Honolulu Chinatown
add photos4 Reviews for Honolulu Chinatown
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70 families found this helpful
"Not a fun activity with young kids"
We would go here mainly to get some good food. There isn't a lot to do as far as activities go, and it's more like "Asiatown" than "Chinatown". Of course, I am comparing it to San Francisco's Chinatown, which is fabulous. There is a square there with an outdoor marketplace, but we just happened to stumble upon it. It wasn't worth the parking hassle to go down again.
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1 family found this helpful
"NOT family friendly! Read on ..."
Our first red flag should have been the parking garage attendant telling us, "You'd better take the bus, eh, and don't take the kids." We thought his advice had more to do with parking issues and breakables. MamaRycerz being a proud Filipina woman and former resident of Oahu (read: Navy baby) wanted her offspring to experience all the Filipino culinary delights that awaited them in Chinatown, with no intention of venturing into the shops.
In most of the Hawai'i tourist guide books, review sites written by Hawai'i Board of Tourism and tour guide employees - Oahu's Chinatown is listed described as "exciting". What they fail to mention is that the shops promptly close just before sun-down, the retailers high-tail it out of the area and the bus stops become unusually crowded. They also fail to mention the high crime, homeless vagrants and drug addicts inhabiting this area at that time. The locals will tell you in their own way, like the aforementioned parking garage attendant.
At 4pm, all the shopkeepers began shooing people out and baracading their storefronts. One Filipino says to me, "You better get outta here with those keeds, lady". I glance over at my husband, who seems intrigued with the chaos.
While waiting for the bus, we witnessed two fights break out - in the middle of the road. Fight 1: Two homeless people fighting over panhandle earnings, leaving the change on the road to punch each other silly before their "friends" pulled them apart. During Fight 1, I slowly take youngest child out of her stroller and plan to take the next bus that arrives, no matter where it takes us. Fight 2: a clearly inebriated (we could smell him from the bus stop) man and his "lady friend" drag their fight out into the street. Our kids huddled closer to me and DadRycerz is at the ready, should the fight continue down our way. It ends abruptly when the man threatens to kill the woman in the middle of the street and she runs towards an oncoming police car. The bus arrives and we scramble on. The bus driver laughs and asks MamaRycerz why she didn't want her kids to visit with the crackheads a little while longer. Ha ha haaaaa, Mr. Busdriver.
Word to the wise: listen to the locals and the reviews here - not the glammed up reviews of this place, not a tour guide and certainly not the board of tourism.
3 families found this helpful
"Not really for the kids"
I love going to China town - by myself. China town is one of the worst and least fun places I can think of on this island for taking the kids. Local merchants have tried to clean it up and the constant police patrols will most definitely be of interest to your kids, but concerns about whether they are going to get sick from what they eat and how much am I going to pay for what they accidentally knock over make this a very non-kid friendly place. The stores are filled with glass and porcelain and many of the "treasure" find stores are piled high with all sorts of breakables stacked to pack the most things into the store, not necessarily to keep wandering hands from knocking them over. If you have never taken the kids to an Asian market or a fish market before, then I would say China town is worth the trip - but steer clear of any store that aren't grocery in nature. The fruits and veggies offered in the markets most likely will be ones that many mainlanders have never heard of. Likewise, the fish market is also very interesting and kids love looking at the live and dead fish (no poking eyeballs - giggle giggle). The fish market actually smells less fishy then the surrounding area, so dive in and take in the experience - just don't touch.
0 families found this helpful
"Fun with the Family"
Hawaii has maintained a rich Chinese heritage since the first laborers arrived in the mid-1800s to work at the sugar plantations. Their passage was a ticket to a form of indentured servitude that typically lasted five years and provided cheap labor for the sugar barons. When their time was up, however, most of them stayed, started businesses, and established the Chinatown that exists today.
In 1900 a major fire burned Chinatown to the ground. But the immigrants painstakingly rebuilt, and some of the old buildings that exist today are not only fine architectural examples of that era, but also a testimony to the determination of its people.
A stroll through Chinatown is likely to be filled with unusual and exotic sights, smells, and tastes—it’s a virtual symphony of senses. (It’s a good idea to keep a close watch on your children around this area. While it’s basically safe and well policed, some parts are representative of Honolulu’s “seedy” side.) Be sure and check out the recently restored Hawaii Theatre at the corner of Bethel and Puahi Streets. Inside are murals representative of the art deco style popular during the 1920s and 1930s.
For a look at Hawaii’s finest lei-makers, and a wonderfully fragrant treat, you won’t want to miss the many lei stores situated on Maunakea and Beretania Streets. Prices are very reasonable here, and locals often come from all parts of the island to purchase leis for special occasions.
You’ll walk by meat markets, where windows display hanging ducks, drying and readying for the next meal. There are acupuncture and herb shops advertising, believe it or not, powdered monkey brain, sure to cure whatever ails you! If that doesn’t suit your fancy, there are always signs advertising coiled snake skin and mashed antelope antler.
If you still have an appetite, there’s an immense variety of great food priced very inexpensively. The take-out counters next to the Mauna Kea Marketplace, at the corner of Mauna Kea and Hotel Streets, display a feast of ethnic cuisine, from Italian to Vietnamese to Filipino.
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