What to Do in Honolulu, Hawaii | 36 Hours Travel Videos | The New York Times

[Music Plays]

What's special to me about Honolulu

It has to be just the way of life

Things that we do to pass our time
Don't cost money

You know we

go on hikes
We surf or we paddle board

and it's just about enjoying what's here

The beaches are beautiful
The swaying palmtrees are wonderful

However there's a deep rich history here

We are a place with a very vibrant
indigenous culture

I find that to be a hugely
enriching aspect of life

It's special, it's Hawaii
There's a fragrance to it

You smell everybody's leis
plumeria and tube of roses in the air

You don't worry about too much here
It's too pretty to worry

[Waves crashing]

We're very fortunate with
the location of the shop

We're nestled in the coconut grove
of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel

We carry the finest
Panama Hats in the world

They come out of the town of
Montecristi in Ecuador

And they've been woven there

By the artisans

For literally hundreds of years

You're seeing predominantly fedoras

But because they're all hand woven,
They're all slightly different

Years ago gentlemen used to go
To haberdashery

His job was to fit the gentlemen
With a proper hat

And we carry on that kind of a tradition

This space was created because

I had an overflow collection of vintage

I've been collecting
whenever it speaks to me

whether it fits me or not

so that's why I'm sharing

otherwise if they fit me all,
they wouldn't be yours

i like it to make you feel beautiful,
which you are

so you walk in here and you get your dress
and you're the princess or the prince

and you grab a glass of champagne,
try on some beautiful dresses,

and enjoy being in paradise, really

[Music]

When you walk into Nohea,
you are surrounded by

the art from hundreds of people
from all over the island

all their different media
and that is a really joyful experience

Local people come here
for special gifts

but they aren't necessarily only valuable
things sometimes things are $18 or $20

but they want that Nohea gallery
sticker on it that shows that

it is handcrafted that it's made in Hawaii
and that it's, you know,

something extraordinary

[Music]

The culinary scene in Honolulu
is very exciting

I think it is experiencing a new
Renaissance, a new surge of young energy

We have Vietnamese roots, so we
take their traditions, appreciate it,

but also take that ball and run with it
and make a lot of creative different stuff

The primal offerings is something that
we have a lot of fun with,

we have like a focal protein, with a bunch
of different condiments and sides,

you're just kind of meant to forget your
manners, just have fun, use your hands,

drink alot

[Music}

When our guests come here,
we want them to taste Hawaii

whether it's things that are grown in land
fish from our waters,

as well as incorporating a lot of
local methodology

Alan Wong is the institution,
he's one of the four fathers of Hawaiian

cusine

Just like Hawaii is a melting pot of
different ethnic diversities,

that's what's gonna show up on your plate
in our resturaunts, is that diversity

Our place has been here almost 37 years,
since 1978

some of our customers are like
third generation

The food is always very good, and it's
the tradition, by now

Late night sushi at Yanagi's is one of
the best places to go,

It's a little loud, you know

We're open until 2am, so after 10:30,
we call that the midnight special

[Music]

Kaiwi is one of our showcase parks, it's
called the Kaiwi state scenic shoreline

The trail itself is an old paved road that
goes to a historic coastguard lighthouse

The view is breathtaking shots of windward
Oahu, sweeping cliffs, glimpses of the

outer islands

During the winter months, it's very
frequent that you see whales breeching

in the ocean below

What people are missing, when they
don't get down to the natural resources

is just stunning, natural beauty

Iolani Palace is the only official royal
residence in the United States

It was built in 1882 by King Kalakaua,
who was the last king of Hawaii

Was later occupied by Queen Liliʻuokalani,
his sister and heir, until the overthrow

of Hawaii in 1893

Honolulu was not only the center of the
kingdom, but Hawaii was the center of the

Pacific

We'd like people to understand that this
was an actual kingdom that had treaties

with other countries, and from that I
would hope that people would also become

curious about Hawaiian people today

Shangri La was originally built as the
private home for the heiress and

philanthropist Doris Duke, between 1936
and early 1939

She adapted architectural elements from
all over the Islamic world and filled

it with her collections of Islamic art

It's surprising, it's not what
people expect

I can't tell how often we hear "Wow"

To me, real Aloha means treating people
with respect, I think that Hawaii would be

not the place that it is if we
didn't hold it dear and live it

[Music]