"I'm wearing short sleeves, I don't want to expose my tattoos."…read more-Jerry Seinfeld Well now I DO wanna wear short sleeves to let my new honu peek out a bit! Been wanting to get a honu ink'd to remind me of where I came from... where home really is. Everytime I go back, I run out of time or just didn't want to give up the beach day. This time the whole fam was IN... when I explained my design concept, both my wife and daughter wanted their own version, still honu themed. da Scene: Determined to get this done done during the 16 day visit back home on Oahu, I did my research early and narrowed it down to 3 spots initially. After some dm's, email exchanges and finally some voice calls, it was Lai @ Tattoo Hawaii who I connected with most, so we scheduled an in-person consult and then our sessions, with 2 days left on our trip - only lost 1 beach day (it was a perfect one too). da Service: Every contact before our session was courteous and replied to promptly. I did have to be insistent on Lai doing our work, even if it meant spanning multiple days. His work on social media and Yelp! most connected with me. At our consult he explained how he would approach my design concept and adapt it to my wife and daughter. Lai was confident he could get us all done in one afternoon/evening session. The shop is tucked away on the 2nd floor of a little building on the corner of Kapiolani and Piikoi... parking is a challenge, so arrive early to wait out a spot. The shop is comfortable and can accommodate 3-4 artists working, with friends looking on in support. da Work: Kai was up 1st as hers would be the least complicated. She went with 3 petroglyph style honu, each about 3.5" diameter, ink'd fairly heavy - vertically on her upper arm, pretty classic design. She has several tattoos already and was surprised that Lai didn't work with a stencil... he simply free-handed the design with several pens, directly on your body. He's a very cool, confident cat, laid back and within minutes has you chatting it up like you went to high school together. I went next as my wife wanted to see how mine's worked out to help solidify her concept. Lai drew a honu/dragon/shark tooth design on my upper arm and I said "go for it". 2.5 hours later I was stunned at the fine details he added to the shark's teeth encircling the honu shell, as well as tribal accents in the honu, while incorporating the dragon profile. It really was satisfying to see my concept executed closely, while adding style and depth, bringing it to life. Carla was last up and really wanted to stick close to what I had done... just smaller and wanted the dragon to "pop" more. As you can see, Lai nailed it... however subtle, the dragon does appear more prominent on her piece. da Wrap: Really happy all-around, already thinking about how to add to it, maybe add color, grow it further down my arm, how to add to the story. It's a very personal thing and I really suggest you take your time to research and find the right artist. I'm confident that you'll find the right one at Tattoo Hawaii. We were there most of the day and saw several folks and artists' work, there was actually one guy there the whole time getting a large whole body piece worked on with a manual tattoo tool, that's an investment! HUGE shout out to Lai for making our sessions so enjoyable and comfortable... When he found out it was my and my wife's 1st work, he said he was honored to be 1st... such a humble guy, great disposition. We'll see you soon brother!

Many things have changed since my 2018 visit so the information in this review can stay relevant…read more I visited last week for a fairly large piece and Lai took care of it like he did with my two other ones. When you arrive remember to fill out the paperwork provided. This could probably be streamlined if it were made available online. Regardless, you can reach out to the shop via social media or even the shop's webpage too. We took multiple breaks on my last visit. What started out as a request for a pueo turned into a session to catch up since pre-pandemic and get back in the chair. Lai free handed the entire piece. I wanted a poly style piece with Lai's style and that's what I got. Very much appreciated for attention to detail. Reach out to the shop via social media and if you want specifics like cost and time, you better be specific about your request too. (i.e. size, color, design, etc). There are so many shops on Oahu and Tattoo Hawaii was the only one that gave me an accurate cost and time frame, not to mention some awesome conversation. Highly recommended and thoroughly enjoyed!

Lisa is an amazing piercer, I remember when I just turned 18, and having a 18-year-old's budget I…read morelooked and scoured all over to find the cheapest piercers and when I came across all the reviews on ink Pit, I saw that not only was it cheaper than literally everywhere else on the island but she is also amazing it hardly even hurt at all and earlier today I called a bunch of piercings shops and all of them are saying like 140+for a rook piercing?? You have got to be kidding me, but I always wanted to go to Lisa the only reason why I call other places in the first place is because they open it on the little bit later side and I wanted to get it done as soon as possible but long story short EVERYWHERE else has crazy inflation prices... Lisa is seriously the only person that I remember it being the same amount from 10 years ago that is so crazy honestly I feel like she should make everything at least $10 more That's how good her services, she ain't even answered all my questions that I have about why my industrial fill out before and all that this is literally my first good review normally I only review places when it's like extremely bad not just a little bad I can handle that but if it's like the worst place I've ever been to then I have to write something to one others but Lisa is my first good review and I'm very thankful that she took me in as a walk-in and had me out within 10 minutes maybe even 5 minutes at the most thanks again Lisa :) PS she even exited the tipping screen and said to not worry about tipping her but of course I want to~she already has her prices ridiculously cheap.. I have literally never seen anyone say no need to tip (especially in the service industry) If you need any piercings done please go to Lisa she's the best and honestly I'll never go to anyone else ^^

I got my daith and flat pierced here. it was a quick experience. When I walked in i was the only…read moreperson in the shop but Lisa was immediately rude and made me feel as if i was taking up her time and space. It was super odd, i've never had a piercer ever be so unfriendly. a few months later i went to my usual piercing place to get new jewelry and kinda talked about the Ink Pit to her. she knew who i was talking about because i guess Lisa "botches" her clients and has a reputation of it in the piercing world. my flat jewelry from the Ink Pit was so long but i thought it was okay, and my usual piercer said she was surprised it healed because it was too long to safely heal. i usually don't have trouble with my piercings, but this was so painful and hard to heal. as soon as i got a shorter piece, it stopped hurting and looks great now. their starting jewelry is terrible. this place is cheap and quick and im sure Lisa was just having a bad day when i was in there, but there are much better places to go. and remember, there's a reason why it's so cheap.

