I been to several different municipalities in the country. I loved C&C of Honolulu after few…read morevacation trips. Me and my partner officially called Honolulu our home as we moved to Waikiki in the turn of the century. We were able to afford a condo in a mid-rise building, then moved to a plantation-style house. Not fancy but sufficient and convenient to the beach and downtown (except met a slumlord). Back then, everything was within reach. I loved the cultures and atmosphere. The only thing we complained the most was the cost of necessities. Well, that was one of the reasons we moved to Texas because we ran out of money. Bottom line is... don't try to live in Honolulu poor. You would need at least a million dollars to live comfortably back then 25 years ago. Not sure how much it is now today.

After dedicating my life to military law enforcement and breaking barriers as the only African…read moreAmerican--and often the first employee--in every company I've worked for, coming back to the US after 24 years was supposed to mean progress. But in Hawaii, I found the same rotten mindset festering beneath the surface. Despite being treated warmly by many locals, I've faced the sting of prejudice from those who should understand us best: black officers who still, shockingly, demean us like slaves or dumbed-down caricatures. I encountered an officer who, completely unaware of my financial acumen, extensive law enforcement experience, and military service, had the nerve to act as if he was the sole guardian of the law. That moment wasn't just a slap in the face--it was a brutal reminder that despite decades of sacrifice and achievement, some of these outdated attitudes are still embedded in our institutions. It's infuriating to realize that after all this time, real change remains painfully out of reach. I'm left questioning where I belong, and the thought of returning to Japan--a place where, at least then, I felt my value was recognized--now seems like a potential path to hope. The fight against this injustice is personal, and it burns with a fury that demands not just acknowledgment, but a radical shift in how we are seen and treated.

The Municipal Reference Center is part of the Mission Memorial Buildings complex located in the…read moreFrank Fasi Civic Center facing King Street. Documents or reference materials include publications issued by the City & County of Honolulu Agencies dating back to 1909. Many of the publications have been catalogued to online access. However, research access is restricted to any officer or employee of the City Government. I can only provide historical background to this building and complex. BACKGROUND: - You might know that the Mission Memorial Buildings were originally built (1916) to commemorate the initial arrival (1820) of American Protestant missionaries in Hawaii. These buildings were commissioned by the Hawai'i Evangelical Association and served as the headquarters of the Hawaii Evangelical Association, part of the Hawaiian Mission Children's Society, a non-profit educational institution and genealogical society whose membership is comprised of descendants of the first American Protestant missionaries to Hawaii. The Mission Memorial Building (MMB) site was the previous home of the Kawaiahao Seminary and the Honolulu Mission Printing Office. -1930 This third building was added to the complex in 1930 as Christian Education Building. -1944 The City & County of Honolulu officials procured the 3 Mission Memorial Buildings to ease the congestion of office space in city hall (Honolulu Hale). -2003 The City decided to renovate these historic buildings and convert from office spaces back to its original state. While I cannot access the documents from this Reference Center, it's really cool to be able to walk about history.

This is, by far, parking payment system on the island! The ticket scanner takes sooooooo long to…read moreprocess your ticket and the credit card payment authorization takes just as long. The car in front of me didn't know what to do because it took so long, we thought it was not working at all. With all the payment options available today, there should not be such an archaic system especially if you want to attract visitors to the restaurants and businesses that are nearby. If I want to visit a restaurant nearby, I'll look first street parking and if none available, I'll go somewhere else.

Biggest parking lot in Kaimuki and conveniently located near to the restaurants…read more Too bad it's not a double decker lot so they can accommodate more cars. Easy to get into and if you're just doing a good pickup, easy to get out with automatic gates. Only problem I find is that it gets so full with so many businesses surrounding it and the Park. I went to Kaimuki Cafe yesterday for lunch scheduled for 11 am. I arrived at 10:45 thinking parking would be easy and the lot was so full. The lady at KC said gotta get there before 10 so maybe I'll be meeting friends for breakfast instead of lunch on Thursdays or Fridays I. The future. Apparently there's some kind of realtors meeting in the area and the lot fills up. Doubt they can make it double decker cuz they'd have to close it down and that would be disastrous for the businesses. Just need to adjust my schedule for going there.

