Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Moana” hit theaters on Nov. 23, 2016, and the colorful, heartwarming coming-of-age story set in the South Pacific 2,000 years ago has become a new favorite for people all over the world. The heroine of the film is Moana, a 16-year-old girl with aspirations of trans-Pacific voyaging. Playing this Polynesian character is […]
People watching manta rays from Rays on the Bay at the Kona Sheraton by Chance Carpenter “The name of the manta—hahalua—can be interpreted as ‘two breaths,’” she says, “ha, meaning breath, and lua, meaning two … When mantas leap [out of the water], their experience from below transcends into our sphere … Their transcendence speaks
Oh, baby, baby, it’s a wild world, indeed, especially in Hawaii’s forests and offshore waters. Sure, hikers trekking our hundreds of miles of mountain and valley trails rarely need to worry about wild things leaping out in full attack mode. (Lions and tigers and bears? Not us!) And we’ve nary a poisonous species of flora
I can’t remember a time when I’ve visited Kauai and someone—a coworker, a neighbor, my mom—didn’t ask me to bring back a brick of kulolo. You can find kulolo—a Hawaiian dessert staple made from mashed kalo (taro), coconut milk, sugar and little else—for sale on just about every Hawaiian Island. Most local grocery stores sell variants of
There I stood, hugging a rudraksha tree. Hugging it like it was one of my parents. And I wasn’t the only one. Several visitors from the mainland U.S. and a local horticulturalist were doing the same—all of us, for the moment, literal tree-huggers. A few hours at Kauai Aadheenam, tucked amid the breathtaking verdure straddling
A new iPhone app created by the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology allows users to virtually visit one of Oahu’s most historic Hawaiian fishponds wherever they are in the world. The free app called Loko Ia—Hawaiian for “fishpond”—offers iPhone users two types of interactive, multimedia tours of 800-year-old Heeia Fishpond
It’s 6 a.m., Thursday, in Kealakekua. The sun has yet to break through the morning haze lazing over the small town on the slopes of dormant Hualālai volcano, just south of Kailua-Kona. Not a car is in sight on Māmalahoa Highway, winding through town. On the pastures below the Kona Historical Society’s H.N. Greenwell Store
*This story was published on May 1, 2013, and updated in February 2026. The phone in Mike Hirao’s office is ringing off the hook. He doesn’t answer it. “I bet this person wants chichi dango,” he says, eyeing the noisy phone. It’s 3 p.m. on a Thursday. Nisshodo Candy Store has been open since 7
Elmer Guzman was so desperate for a poke bowl while working in New Orleans for Emeril Lagasse he came up with a version using Louisiana ingredients. Instead of Hawaiian ahi, he used escolar (a deepwater fish similar to tuna). With no kukui nuts, he resorted to grinding pecans to give the poke its signature nutty flavor. Some sea
Editor’s note: Dr. Sheila Conant has received awards from the Hawaii Audubon Society and the Hawaii Conservation Alliance for Lifetime Achievement, as well as being named the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Recovery Champion Award in 2012. In 2014, she received the Ralph W. Schreiber award, a national honor which recognizes extraordinary scientific contributions to the conservation, restoration, and preservation
After enjoying the touristy side of Maui—boat excursions, golf, shopping, luau and, of course, pristine beaches—my husband and I decided to get off the beaten track and see a little more of the island. We were on the Lower Kula Highway, making our way to Alii Kula Lavender Farm, when we noticed a sign for
Originating in Japan, Girls’ Day is traditionally a festival to wish for the health and wellbeing of young girls. Although the day is celebrated differently here in Hawaii, we still like to give the girls a day all their own. Hinamatsuri, also called Dolls’ Day or Girls’ Day, takes place every March 3 and is mostly
