Danno's real-life dad is headed for an episode of Hawaii Five-0. Scott Caan plays Detective Danny (Danno) Williams. He is the son of James Caan, whose acting career spans decades in television and movies. The question of whether the elder Caan would appear in the Hawaii Five-0 reboot has been floated since Caan the younger was cast. The "yes" has come in a Tweet from @CBSTweet: "EXCLUSIVE CASTING ALERT: Aloha to #jamescaan who’ll join son, Scott, on #H50 in February. #tca12"
Scott Caan signs autographs and poses for photos with fans at Sunset on the Beach, September 2011.
It is not the first time the two have acted together, but their on-screen appearances are rare. James appeared in Scott's movie "Mercy" a couple of years ago. It's also not the first time the actor playing Danno has been visited by a famous parent. In the first version of Hawaii Five-0, James MacArthur played Danno. He was the adopted son of playwright Charles MacArthur and actress Helen Hayes. MacArthur said one of his favorite Hawaii Five-0 episodes was "Retire in Sunny Hawaii Forever" because it was one of the rare times he worked with his mother. Hayes appeared as his Aunt Clara in that 1975 episode, in which she visited Hawai‘i and helped the detectives solve a murder.
Hayes was known as The First Lady of the American Theatre for her work on the stage. She was also the first stage actress to win an Oscar, picking up an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1932. She is one of only 10 actors who have won all four entertainment awards: a Tony, Oscar, Emmy and Grammy. Despite her impressive credentials, I remember her best for one of her later roles, that of Ernesta Snoop in the Snoop Sisters. It was a television program that produced only four episodes as part of the NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie from 1972 to 1974, featuring Hayes and fellow film legend Mildred Natwick as two elderly sisters who solved mysteries. Hayes' role on Hawaii Five-0 played directly off that recently-concluded series.
We don't know yet what role James Caan will play, but it is fun to see the parent-child connection repeated. Hawaii Five-0 just missed one other Danno connection. James MacArthur had agreed to appear in an episode, but the details had not yet been worked out when he died Oct. 28, 2010, just a month after the premiere of the new Hawaii Five-0. A letter of congratulations from MacArthur was read at the Sunset on the Beach premiere by Al Harrington, who acted in the original series and has appeared in two episodes of the new version.
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
I read a cool article recently about a quiet town called Manoa that exists beyond our island shores and in the Quaker State of Pennsylvania. After doing a little more research, I think it's safe to say that Pennsylvania's Manoa is much like Hawai‘i'sMānoa, except with snowy winters and less emphasis on the "a" sound (note the kahako over the "a" which creates the long vowel sound).
Mānoa valley travels thousands of miles away to Pennsylvania.
The snowy Manoa came second, after a postman's visit to our islands. He returned to his hometown and renamed his store the "Manoa General Store." Because mail went to the town's general store, people started addressing their parcels with "Manoa," and the name caught on.
Pennsylvania's Manoa gives off that mellow mood vibe just like the one in Hawai‘i, where cookie-cutter houses and lush lawns make life seem so simple. The farther into the valley, the more peaceful. Noise from the elementary schools and district park at the mouth of the valley gets carried out with the trades and into the hustle-n-bustle of Honolulu.
I usually walk my dog there after work, when scents of different home-cooked meals fill the valley that often times cut my walk short. It gets pretty nostalgic for me, too. Memories of riding home on my bike as a kid just in time for Mom's dinner usually cross my mind.
And I'm sure if Hawai‘i's Mānoa had a general store, it'd be at Mānoa Shopping Center – the valley's hub for grub and other necessities. There's a deli that even serves a few East Coast favorites like meatball sandwiches. Wonder if there's some kind of connection to the mainland Manoa?
Mānoa Shopping Center at its busiest time of day – lunchtime.
One thing's for sure, though. Both Manoas have their own variation of unpredictable weather. While Pennsylvania's Manoa gets as much as 70 inches of snow some winters, Hawai‘i gets its share of rain on the daily. Mānoa Valley has to be one of the wettest places on the island, with at least one light rain a day.
I hope to visit Pennsylvania's Manoa one day, even if just for a couple of hours. There probably isn't a manapua factory nor a crack seed store, but from what I've heard, the people have tons of Aloha.
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
A connection has been building between two television crime dramas this season. Now the teams of detectives from Hawai‘i and California will join forces on a single case in the upcoming May sweeps.
Hawaii Five-0 and NCIS LA fans are in store for another crossover episode this season.
Called a “double episode crossover," it begins on a Monday on Hawaii Five-0 and concludes on NCIS LA the next evening. Callen (Chris O’Donnell) and Sam Hanna (LL COOL J) visit Hawai‘i to help solve a case involving an outbreak of a deadly virus that may be used as a murder weapon. Then McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) and Danny Williams (Scott Caan) return to Los Angeles with them to track down who might want to buy the virus.
TV Guide Magazine quotes Hawaii Five-0 (H50) show runner Peter Lenkov as saying the crossover expands H50’s universe, and “we’re interested in exploring the relationship between McGarrett and Hanna, both SEALs with a little history.” That history may interest more Hawai‘i viewers, as well. I mentioned the project to a couple waiting for food with me in a local sushi shop last night. The woman is an avid NCIS fan but hasn’t watched Hawaii Five-0. She thought the focus on SEAL activity would interest members of the military living in the islands.