Set right in the heart of Kaimuki, Lafite Plaza is a 2-story building located at 3457 Waialae…read moreAvenue. They offer a private parking lot for patrons of the businesses at Lafite, you'll have to pull up the ramp to get there. Be cautious when going up the ramp, as its a little steep and two way, as well as the potential for pedestrians walking up the stairs on the ramp. Below are the businesses here: Ground level: Champs Sports Bar Fusion Cafe & Wine Bar (coming soon at the time of this review) Second Floor: Kangen 808 Namie Salon Plantoem

Kaimuki is a special place- Lucky we live Hawaii!…read more Lafite Plaza is a small place. Reason for this review- Drivers Please Be Careful trying to Park. Kaimuki is not downtown NYC with rushing taxi's and bike drivers that know how not to get hit- the parking is a pain in the b*++ but there is plenty of street parking, the road in front of Lafite Plaza is two two way lanes but there is street parking so stopping and coming out of parking drive ways is very often. It is just up the street from when I used to live on 9th Ave. Just about 10th Ave, right in the heart of things in Kaimuki- well placed and so nice to have friendly little places to check out that are new or mainstays. Right now on the bottom of the Lafite Plaza is Champs- a nice friendly sports bar. Above that is Hot White. Bathrooms are just down halls- easy to find once you ask. Again parking is limited so plan accordingly if you know there are tons of people trying to attend something like the Kaimuki Parade or fest or anything big in the area.

For sure a good place to park if you are working in Waikiki or plan on staying for the day. It's…read morepractically in the center of Waikiki so you don't have to walk to far to get to either side. If you make it into the lot between 6:30am-4:30pm, there's a Daytime Special where you'd pay just $15 for up to 10 hours. The regular paying rate is about $6 an hour ($3 every 30 minutes). Depending on when you get there the lot may be almost full. I was getting in around 2:30ish and the levels were pretty packed at that time. The earlier you get in the better for sure. It's a secured lot, with security on duty during all hours that the structure is open. There are pay stations on the ground level as well as by the elevators on the 6th floor.

Worst parking ever! They are completely full on 4th of July and still let million cars driving all…read morethe way to the top level where a dude has horrible attitude and tells everyone to turn back. They are wasting everyone's time and has attitude. Is it hard to put a lot full sign out?! My child just missed the firework because of this. Never park here again. And we used to park here every single Saturday. Never again!

Kapahulu pride…read more.. First of all I can't believe that a bakery used to be here as now it's home to Safeway which wasn't my go to grocery store until they began to set their place here in Kapahulu Shopping Center which is quite massive and very nice to include a Starbucks as well, yes it is definitely the anchor here with a lot of free parking and we all know that it does fill up fast but they do have an upper level as well just take the ramp up and you'd be surprised to see a lot more stalls along with elevators to take you down so it's an easy access to wherever you're going as this shopping center is filled with wonderful merchants like AT&T, Chronic Tacos, Panda Express, Timmy T's, GNC just to name a few. For those that are here just to pick up some take out food there are a few stall dedicated for that for ease of doing so like delivery drivers I do see take full advantage of that making it a thoughtful process for those that are just here for a few and with that is time saved for those that are staying near Waikiki or before heading out to the freeway. Thank you!

Kapahulu Shopping Center is a busy Shopping Center, especially because Safeway is the anchor store…read more Some smaller eateries came and went like Pita Pit. I liked that sandwich place, and I would drive here just for their sandwiches. It so hard find parking in front of the businesses throughout the day. What is nice, is the parking is free! Recently came to Moojigae Korean Grill after the lunch rush hours and found a parking stall right in front. New businesses to open soon are the Loco Moco Drive Inn and a second location for Mikiya, a Wagyu Shabu House. Timmy T's , Panda Express, AT&T, GNC, as well as Chronic Tacos are located at this Shopping Center. There are more parking stalls on the roof top with Elevators service. You can see Diamond Head from the roof top parking! The Kapahulu Shopping Center is on Kapahulu Avenue and there's also a back entrance for the residential area near Timmy T's. I can't wait to go Loco Moco's Drive Inn when they open. Sometimes you can find some coupons printed behind the Safeway's receipt for the near by businesses. Please stop by this Shopping Center on the way to Waikiki or when you're in the area. They have many take out eateries to try! This Safeway is huge like the main store located on Beretania St!

