Another JCCH fair today 04/13/24. Great vendors with a variety of wares and goods…read more Crafters, bakers, taiko drum groups, food trucks and more. Prices vary according to vendors. Antiques are sold here as well. The JCCH shop has great items old and new. Today the Boy's Day dolls are half off! Everyone I came into contact with today was courteous, friendly and full of Aloha. Picked up a few items and lunch of course.

Attended a lecture at the Japanese Cultural Center. Has a spacious parking facility. Validated…read moreparking rate for the evening was $8 - sort of high but you have piece of mind that your car will be safe. There are many homeless near the Cultural Center. One pay machine has the credit card picture wrong - card strip is faced down- not facing up like in the machine pic. Large bathrooms, nice views of the city from the second floor. Great venue for a function.

Historical building with beautiful architecture and a spacious garden. It was closed today so we…read moreweren't able to enter. This is the Royal palace for King Kamehameha and other royals until 1893. This is an easy walk from the piers if you are on a cruise. The Monkey Pod trees are huge and spacious. The grounds are well kept.

The Iolani Palace is Hawaii's historical landmark, the only official royal palace, visitors must go…read morethrough the self guide audio tour, which can last 30 to 45 minutes depending on your own pace. Despite the underground jewelry room is closed for maintenance, the tour indeed offers a glimpse into Hawaiian history, showcasing the 1st floor staterooms, and the private 2nd floor living spaces where the queen was held under house arrest. I think it should be sufficient planning two hours here, including parking, getting tickets, watching video, and time stamped self guide audio tours, and it costs $28 for adults.

Friendly staff and tons to see. The grounds and are well-kept and walkable. You'll learn a lot…read moreabout Hawaiian history and the Pacific region. There's rotating exhibits in the Castle Memorial Building. When I take the kids, I go to the Science Adventure Center to see the volcano simulation. I would spend about 3-4 hours at the museum. If you need to rest, there's benches and water refill stations across the property. The only cafe on-site is Tutu's Place by Highway Inn. The food is good (consistent with Highway Inn quality). It does get packed though, so plan your dining accordingly.

Museum entry was complimentary courtesy of our hotel. We knew about it the last time we visited the…read moreislands, but didn't have time to make it over to the museum. It's a great place to learn about Hawaiian history and the culture. It also wasn't very crowded and a good way to seek refuge from the sun. I would recommend the planetarium shows (additional charge of $3/person). We spent about 3 hours here including the planetarium show.

Art Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii…read more.. My friend really wanted to visit the Honolulu Museum of Art. She said that she asked many people and no one was interested. I told her that the third Sunday of the month has free admission for Hawaii residents with ID. She was in! I drove because I know where to find street parking... and it's free on Sundays... how convenient! We showed our IDs at the entrance and got maps, a program, and a "HoMA" sticker on our clothing. We looked at the Asian Art first: China, Japan, Korea, India, etc., then went to the contemporary art gallery. Wow... very interesting pieces! We had a meal at the café, and saw a free 2pm movie ("A'ā") in the Doris Duke Theater... reservations are recommended. It was excellent. The one-hour movie (with Japanese and Hawaiian subtitles) was followed by a Question and Answer session with the filmmaker, Chris Miyashiro. The convenient restroom was nearby! We didn't have time to do any crafts (fan making, weaving, feather work, etc.), but we did stroll through the Hawaiian Art Gallery. We probably will return on another Community Sunday to see the other galleries. Note: I was here over ten years ago with some Yelp friends. I found my photos from that visit, but they won't link to this review because they were posted so long ago!

We love, love HoMA!! We visit every time we are on Oahu…read more They have a deep collection and fantastic special exhibits. We spend 2-3 hours each time we visit. We live on Kaua'i and are over to Oahu several times a year. On a recent visit, we really loved a special exhibit of Ralph Iwamoto, a Hawaiian artist, woh passed in 2013. See pictures of Ralph's work that was on exhibit in August of 2026. If you're visiting and that exhibit is no longer available, there will be other special exhibits - usually 2. And, their standing pieces are always great! Highly recommended!!

We have driven by for years. Decades actually…read more We finally stop in, on a rainy Saturday morning. It's a fantastic home - and heightens your appreciation for the royalty that one ruled the islands. The Daughters of Hawai'i have gone to extraordinary lengths to preserve, present and honor Queen Emma's summer home. We had several representatives of the daughters on site, each with extensive historical knowledge of Queen Emma, her family and this lovely home. If you love history, or if you would like to know about life of royalty on the islands, check this historical home out. They have a lovely gift shop. Highly recommended!!

Dropped by after hiking nearby to see if we could Tour Queen Emma's Summer Palace without…read morereservations. We paid for the self tour and entered the building. Read through the information so we could understand the different items we were viewing. Fascinating walk through Hawaii History and Queen Emma's own personal involvement . Some of the furniture is beautifully made with local wood. There were interesting gifts received from other rulers. There were beautiful feathered capes on display, which the handout how they were produced by only taking a few feathers from multiple birds and releasing without doing harm.

