-
2 months ago | 
honolulumagazine.com | Christine Labrador |Andrea Lee |James Nakamura |Thomas Obungen
Sip Wine at Sunset at the Liljestrand HouseIt’s not every day you can enjoy the sunset with a glass of your favorite vintage while lounging on a balcony of a Tantalus Drive home designed by celebrated midcentury modern architect Vladimir Ossipoff. The Liljestrand Foundation, which aims to preserve the historic 1952 home, offers two-hour private sunset tours of the place. It’s $900 for a group of 10, or $90 each for 10 to 16 people.
-
Aug 1, 2024 | 
honolulumagazine.com | James Nakamura
— BEST! —Play Space/Attraction: Indoor (Reader Pick)After taking over the former Foodland on South Beretania Street last year, Keiki Kingdom transformed the space into a childhood dreamland, and word quickly spread among parents and kids. The hot attractions include a “sandbox” of multicolor beads, a wickedly fast drop-slide, a foam cannon and a cute critter carousel.
-
Jul 24, 2024 | 
hawaiimagazine.com | James Nakamura
A look back at Talk Story Bookstore—the westernmost bookstore in the country—as it approaches its 20th anniversary. In 2002 Ed Justus took a chance. At 18, the Virginia native visited Kaua‘i and fell so in love with the place that he extended his visit. He moved around the island—from Kalāheo to Kapa‘a to Hanapēpē—and paid rent during that time by scouring nearby garage sales for rare items and selling them on eBay.
-
May 1, 2024 | 
honolulumagazine.com | James Nakamura
A visit with Honolulu hairstylist Jamie Keiko specializing in transformative looks. It’s all about precision and details for hairstylist Jamie Keiko, who owns the Mika Haus salon on South King Street. Clients like Chanel Shigeta-Engleman (below) turn to her to transform their locks with dramatic, head-turning colors. And what they’re asking for has changed a lot since Mika Haus first opened in the middle of the pandemic.
-
Mar 4, 2024 | 
honolulumagazine.com | James Nakamura
Maybe it was insensitive to tell my mom I was thinking of getting a red tattoo on my calf. The idea came up casually during our call, after I caught up with an old college buddy who owns a tattoo shop. Honestly, I didn’t think it would be a big deal since I’m well above the age of requiring parental approval. Yet she immediately and abruptly canceled her Thanksgiving visit, then hung up. It felt like I’d just been grounded for life. That was last November.
-
Mar 1, 2024 | 
honolulumagazine.com | James Nakamura |Diane Seo |Katrina Valcourt
Tucked away in our city are hidden bars, speakeasies as they are known, serving embellished craft cocktails in hip, dimly lit retro settings. While open to the public, these Prohibition-era-inspired drinking spots remain at least somewhat on the down low, as speakeasies were during the 1920s and early 1930s when the sale of alcoholic beverages in the country was prohibited. Here are four of our favorites in Honolulu.
-
Feb 1, 2024 | 
honolulumagazine.com | James Nakamura
Steven Lam is regarded as one of Honolulu’s best and most sought-after tattoo artists. For the debut of Pursuits, a new series that offers a glimpse into our work lives, we visited Lam’s Working Class Tattoo on the second floor of a corner Wai‘alae Avenue building in Kaimukī. His detailed work, displayed on the walls, is a clear testament to his talents and dedication to his craft.
-
Jan 19, 2024 | 
honolulumagazine.com | Christine Labrador |Andrea Lee |James Nakamura |Thomas Obungen
Sip Wine at Sunset at the Liljestrand HouseIt’s not every day you can enjoy the sunset with a glass of your favorite vintage while lounging on a balcony of a Tantalus Drive home designed by celebrated midcentury modern architect Vladimir Ossipoff. The Liljestrand Foundation, which aims to preserve the historic 1952 home, offers two-hour private sunset tours of the place. It’s $900 for a group of 10, or $90 each for 10 to 16 people.
-
Nov 15, 2023 | 
honolulumagazine.com | James Nakamura
I became fluent in ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i when I was 2, after my parents enrolled me in the Pūnana Leo program near my family’s home in Ko‘olauloa. It was part of our family’s bigger effort to revive the lost language; several of my mom’s younger sisters and cousins were enrolled in the Hawaiian Language Immersion Program at Hau‘ula Elementary in the late ’90s, and my grandma’s sister learned ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i at UH Mānoa.
-
Nov 15, 2023 | 
honolulumagazine.com | James Nakamura
ONCE, not long ago, what made Hawai‘i special were stories, songs, an impromptu hula, but especially compassion and unity. Our Hawai‘i soul was a source of pride and made us stronger. But then life took a turn. It’s never a good sign when your big shocks are proper nouns: Rail, Maunakea, Kealohas, Red Hill. And then Lahaina. After so many violations of our land, water and trust, and the misdirection of financial resources into a rail system to nowhere, nothing feels the same.