Shopping in Kaimuki, Honolulu, Hawaii…read more.. I didn't really know that this place was Kaimuki Shopping Center... It's a huge structure between 4th Avenue and 5th Avenue that runs along Waialae Avenue. Times Supermarket is on the bottom level, and Longs, Cookie Corner, and the Hawaii State Employees Federal Credit Union are on the middle level. Those are the places that I see and know. I looked at the directory and saw that there are many offices on that top level that I never visit. Customers can use the stairs or elevator to navigate between levels. Free covered parking is on the bottom level. The middle level also has free parking, but the row furthest away from the building is reserved for employees. This is pretty good outdoor mall. I've gotten meals from several businesses such as Fairwood Drive Inn & Pho 27, Higoto, and Coco Bloom. I'll be back!

Free parking. Many shops here to enjoy. To name a few,…read morethere is CVS Longs Drugs, The Cookie Corner, Hawaii State Federal Credit Union, Restaurants, Kaimuki Dental Group, Times Supermarket, Higoto Japanese Eatery and so much more. Great value, service, and selection of products at Longs Drug and Times Supermarket. Yummy food options at the upstairs (Fairwood Drive Inn & Pho 27) and downstairs food service restaurants (Higoto and Coco Bloom). Take your pick of your bentos, musubis, sandwiches and more. At Kaimuki Shopping Center you can get your banking, grocery shopping and teeth cleaning done, all in one trip!

Stayed here in an oceanfront room double during Spring Break. Wasn't prepared for the fact that a…read moredouble actually had "double" beds, not queen sized. Really disappointing, as there were 3 of us. To make matters worse, the beds were so soft it was like sleeping in a hammock -- and our room had supposedly been upgraded. Storage is minimal with only 3 12" deep drawers and a tiny closet. The room had a balcony facing the ocean with 2 chairs and a table, which was nice to have. The only drawback was that one of the beds was right next to the door to the balcony, which meant legs inevitably took a hit when you went outside. The hotel is huge but the numbers are managed well enough that you don't feel you're part of a mob until you go outside. Great pools and water slide, but small enough that they were always quite crowded. We rented a cabana one day and that was very nice - some private space despite being right at the pool. The waiter there was attentive and friendly. Great overall location. That a hotel this large has only one small restaurant/bar was surprising and frustrating - when it rained, the line to get in was long! Once in, it was very pleasant except for a very unfriendly older woman who was hostess. Everyone else was warm and friendly, and sitting at the bar was fun. The manager did a good job of keeping an eye on things, particularly one very drunk woman who was getting out of hand on more than one occasion. Employees were helpful and very friendly - we appreciated that. The hotel is expensive, but it's Hawaii so no surprise there. I would not stay here again unless the bed situation was changed.

We stayed at the Sheraton Waikiki for 5 days during the great 20 year storm, and overall it was a…read morereally solid experience with a few things worth calling out. The location is honestly hard to beat. It's right in the middle of everything, easy beach access, and close to shops and restaurants. The food and drinks were consistently good, and we never had an issue finding something we enjoyed. The pools and cabanas were a highlight for us. They're well kept, relaxing, and just made the whole stay feel like an actual vacation. The gym was also very nice. Much larger than I expected and fully stocked with towels and water. Just wish it had a window with a view. That said, the beds were rough! Definitely not what I'd expect at this level. Sleep matters, and that part missed the mark. Our backs still hurt. Also, no room service.. Also, the nail salon downstairs needs some attention. We tried multiple times and they were never available to take anyone, which was frustrating and honestly felt like a wasted amenity. Even with the rain, we still enjoyed our stay. Overall: great location, great vibe, and strong on amenities.