Out of the whole experience, one of the best parts was our shuttle driver, RJ--or AJ, I apologize…read morebecause I can't remember exactly which one it was. From the minute we got on the shuttle, he started breaking down some of the history of the island and really set the tone for the night. He had everyone introduce themselves and share a little bit about who they were and where they were from. He was extremely friendly and funny, but what I really appreciated was that he didn't try to dictate the conversation. He let it happen naturally. Before long, everybody on the shuttle was talking with each other and sharing personal experiences--what brought them to the island, why they chose this luau instead of some of the others, and just life in general. It honestly felt less like a shuttle full of strangers and more like a group of people getting to know each other. He also recommended a drink to me. I cannot remember what the hell it was called--I just remember something like "AVI"--but it was GOOD. I had six of them, so apparently the recommendation worked. The cousin who helped host our event that night--I unfortunately forgot her name too--was also great. She was very interactive with everybody and made sure everyone felt included and participated instead of just sitting there watching a show. Overall, I definitely recommend the experience. One piece of advice: BRING A FREAKING HAT. It gets hot up there while the sun is setting, and depending on where you're seated, you may have that Hawaiian sun hitting you directly for a couple of hours. Bring a good pair of sunglasses, a hat, and some sunscreen. Great people, great atmosphere, and a really memorable experience. Sorry for the pictures I didn't take many I mostly took videos

Thursdays Luau was the best ending to my first trip to Hawaii I could of ever asked for. Everybody…read moreneeds a raise! Whole team is A+ thank you for making us apart of the Ohana and teaching/sharing your culture with us

This children's discovery center is fun and educational for kids. I also like that they promote…read morediversity and inclusion with their pretend-play wheelchair medical corner, cultural center, etc. Everyone is friendly. A lot of the things inside appear to have looked the same for maybe 25+ years, so I think the center is due for some upgrades. Additionally, it would be good if there's more effort for cleaning and sanitizing toys throughout the day. I sat on something there and realized it was somebody's bodily fluid. I tried looking for a hand sanitizing station, but it was out. I ended up going to the bathroom to wash it off with soap. Despite this incident, I still like taking my kid here. I just bring hand sanitizing wipes and wash our hands as often as we can.

It was $75 for us to attend (2 adults and 3 kids, and a baby-- at $15 each, but the baby was free)…read morebut I quickly got over the sticker shock once I saw the quality of the exhibits. We've been to a few discovery museums (mostly in California) but this one particularly impressed me. The staff was constantly sanitizing the toys and touch surfaces (literally, we would leave an activity and then the worker would spray down everything we had touched). I also liked that they had baskets for people to place toys that needed to be sanitized. Very impressive, and we felt very safe. You could spend HOURS in this place-- especially if your kids want to perform a few plays for you in the theater exhibit. All 3 of my kids loved this place and I wish we had arrived earlier because it was closing time before we knew it. I think this would make for an especially great visit on a bad weather day and/pr when your kids want a break from the beach or pool. If your hotel room isn't ready yet it would be a good way to let kiddos burn off some energy after a long flight too. If you have young kids I would say this is a MUST VISIT. For reference my children are 7, 5, and 2.5 years old (my 4th born is an infant and doesn't even sit or crawl yet so she was too young but I did see some older babies there who seemed to be enjoying themselves in the under 3 years old and under 5 years old zones).

This past severl years, i started to attend more meetings and get involved with the activities…read more These activities includes Mandarin class Taichi class Bowling Christmas party Spring banquet Chinatown parade Everyone is friendly.

"Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot see physically with his eyes…read more.. Abstract art enables the artist to perceive beyond the tangible, to extract the infinite out of the finite. It is the emancipation of the mind. It is an exploration into unknown areas." - Arshile Gorky After recent visits to the Hawai'i State Art Museum and Honolulu Museum of Art, we were inspired to visit this art museum. This Contemporary Museum at the First Hawaiian Center is an extension of the Honolulu Museum of Art. It features the work by artists of Hawai'i who use a variety of media and displays can be found in the bank's lobby and second floor mezzanine. Exhibits and artistic works are routinely rotated. The museum isn't very large and usually has enough space to feature 3 artists at a time. I can't express how the different artwork affected my senses and emotions as everyone will have their own impression(s). You may or may not feel or see what I have seen or what the artist was trying to express. However, when you come to the First Hawaiian Center, you'll also be impressed with the architecture. The former CEO and Chairman of First Hawaiian Bank, Walter A. Dods, Jr, is responsible for completing and opening Hawai'i's tallest building. Distinctive architectural features bring in as much natural sunlight as possible, views from its mountain-side use vertically-proportioned windows and ocean-facing views can be seen through horizontally framed windows that capture the sea and horizon. The building's shape resembles a knife as it "slashes through" its banking competition, Bank of Hawai'i. If you happen to be in Downtown Honolulu's Financial District, check out this museum. Explore and discover the unknown.

The Contemporary Museum is located inside the main branch of First Hawaiian Bank. It occupies…read moresections of the first and second floors. A person would need to take the stairs to get to the second floor. I'm unsure if the art gallery wing on the second floor can be accessed by the elevators...if they do then a person would have to pass the FHB workers in order to get to the gallery First Hawaiian Bank and Honolulu Museum of Art just had their 20th anniversary of partnership in 2016. Paintings and art sculptures on the two levels are part of the First Hawaiian Bank's art collections. Individuals are able to browse both levels for free. All art in the museum were done by individuals growing up in Hawaii or from transplanted former residents of the island. I recommend everyone to stop by the Contemporary Museum in the Downtown Honolulu location of First Hawaiian Bank. 10/100

I love coming to Kānewai, its definitely a great view in suburbia. There's a normal class that's…read morethere every semester for loi kalo. Great for all ages and they always accommodate as well. Every first Saturday they have a community work day that starts I believe at 8am until about 12pm-ish. To schedule a tour you have to contact them, I always see them having different groups. Its a very spiritual place and should be highly respected when entering this āina. If you can and you're around the town area, I highly recommend experiencing and participating in aloha and mālama āina!

Visited doing some volunteer work with my son's soccer club. Great cultural experience with a lot…read moreof hands on work. The staff were great and super friendly provided an awesome history lesson while we worked. Not only was the experience top notch the food and snacks delicious and Top Chef quality and was not expected so it topped the day off filling our stomachs with ono food!