Hawaiʻi Island, nicknamed the Big Island, is known for its grand natural wonders. Travelers can witness a fiery eruption at Kīlauea, hike to a 420-foot waterfall, ride horses in paniolo (cowboy) country, swim with manta rays and trek to a black-sand beach—and more, all on the largest Hawaiian island. Then, after working up an appetite, […]
There’s a special place in our hearts for okazuya, an old-school Japanese delicatessen that serves ready-to-eat and takeout dishes. The concept of okazuya has been around for decades and is steeped in history and tradition. Hefty portions of fried chicken, thick noodles full of flavor, carefully packed cone sushi and handmade musubi often line the
It’s 5:30 a.m. on a Wednesday morning in Hilo. First light is just beginning to break through the clouds in hues of amber and apricot. A traffic light turns green for no one along this quiet street. I’m still wiping the sleep from my eyes, but already a dozen employees have been hard at work
On Hawai‘i Island, you’ll find some of the state’s oldest eateries, places preserved in amber, where the decor and menu have changed little over the decades. Many are helmed by the third or fourth generations of the founders, now feeding the third or fourth generation of customers. Here are four favorites that feel like a
Every time I visit Hilo, I’m amazed by how much the sleepy town on Hawaiʻi Island has changed—and how much is hasn’t changed at all. The little town on the northeastern side of the Big Island has seen a lot of changes. It was first settled around A.D. 1100 by Polynesians, who established agricultural and
Not all that long ago, in a city far, far away (from Honolulu), there were many people who swore Hilo had the best okazuya in Hawaii. So what if most of those people lived in Hilo? It was true. The breed of take-out lunch shop known as okazuya—a Hawaii-born amalgam of the Japanese words “okazu”
Trust us. You haven’t truly sampled everything Hawaii residents love to eat until you’ve had a Spam musubi. It’s the perfectly portable Hawaii snack—a slice of fried Spam over a compacted block of sticky white rice, and all of it wrapped with a ribbon of dried nori (seaweed). There are dozens of versions of this
