an equal amount of protein and onion (if you know me well enough, I'm not a fan of raw yellow onions). The noodles (that I always look forward to) that costs about 10 scrip with char siu, was bland and didn't have that many char siu pieces. The teri burger (9 scrip, 10 with cheese) was nostalgic but also meh. But the most upsetting food we had this time around was their famous (turned infamous for us) Portuguese bean soup (32 oz. is 18 scrip, limit 2 per person). When we got home and were ready to partake in that so-called hearty, comforting bowl of soup, we were faced disappointment with more broth than the actual ingredients. It was so watery that I was only able to identify only 4.5 pieces of elbow macaroni in that 32 oz! My friend's soup however had a lot of ingredients (she went earlier in the day instead). To make things worse, they moved the soup station further away from everything else, meaning extra walking (without any markings or signages) to just be let down. Although this year's experience wasn't the greatest, it's still the Punahou Carnival, with its usual crowds, usual announcements over the PA, and its nostalgic charm. Hopefully, they'll improve the food quality (the best ones we had from this experience were the malasadas and corn on the cob) and include some signages or arrows to point us of where to go for the hot items instead of letting us go on a hiking adventure up, down, left, and right through the campus.

Went on the 2-hour E-Bike tour and had the time of my life! One of the best days of my life. Truly…read morean ethereal place. I highly recommend visiting Kualoa Ranch there is nothing like it. Special mention to the tour guide Alexander. He was amazing. He explained thoroughly everything that needed explaining. Very friendly, he had answers to cultural questions, and took great pictures. Definitely request him. Will for sure be returning to Kualoa Ranch!

My husband and I did the 3hr deluxe ATV experience and man... that was awesome. If you ever decide…read moreto go on this tour you MUST ask for Johnny to be your tour guide. He does not disappoint. Not only is he cool but the he educates you on culture and of course all the movies filmed there. I'm so glad Johnny was our guide.

I was looking for independent movie theaters and discovered the Movie Museum on Yelp. They were…read moreshowing Hamnet which recently got nominated for - and WON! - a bunch of awards, so decided to check it out. This place is a true hole-in-the-wall theater. The entrance is slightly hidden so it can be hard to spot, the inside is super cozy with only about 16-18 comfy recliners, and you can bring your own blanket to get settled in. It feels very local and intimate. The owner said she's been in business since the 90s. A few things to know: you have to call ahead to make a reservation, tickets are $8 cash only, parking is in a paid lot, and masks are required (or you can buy one there for 50 cents). I think they used to allow outside food, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. It also looks like they've shifted focus--while they used to rent VHS and DVDs, now the movie screenings are the main draw. If you're looking for a cozy, community-style movie night, this place is absolutely worth your time!

This place is so weird. The owner is definitely not in it for the money, because it is a bit of a…read morepain to get a seat there. Cash only. I tried to call for tickets a few times with no luck. When I did reach someone they were dealing with "issues" and couldn't help me at the moment and didn't call me back. When I did get thru I could not seem to work out reserving a seat over the phone. Finally, I got to go see a movie about 2 years after this place hit my radar. The room has a bit of a musty smell. The recliners are sticky. You must recline your seat or the person behind you can't see. The experience of buying a ticket is a bit of a hassle. But... It is just $5 for the movie, the a/c is freezing and you can BYO anything. Including the BO. Seems like a lot of regulars go there. Adorable quirky older folks. My type of peeps. I want to go back and get drunk next time. And bring durian or something smelly to eat.

Even though this resort is for current military members, retired veterans and veterans with service…read moreconnected injuries. This is a great place on Waikīkī beach for the price. We stayed in a room with partial ocean views the view was very nice. The resort may be older but well taken care of and staff are helpful and friendly. Food prices in restaurants are better value compared to other resorts on Waikīkī beach. A Navy exchange is also located within the resort and can't beat the prices for things you may need on vacation. The pools on the resort are nicer then many resorts on Waikīkī beach also just off the resort grounds is Waikiki beach. Just walk onto the sands and look left and the mountain of Diamond head will be in full view.

