Our final few weeks in Hawaii had us visiting all of the famous sites. In Impressions of the Oahu Vibe we described our feels about Oahu, this article focuses on the places we visited. The highlights of our last week in the islands included a visit to Pearl Harbor, an island cruise and more Monkeypod Mai Tai’s.

Pearl Harbor and USS Arizona Memorial

The highlight attraction on Oahu for me was a visit to the Pearl Harbor and USS Arizona Memorial center. Since we had visited it 13 years ago, Diana and I might have skipped it, but some friends staying with us very much wanted to go. None of us were disappointed. Timed entry tickets needed to be purchased in advance. You can also visit the nearby USS Bowfin submarine and the USS Missouri battleship, which we skipped on this visit.

The visitor center is a spacious area on the harbor, with numerous outdoor informational displays. There is a good museum detailing events leading up to and including the attack, as well as the sober treatment of nearly 1/3 of island residents of Japanese during the war. A rough draft of Roosevelt’s famous speech shows the hand edit which changed the wording to “infamy”.

The USS Arizona Memorial is a small, respectful structure that floats over the sunken battleship. After a brief ferry ride, you have about 30 minutes to view the wreckage below. A few parts of the ship are visible above water, sometimes more, depending on the tide. It is a place of quiet reflection, in honor of the victims of the attack. Some 1100+ sailors remain entombed in the wreckage below.

Bonzai Beach & Plantation Time

Moving on to happier times, there are of course many beaches spread out around Oahu. They are fairly accessible and safe. Since we were staying at a resort with a calm, man-made beach lagoon, we didn’t venture out to swim in the others. I guess our preceding time in the islands muted the need.

The day we went to see the north shore of Oahu, famous for the biggest surf breaks in Hawaii, the ocean was beautiful and calm. There were a few surfers out but we had to really work at finding them at all.

My friend Joe, who lived on Oahu for many years, recommended a visit to Hanauma Bay. Unfortunately, it has been over-touristed over the years. The local government has sought to improve the situation by restricting entry. Daily access costs $12/pp + $3 parking and books out a month in advance. There were no reservations available for our entire 3 weeks on Oahu by the time we looked to get some.

In the middle of Oahu is the Dole Plantation, which is basically a wide spot in the road where you can load up on Dole Whips and kitsch when you are not strolling the garden or waiting in line for the kiddie train. The place reminded me of what the Nut Tree was in its heyday in the early 70s, only with pineapples instead of nuts. It’s not a bad place to stop to stretch your feet (inside joke) and distract the kids.

Cruise & Luau

Near the end of our time on Oahu, we chose to head out on a sunset booze cruise from Waianae, run by Hawaii Nautical. The weather was perfect. We wear treated to a beautiful sunset and nice views of the west side of the island. It was a pleasant way to cap off our nearly 3-month stay in paradise.

Oahu reportedly has a number of nice luaus, but we didn’t try to book anything until we arrived. Unfortunately, by then luau tickets were only available as a package with a day cruise, starting at $250pp. We just weren’t compelled to fork over that kinda dough for the entertainment. Another item for our next visit to the islands.

Food

Our Favorites

While we did find some nice restaurants, the pricing was even higher than the other islands. I saw a whole fish for $60 on the menu of one joint we went to in an outdoor mall. A loaf of bread was $9 at Safeway.

We found notably fewer waterside restaurants on Oahu than on the other islands we visited. Of course, there was a large dining selection on Waikiki and downtown Honolulu, but getting there from our resort to 30 minutes without traffic. Traffic around downtown can be brutal, so we only ventured there a few times.

Monkeypod Ko Olina was our favorite of the Merriman restaurants we visited in Hawaii. Their Happy Hour was easy to get into and had a decent food selection. After sharing 13 fabulous Monkeypod Mai Tais with friends, being able to walk back to our resort was a key feature.

Mina’s Fish House was a restaurant at the nearby Four Seasons resort and it was decidedly more upscale than Monkeypod. After seeing a Facebook post from a friend, we chose to splurge. The food and ambiance were wonderful.

Our friends saw an article for the new downtown Honolulu Islander Sake Bar in the inflight magazine (they still exist?) on their way to Oahu from Hilo. Chiaki Takahashi learned to brew sake in Japan as a mid-life career change. She eventually honed her craft to become a brewing instructor. An opportunity arose to be a partner in a cute brewery/restaurant in Honolulu and here she is. In addition to the brewing, she plans and prepares an omakase meal (i.e. no set menu) paired with her sakes. The sake was quite smooth and made for a very enjoyable evening overall. Worth a visit, IMHO.

Other Food Finds

We got a little peckish while touring the North Shore, so we stopped in at Fumi’s Shrimp Shack. A classic roadside dive where we shared a very fresh plate of shrimp while seated on picnic benches under a large canopy. The shrimp came from a nearby farm. Cash only.

Diana satisfied her Waikiki beachside dining desire at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Our food and drinks were good and a $25 spend covered the valet parking for 4 hours, allowing a leisurely walk on Waikiki after lunch. As a bonus, we got a table with a great view of Diamond Head and a plethora of bathing suit eye candy.

Diana’s mom stayed with us over Mother’s Day, so we chose to celebrate with brunch at Roy’s Ko Olina. The patio setting overlooking the golf course was picturesque and we were treated to a view of a couple of black swans at the adjacent lake. The Covid-spaced tables made for a very quiet vibe. While the food was good, the service was just OK. It wasn’t quite the special event I was hoping for. Perhaps more diners would have helped liven things up.

We hit up Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ one night. We had fun cooking tasty meats over the in-table grill. I recommend getting there early because service slowed way down as the place filled up.

Where do you like to go when you visit Oahu?