After saying our goodbyes and packing up the rest of our stuff, we decided to head to the airport early, return the rental, and wait in the terminal until our 9:35AM Hawaiian Airlines interisland flight.
It seemed like we had only just gotten up into the air when we started our descent into HNL. Somehow the flight attendants still had enough time to hand out POG (passion-orange-guava) drinks. Only about 45 minutes from gate to gate!
After picking up our rental, we drove straight to the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi since this was one of the only days that they would be open when we had time to visit.
Why visit?
Because I wanted to check out the exhibits in the Honoʻuliʻuli Education Center. During World War II, Honoʻuliʻuli was an incarceration site for civilians of Japanese descent, as well as a prisoner of war camp, on Oʻahu. After it closed in 1946, the jungle eventually reclaimed the land. The site was forgotten until 2002, when JCCH rediscovered a treasure trove of buildings, concrete foundations, well-preserved artifacts, rock walls, fence remnants, and a historic aqueduct.
It was designated as a national monument by President Obama in 2015, and redesignated as a national historic site in 2019. While the site itself is not yet open to the public, the JCCH exhibit is the next closest thing to actually visiting the unit.
I won't count Honoʻuliʻuli NHS until I actually set foot within the boundaries, so looks like a return trip to Oʻahu is in our future.
Our next stop was Fresh Catch, featured on the Food Network, for lunch. Since there was no seating inside or out, we drove to a park near the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa to stuff our faces.
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| Garlic salmon and shoyu ahi poke, ahi katsu plate, garlic chicken plate, ahi limu and garlic ahi poke |
As we passed by campus, we spotted the work area for UH's Concrete Canoe, so M, who is part of the team for UCLA, did a little reconnaissance on the competition. Not surprising that Hawaiʻi always fields a strong team of paddlers for the concrete canoe races!
Our condo wasn't quite ready for check-in, so we headed over to Snorkel Bob's to pick up gear first. We paid a fee to get new sets on Oahʻu for the same weekly rental, rather than cart them over with us from Kauaʻi.
To stay in a hotel in Waikiki would have been $$$$ because of the daily charges for parking, as well as for each additional person in the room over double occupancy. So when planning this trip, I looked at VRBO and Airbnb to find accommodations instead. When I noticed that the contact for several of the listings was Captain Cook Resorts, I found their website and booked with them directly to avoid the VRBO/Airbnb fees. We picked Unit #612-T1 in Waikiki Banyan (201 ʻŌhua Ave.) because it had a huge lanai, in-unit washer/dryer, and parking included. This contraption was a bonus...
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| The washlet amenity is definitely geared towards tourists from Japan |
The location was great! Once we had a chance to relax for a bit, we walked a couple blocks over to Kūhiō Beach to watch the sun set and do some shopping along Kalākaua Ave.
Afterwards we walked back to the condo to get the car so that we could pick up some groceries and grab dinner. R has been watching Amanda & Felix Eats on YouTube to get more ideas about places to try on Oʻahu. Tonight we picked Guava Smoked, where all of the meats are smoked over guava wood.
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| Smoked butterfish collars and smoked mild pork plate, smoked boneless chicken bowl, smoked pork and chicken fried rice, smoked spicy pork bowl. |
So many restaurants to try and not enough meals! 🤤
*Updated 5/28/2022 to reflect the usage of "incarceration" as the appropriate terminology in place of "internment."
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