If the HR department is any reflection of how the Hale Koa Hotel is operated, I would strongly…read morerecommend looking elsewhere for employment. Hale Koa holds a "job fair" that is essentially a high volume recruiting event for a wide range of positions. Hundreds of people appear to cycle through the event throughout the day. Although the event is advertised as running from 0900-1400, the process continued well into the afternoon. I arrived at approximately 1100, completed paperwork, and then sat and waited. And waited. After roughly two hours, I was finally given my first interview, which consisted essentially of one question about whether I had integrity. I was then moved to another room, where I waited approximately another two hours. My second interview was conducted by an executive chef and the head of food and beverage. I had applied for a leadership position within the hotel's security department. Neither interviewer worked in security, and the interview provided little opportunity to discuss the actual position beyond the standard questions about my experience. When I attempted to ask questions about the position and hiring process, they were unable to provide meaningful answers. Finally, after another approximately 45-minute wait, I was brought in to meet with the head of security. I was told that this was essentially a "get to know you" conversation and that I would need to return to the hotel for another interview at a later date. While the interviewer was nice, and explained the position, there were no relevant questions asked by the interviewer pertaining to the position. After approximately six hours at the hotel, I left with no offer and no clear understanding of what the next steps would be. I followed up multiple times with HR, with one employee punting me to someone else. After about 3 weeks of no update from my initial request and being ignored by the "punt returner" at HR, I finally wrote them and asked them to remove my application from their pool of applicants. The amount of time candidates were required to spend waiting, the lack of coordination between departments, having unrelated department heads conduct interviews for a security leadership position, and the complete lack of follow up from HR made the entire experience unnecessarily frustrating. Candidates are also evaluating an organization during the hiring process. Based on my experience, the hiring process at Hale Koa left me with serious concerns about the organization's communication, coordination, and respect for candidates' time.

Be sure to check out the ongoing book sale in the area just inside the library entrance. YA/Adult,…read moreDVD and CD selections on the right, and children's picture books in the stand to the left, as you enter the library doors. A black cash box is attached to the left side of the adult hardback bookcase for payment. The majority of the selections: $1, unless marked otherwise. Bargain-seekers hunting down trade textbooks for school (UHM undergraduates and parents of Punahou middle and high schoolers, take note!), current literary fiction, or poetry can find some great deals! I've scored some like-new, author- signed editions. Please donate your gently used books at the Circulation Counter, as well.

Love this library. It is the most convenient one for me-- the location, the hours, the parking…read more(including street and at Mānoa Marketplace), and the awesome self-checkout stations! The librarians are wonderful too. There's been a turnover in recent years but they're just as warm, kind, and helpful. They have fun seasonal programs. The kid and I used to do the summer reading challenges and we'd claim fun prizes. Should do that again! OG members who have the red library card can keep it, (I think maybe until the account expires? I can't recall.) if you want the new blue one with the fancy logo you'd have to sign up for a new account. But who wants to memorize a new number?! Yesterday I went in on a whim to ask abt my account (I wasn't able to log in online a week or so ago). Didn't have my card OR ID (smh) but the librarians could look up my account via my account number. But of course the minute I confidently said I have it memorized i couldn't say it. (SMH again) Thankfully I have my app on the phone which has the barcode, but I had to log on to the library WIFI to access it (thank goodness for prefilled userid and password). Long story short, both librarians accommodated my situation and helped me borrow books and cancel requests etc. i realized later I can cancel the requests myself on the computers (which was how I placed the requests in the first place SMH x3) and via the self-service machine! Because you can enter the account number manually. Anyway. Best library. Cool a/c. Lots of tables and computers (I saw an uncle playing solitaire). Very quiet and calm, until I came along, that is.

For this year's annual trip, we decided to visit during the week of the Honolulu Festival, which…read moretook place on March 13th-15th. Having been to Honolulu over the years, we never had the chance to partake in the festival activities. I had always thought the Festival was an event promoting Hawaiian culture but from being here, I found out his was the 30th year for this cultural event that promotes mutual understanding, economic cooperation and ethnic harmony between the people of Hawaii and the Pacific Rim region. Over 2,300 participants from Japan and other countries were here to participate in this Festival with events at the Convention Center, Ala Moana Shopping Center and Waikiki Beach Walk. I went to the Saturday events at the Convention Center. On the main performance stage, there were 25 various performance acts of traditional, dance, musical cheerleading, and a singing performance by Hitomi Shimitani to conclude. There were art and craft vendors and a sake and food fest section with free sample offerings. Love the sake and beer tastings, cookie and cracker tastings and a sushi making workshop. Due to the Kona storms that hit Hawaii during this week, I was disappointed that the Grand Parade and the Nagaoka Fireworks to conclude the festival were cancelled. I will plan to be back again next year for this Festival and look forward to the Parade and famous fireworks.

This year admission for adults was $10 at the door ($8 online)…read more In the past, especially last year, there were many food sample booths offering samples of different Japanese food products with none of them offering any for sale. But this year there were no samples, only food for sale, so there was no way to try it before buying which would have been helpful.