I did a walk in and even though they were busy, they were very accommodating. Kevin did my tattoo…read moreand I am very happy with the results. Great atmosphere as well.

My daughter and I had an amazing experience at Black Palette Tattoo during our trip! We wanted to…read moreget hibiscus tattoos to remember our first family vacation to Hawaii, and this studio was the perfect choice. the space was so nice, clean, and welcoming from the moment we walked in. Kevin did my tattoo, and he was fantastic--incredibly fast but without compromising on quality, and the final piece is absolutely beautiful. Brandon worked with my daughter for her very first tattoo, and he was wonderful. He was so friendly and welcoming, which made her feel completely at ease and made her first-time experience so special and positive. her tattoo turned out beautiful as well The artwork is stunning, the service was excellent, and we will definitely be coming back here the next time we visit! Thank you, Kevin and Brandon!

I recently got my first tattoo done by Teva, this past Tuesday and Wednesday. I sent him what I…read morewanted and he executed it perfectly, freehanded! The precision on his tribals and lines is so beautiful. His communication with me was very good and so was his ability to make me feel comfortable as it was my first time in a tattoo shop. Not only that, but his pricing is perfect and reasonable. Came out way cheaper than I expected! He also makes sure to think of his clients before thinking of himself, and that will stand out the most to me.

What else can I say but Amazing! The husband and I were in Oahu visiting family and celebrating…read moreour 25th Anniversary. He had been wanting a tattoo for a couple of years from home. Teva didn't disappoint, he actually blew our minds with his design, it was more than we were expecting with such short notice. He couldn't be happier and proud of his tattoo. Thank you so much Teva!! While waiting for the hubby, I decided to sneak one in as well and Nick did a great job on my plumeria flower. I've gotten so many compliments on it, everyone loves the colors and shading. Thank you so much Nick. You have customers for life!!

I have been wanting a Polynesian style tattoo for awhile and I did my research before coming to the…read moreisland for vacation. I ultimately chose this shop because the artists here are so talented. It was actually quite hard to narrow it down and choose which artist I wanted to do my ink - they're all crazy talented. But then I fell in love with a design I saw and I selected Brian and sent him an email to begin correspondence. When I arrived in Oahu I went by and we discussed what I wanted and I made and appointment and put down a deposit. My appointment was for Friday 2/9 at noon. Brian had drawn up the design for me that included the elements I asked for and it was even more beautiful than anything I had pictured. He managed to incorporate the ocean sunset design I loved, altered it to include flowers instead of leaves and he worked in the Polynesian element I wanted. He massively exceeded my expectations. The appointment was great. Brian is a skilled tattoo artist, he is very personable and I enjoyed talking with him as he used his 6-7 colors of black and grey to create my tattoo. I am very pleased with the result. Everything he used was new/disposable and he was meticulous in his care of keeping everything as clean and sterile as possible. I highly recommend this shop and Brian.

Reccomended to all!! if i can give more stars i will. got my first Tattoo it came out really Nice…read more Steve is really talented artist , so dedicated to his work! Excellent work Brother! Hope to see you soon again!

Levi James Purdy is my tattoo artist and he works out of this shop. Very professional and the shop…read moreitself is super cute and in the heart of Chinatown. Cash only-- but they have an atm machine inside if you forget. Surcharge is $5. Follow my artist on ig to see his amazing work: levijamespurdy He's the best!

The tattoo shop and most of the artist here is great. There is just one problem. KALLEY. She will…read moretake a $100+ deposit from you, schedule you an appt and not show up, then re-schedule you another appt and then cancel it and once you have had enough of that you ask for your deposit back and she denies you. Avoid this woman at all cost.

I was on a mission to replace my current nose piercing I've had for a long time and why not get it…read morein Hawaii?? I went right in. I went about a half an hour before they closed. I wish I would've got the young lady's name who helped me, but she was super sweet and very customer service friendly. Got a little bit of a discount because I pay cash it was such an In-N-Out transaction. I really appreciate the service I received there. I have to make mention that this place has a tattoo parlor and coffee bar all in one. What a concept, I love it!

Walked in and decided to get a tattoo for my birthday. Very spur of the moment and random. I guess…read morethat's typical when making permanent decisions. The staff here was very informative, explaining size, scale, placement location, needle type, etc. and this was very reassuring for someone getting their first ink. Marco was the artist who ultimately did my tattoo and he was friendly and quick! Highly recommend this team if you happen to be in Waikiki Beach on your birthday and looking to spice up your day. Additional green flags for me was the music playlist in the background featuring all my favorite hometown artists from TI to Jeezy and Young Joc. The location also has a coffee cafe with tasty smelling drinks and snacks.

Neil is the best!!! He got me back into my love for tattoos and with his artistic skill and genuine…read morelove of his work, he made every tattoo a one of a kind work of art. Beyond that, he is the most genuinely kind person and treated my family like his family. We will be making trips out to Hawaii just to get more ink!

by far the best place to go. amazing guys. Neil, Sam and Shanti. Neil has the greatest hands and…read morethe amount of passion and dedication is by far the best. will be coming back specifically for these three gentlemen.