Here’s a little known fact about me: I used to live in Chinatown during my stint as a TV reporter in Honolulu. Back then that fact was nothing to brag about since most of the area was riddled with illegal gambling operations, corners filled with drug dealers and prostitutes, and major traffic problems. (I happened to find a decent, well-secured apartment on the fringes of Chinatown that afforded me incredible ocean views and a quick commute to the station.)
A few months ago I had the chance to visit my old stomping grounds and was pleasantly surprised to see that the area is finally beginning to emerge from its shady past. Gone are the sketchy characters that blocked entrances to dark and dank storefronts. Now shoppers crowd the sidewalks packed with stands selling fresh tropical fruits and fragrant flowers. There’s even a row of Chinese grocery stores where you can watch meats butchered before your eyes. In addition to the great local vendors hawking Chinese delicacies, there are dozens of new art galleries, stylish stores and performing art studios where you can take in a modern dance class or learn how to play the Japanese flute.
If you are planning a trip to the island of Oahu I would highly suggest traveling the three miles or so beyond the trappings of touristy Waikiki to the new and improved Chinatown—especially if you are interested in experiencing a part of Hawaii that is not manicured just for out-of-state visitors. Granted, you first time visitors may not appreciate the revamped Chinatown the way locals do (I cannot stress to you what an incredibly bad reputation the area had less than a decade ago), but I can guarantee that you will not regret making the trip.
In the years since I moved away, Chinatown has sprouted a half dozen new restaurants, five new bars and nightclubs, various health spas, a yoga studio, a few new beauty salons, a couple of surf and skateboard shops, a home decorating store and a handful of art galleries. Visitors can also partake in daily neighborhood tours offered by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce or the Hawaii Heritage Center. Volunteers there are only too happy to share the history and traditions of the area including the stories behind how waves of various Asian groups, as well as Irish, decided to call the area home.
I would also suggest checking out Showdown in Chinatown. It’s a local filmmakers competition held every second Saturday at “Next Door.” Entrants get two days to write, shoot and edit their movies and then preview them to a packed house of hundreds in the heart of the freshly renovated Chinatown.
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