O'ahu - Hawai'i's Big City Island

We decided to spend the last two days of our Hawaiian vacation on O'ahu to see the city of Honolulu and take in urban Hawai'i. We hotwired a hotel a block from the beach in Waikiki .

O'ahu is by far the most populated of the Hawaiian islands, with 70% of the state's people. It's also the most visited of the islands - 63% of all tourists spend time on O'ahu. By comparison, Kaua'i is home to less than 5% of the state's population, and just 14% of tourists visit the island. While we're throwing out statistics, here's another one: the Waikiki area of Honolulu apparently has 30,000 hotel rooms. It was definitely a change of pace from all the hiking and nature of the big island and Kaua'i.

Honolulu is a dense, large city. It's clear the city bloomed in the 1960s and 70s, as most of the architecture is large beige concrete skyscrapers. There are a few new developments, and a bit of a mini building boom, with 31 skyscrapers under construction or proposed and a new rail transit system being built.

The first thing we noticed when we reached our hotel was the huge amount of Japanese tourists in Waikiki. According to the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, Japan is the leading source of visitors to O'ahu, with 1.46 million visitors per year, beating out the "US West" with 1.43 million visitors per year. The number of Japanese tourists really shapes the atmosphere of Waikiki. Many of the restaurants are Japanese and most people who work retail are at least bilingual. For us, this was a bit of a welcome surprise... we got to relive our trip to Japan for two days in Hawai'i. Next stop, Japanese food!

Ramen for late night dinner! The first place we tried had a huge line out the door.

For our first day in O'ahu, we planned a full day in Honolulu, taking in history, culture, and the beach. Our first stop was the Bishop Museum (the Hawaiʻi State Museum of Natural and Cultural History). This is one of the best museums we've been to. It opened in 1889 in an exceptional Romanesque building, and has been expanded several times since. The main exhibit, the 3-story Hawaiian Hall, takes visitors on a journey through Hawaiian geologic, natural, and cultural history. We spent over 90 minutes in this one room alone. Our favorites were a neat grass house that was moved to the Hawaiian Hall from Kaua'i over 100 years ago, a series of comprehensive exhibits on Hawaiian statehood, and displays on various Hawaiian gods. Other parts of the museum included a really impressive Polynesian hall and a science center with a dramatic volcano complete with a lava demonstration. If you're in Honolulu, take a break from the beach and be sure to check out this excellent museum!

View from our hotel in Waikiki

The impressive Hawaiian Hall of the Bishop Museum

The majority of native Hawaiians were wiped out by smallpox and other diseases in the 1800s.

The Polynesian hall of the Bishop Museum

Creepy stone idol

A neat exhibit on the shifting demographics of Hawai'i. Today, less than 5% of the population is native Hawaiian.

There was a weird black light tunnel representing Hawaiian creation mythology

Lava demonstration in the heart of the "volcano"

After the museum, we spent some time exploring downtown Honolulu. It was a weekend, so the streets were a bit quiet. Downtown offers an interesting contrast between 1970s skyscrapers and some older pre-statehood architecture. Right in the center of downtown the Hawaii state capitol building was finished in 1969, and is the second newest state capitol building (only Florida's is newer). It's very unique among capitols, designed in an adapted Bauhaus/International style with an open-air rotunda. The senate and house chambers represent volcanoes, and the reflecting pool represents the Pacific Ocean. It's certainly an interesting building. Across the street is Iolani palace, the only royal palace in the US. Unfortunately we weren't able to go inside either building, but we spent some time admiring the architecture from the outside.

Obviously we tried some more ramen

The streets near Honolulu's Chinatown

Statue of King Kamehameha in front of Aliiolani Hale (the former seat of government for the Kingdom of Hawaii)

Iolani Palace

The state capitol building

The interesting roofless rotunda of the capitol

The exterior of a chamber - reminiscent of a volcano rising from the ocean

Some 80s-tastic architecture in Honolulu's business district

We spent the afternoon relaxing in the sand and surf. Waikiki is a crowded beach. It's not nearly as scenic as some of the beaches we saw elsewhere in Hawaii (like Hanalei), but it's clear why it's so popular - it's hugely convenient and has really gentle surf. There was a constant procession of people swimming, tanning, and taking surfing lessons. Our trip also happened to line up with the yearly Aloha Festival events in Honolulu. The main street through Waikiki was closed to traffic and opened up to pedestrians with music, shopping, and food. It was packed with people.

Waikiki Beach

The calm waters at Waikiki. Plus some pirates.

The court of the Aloha Festival

Statue of Duke Kahanamoku, probably the most famous surfer. We saw his actual board in the Bishop Museum.

Japanese for dinner, of course! Katsu this time. Yummy.

View of Waikiki at night from our hotel

On our last day in Hawai'i, we visited some of the World War II historic sites at Pearl Harbor in the morning. These are actually the most visited attractions in Hawai'i, so we made sure to book in advance. The museum (at the "World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument") is small but well done, with exhibits on life in Honolulu at the time of the attack, the attack itself, and the experience of Japanese-Americans. We then boarded a US Navy boat to the USS Arizona memorial. The memorial is very understated and appropriate - a stark yet delicate architectural tribute to those that lost their lives. It's a very odd experience to be standing above a sunken battleship.

The USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor - where the US was drawn in to World War II

The USS Missouri - where World War II ended with the surrender of Japan

Memorial Hall at the USS Arizona monument

USS Arizona visible below the waters of Pearl Harbor

The monument is gracefully perched above the sunken ship

The Arizona still leaks oil into the harbor, creating rainbow swirls

In the afternoon we took a quick driving tour around the island of O'ahu. Along the way to the north shore we visited the Dole Plantation tourist trap. This place was filled to the brim with Japanese tourists buying pineapple themed goods. We spent approximately 4 minutes there. Afterwards, we drove to the the top rated north shore shave ice spot, Matsumoto's. The line was 20 minutes long, but Paul braved it for another frozen treat. David bailed and got a smoothie instead. We regret to inform you that Matsumoto's is good but vastly over-rated. Tege Tege on Kaua'i is leaps and bounds better!

The rest of the afternoon was spent meandering across the north shore of O'ahu back around to Honolulu from the east. We saw a number of small beaches that were popular with surfers. The area is a lot less developed than Honolulu, with no big resorts or hotels to be seen. Before heading back into town we rode up Tantalus Road/Round Top Drive to take in the vistas of the cityscape. It's a really pretty drive through the mountainous forests north of town and we recommend it if you have some extra time in Honolulu. Just go slow around the hairpin corners!

Multiple Japanese tourists posing for photos

Matsumoto's shave ice

A sea arch on the north shore of O'ahu

North shore scenery

Despite the urban nautre, O'ahu is still a really pretty place.

We saw some tide pools and watched the fishermen

Just seconds after Paul noted that no one ever caught any fish, this guy caught this monster!

Heading back into Honolulu. Diamond Head crater in the background.

Diamond Head and Waikiki

Honolulu from Tantalus Road

Our last stop in Hawaii - a Kona beer at the airport

Hawai'i is a beautiful state. From the dense urbanity of Honolulu to the dramatic green cliffs of Kaua'i, there were surprises around every corner. It's an expensive trip, but offers an incredibly diverse set of attractions - we hope to return some day!