Hawaii’s Oahu island is the kind of place where it seems you never meet a visitor who’s been there just once. People visit, then they visit again. Pretty soon Oahu has baked itself into your travel routines.
In the process, those of us who end up loving it — a big number, considering total air arrivals at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu reached 5.6 million people in 2023 — have each become familiar with a slightly different version of the island. There are people for whom the North Shore and its big surf lunches from food trucks is the draw. Or Waikiki for the shopping. Or Pearl Harbor for sober reflections. Or something else entirely.
What my family and I return for repeatedly are the hikes and the stellar eats, for which Honolulu is one of the finest cities on earth.
Here are my four favorite pairings.
Ka‘iwa Ridge and Bozu Japanese Restaurant
The Ka‘iwa Ridge rises above the Wailea neighborhood of Kailua, on the east coast of Oahu. You’ll find the trailhead on Kaelepulu Drive opposite the Mid-Pacific Country Club. It’s not a long hike. You should make it to the top and back down in about an hour. And the elevation change is moderate. But it is steep and slippery in spots, so you may find yourself using the provided ropes.
Along the way, you’ll skirt the lip of the ridge line, getting higher and higher views of Lanikai Beach and the Mokulua islets. At the end of your climb you’ll come to two colorfully graffitied World War II-era pillboxes on which social media influencers might be posed for selfies. Ignore them. Let the cleansing morning sunshine and sea breeze be your reward.
Or perhaps the meal following later that day will be. Get yourself to Bozu Japanese Restaurant in the unassuming McCully Shopping Center strip mall just north of the Ala Wai Canal in Waikiki. With all the typical clamor and crash of a busy izakaya, Bozu serves up everything from yakitori to sushi to noodles. But you can’t go wrong with the weekly specials. We ate briny whelk and ark clam sashimi, crispy chicken skin with ponzu, monkfish liver, pork jowl and beef tongue off the amiyaki grill, plus two of the best tsukune meatballs my in-house tsukune meatball specialist has ever eaten. (About $70 for two for a very complete lunch.)
Makapu‘u Lighthouse and Mud Hen Water
We hiked to the Makapu‘u Lighthouse the next day. It’s easier than Ka‘iwa Ridge, although it will likely take twice as long and you’ll climb a bit higher. But the trail is wide and paved. You’ll see people pushing kids in strollers and others in golf carts. The path winds from the parking lot just off the Kalanianaole Highway up and around the rocky southeastern tip of Oahu to where the Makapu‘u lookout is found. The lighthouse is on the rocks below, apparently boasting the largest lens of any lighthouse in the United States. Here the sea is deep cobalt blue and it’ll be worth the climb to have that land’s end sensation, the entire Pacific Ocean appearing to scroll out in front of you and over the lip of the horizon.
Dinner along Waialae Avenue is just westward on the north side of the H-1 highway that bisects Honolulu. This neighborhood has a number of food destinations you won’t want to miss, including brunch at the Kokohead Cafe and the Pipeline Bakeshop, where you can try malasadas (a Portuguese doughnut that is hugely popular in Hawaii) and their little glazed “cake bombs.” We went to Mud Hen Water that evening, a quintessentially new-era aloha kind of place, with Korean, Japanese, European and local flavors all mingling. Do not allow yourself up from the table before trying the shatteringly crisp fried ulu (breadfruit), the Lu‘au stuffed porchetta and the chicken long rice croquettes with Japanese curry (about $90 for two).
‘Aiea Loop and the Liliha Bakery
Dialing up the intensity, you might try the ‘Aiea Loop next. At the very top of ‘Aiea Heights, the loop is part of the Keaiwa Heiau State Recreation Area. The trail itself is considered moderately hard, with a narrow track that rises and falls, tracing the ridge line above Halawa Valley. This walk takes you deep into the lush vegetation of the central Oahu highlands, where the screech of birds in the brush and the wind through the long grasses will contribute to the feeling that you’re very far from urban life. Where the thick tree cover briefly breaks, lookout points and photo ops present magnificent views of Oahu’s South Shore.
The full loop will take about three hours, with roughly twice the elevation change of either Makapu‘u Lighthouse or the Lanikai Pillbox hike. Depending on when you go, there may be much less foot traffic than the other two. Don’t forget water. Consider hiking boots. And save this hike for a dry day, as parts of the Loop trail will take you high above jungle gorges and the track can be slippery.
Afterward, you may feel that you’ve brushed closer to a “real” version of Oahu than possible down in the city. This is a tourist feeling, but you can allow it under the circumstances. A great restaurant to match your temporary local status would be the lunch counter at Liliha Bakery. The famous spot opened in 1950 and would appear to have changed very little since then. The coco puffs and poi mochi doughnuts are the stuff of Honolulu legend. The savory menu is just as good: Aloha diner food at the top end of the quality scale. There is the full slate of diner breakfasts, but with sides of Spam and teriyaki chicken sticks. Then there’s oxtail soup, saimin noodles, Japanese style beef curry, plus a loco moco plate — a hamburger on rice with gravy and a fried egg — that I would personally fly long distances to eat (under $20 per person for lunch).
Kuli‘ou‘ou Ridge, Maguro Brothers and Fujiya Hawaii
Stepping up your game one more notch would take you from the ‘Aiea Loop to Kuli‘ou‘ou Ridge. This walk is moderate to difficult. Four hours is probably a good time to budget. Expect to climb over 1,640 feet, which is roughly the equivalent of about 200 flights of stairs.
Follow Kuli‘ou‘ou Road all the way up to Kalaau Place, at the top of which you’ll find the well-marked trailhead. From the top of the valley, you’ll be hiking a steep switchback trail that eventually takes you to the top of the Koolau Ridge and then leads to the Kouli‘ou‘ou summit. This is a popular hike, and among the more difficult ones. So there will be lots of friendly people to compare notes with on your progress, including those coming down who can report on how much climbing lies ahead.
Kuli‘ou‘ou Ridge is a gorgeous trail for the diversity of natural life that it reveals. As you climb the first rise, you’ll pass through haole koa and guava stands, but at a certain altitude they will give way to ironwood and Cook pines. Some of the switchback portion of the trail is rocky, but by the time you get to around 1,000 feet, where the pines begin, there will be a thick, soft bed of needles on the trail, tamping down sound and contributing to a feeling of peaceful remove.
Once you reach the ridge line, the route straightens out and then advances toward the Kali‘ou‘ou summit. There’s a picnic rest area here. You’ll thank yourself for bringing a protein bar. The trail rises from here along a steep set of stairs. It’s only about a kilometer to the top; the final push will take you to one of the best outlook points on the island. Waimanalo and the Mokulua islets lie to the north. And all the way around to the southwest you’ll have a great view of the Koko Head Crater.
You may just be hungry enough after this to want something right away. So here are two essential Honolulu food hits that combine to make a stellar lunch. Head to the Maunakea Marketplace in Chinatown, just off Maunakea Street between Hotel and Pauahi Streets. Stand in whatever line is necessary to pick up a heaping poke rice bowl at Maguro Brothers. They serve maguro (the prized bluefin tuna) fresh daily and in a range of flavorings: shoyu and onion, wasabi and avocado. They also serve other fresh options, including madako octopus with limu seaweed and king salmon with spicy mayo (lunch from $13 to $16 a person). For dessert, invest the time to cross town (a 20-minute drive east on King Street) to sample a brilliant mochi selection at Fujiya Hawaii. These sweetened glutinous rice cakes are stuffed with fruits and fillings and dusted in confectioner’s sugar. A refreshing treat on a hot day, right out of the Fujiya fridges ($10 to $12 for half a dozen mochi). And conveniently, this is also the spot to buy your senbei Japanese rice crackers to bring home as gifts.
After that, for me at any rate, a pretty much perfect Oahu day is complete. Until tomorrow, that is. Or my next visit.
Timothy Taylor is a Vancouver-based travel and food writer. His latest book is the novel “The Rise and Fall of Magic Wolf.”
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