This isn’t the first cooperation between the two teams of television crime fighters. Earlier this season, NCIS LA Special Agent Kensi Blye (Daniela Ruah) visited Hawai‘i to help McGarrett and Joe White (Terry O’Quinn) on a case with her lip-reading skills. Although that was billed as a crossover, Ruah was on screen for just one scene that seemed to last only a few seconds. But the thread continued. More recently on NCIS LA, Miguel Ferrer guest starred as NCIS Assistant Director Owen Granger. Granger was disliked by all the team. As an aside, he mentioned to Kensi that he knows of her recent visit to Hawai‘i and of her search for information about her father.
Scene from a Hawai Five-0 episode earlier this season. NCIS LA Special Agent Kensi Blye visits McGarret and Joe White.
Just as Ferrer’s Granger brought friction to NCIS LA, Tom Sizemore was a polarizing figure when he guest starred on Hawaii Five-0 as Internal Affairs Capt. Vince Fryer. At first, he seemed intent on driving Kono (Grace Park) off the police force. More recently, he worked with McGarrett and Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim) on a case. His presence may be changing into a recurring role, as this week he Tweeted: “@tomsizemore:Just heard I’m doing another H50 in Feb … very cool … looking forward to some Hawaii sand.”
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
You might have picked up on a few Hawaiian words during your stay in Hawai‘i. Māhalo, for thank you; aloha, for hello/good-bye. And hopefully by now, you're an expert at using it! So much so, that you're eager to share some of the aloha with family and friends via local "kine" greeting cards made by a local "kine" family.
Send an island-style thank you note to loved ones abroad.
Over a decade ago, the Isono family slapped these local sayings on some paper, added a few humorous illustrations, and before they knew it, they became a niche within a niche. They sell local cards within the Hawaiian card genre at more than 70 stores statewide, including Longs Drugs, Don Quijote and Wal-Mart.
The colorful, action-packed cartoon drawings really make these cards stand out on any store's rack. They show local people doing local things – from the child eating a rainbow shave ice to a tanned man wearing rubber slippers. The photo above shows a doormat with multiple slippers surrounding it, suggesting that the get-together was a hit because so many people showed up.
Send a card with a Hawai‘i postage stamp and a little local flare for almost any occasion – birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Girl's Day, Boy's Day and Christmas. There's even a line of cards making fun of Hawai‘i residents' favorite vacationing spot – Las Vegas.
Local Kine Cards has done a nice job in depicting the "local kine" culture in Hawai‘i. The "local kine" culture is a conglomeration of the different cultures in the islands, which help to make Hawai‘i such a unique place to live and to visit. In Hawai‘i, "kine" is used in the same way as "kind" (the noun), except more loosely. It's paired up at the end of certain words, like "funny kine," "small kine" or "da kine." I want to say it's almost similar to the "ish" we often add to the end of words, "small-ish."
While a few of these cards have sayings or illustrations that maybe only locals understand, the majority of them is pretty general. But the more you visit the islands, the sooner you'll catch on to such inside jokes and become a local at heart yourself.
LOCAL KINE CARDS / Buy them at almost any Hawai‘i grocery store / 808-753-5853
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
A couple of fishermen got a real-life Jaws experience Thursday when, what's suspected to be a great white, circled their boat for more than an hour. They luckily left the Ka‘ena Point fishing spot unscathed, but they didn't leave empty-handed. In addition to the 300-pound Marlin they caught prior to the shark encounter, the two men brought back seven minutes of nail-biting (and entertaining) video footage of Mr. Jaws, himself. It's already got more than 9,400 hits in less than 24 hours and is going viral on the web as I blog.
VIDEO: YouTube video of two Hawai‘i fishermen getting up close to a great white.
WARNING: Video contains some foul language.
Shark (mano, in Hawaiian) sightings aren't uncommon in Hawai‘i, but when someone sees a great white, it's immediately the talk of the town. Some say, the first-ever documented footage of a great white in Hawai‘i happened almost seven years ago by a boat captain named Jimmy Hall. In this recent video from Jan. 12, boat captain Dominick Gaballo and his best friend Addison Toki are just two local guys, enjoying a beautiful, windless day on their boat along O‘ahu's west side. It's apparent in the beginning of the video that they're still not quite over their stoke in catching that huge Marlin. That's when the gray dorsal of the great white appears in the background, lurking in the fresh scent of the fish's blood. The shark swims around the boat and gets pretty close to the motor, but it never touches the boat.
Great whites are known for their beastly size, growing up to 20 feet long and weighing as much as 5,000 pounds. It's common to see great whites in the coastal waters of California, South Africa, Florida, Alaska and Mexico; however, no one knows why they make the trek over to Hawai‘i. The size and shape of the shark's dorsal fin in the Ka‘ena Point video lead people to believe that it truly was a great white. One person even commented (or teased) that this particular great white lives in the area and comes around often.
Hawaiian waters are full of marine life.
The movie Jaws made these guys pretty famous in Hollywood, portraying them as ferocious man eaters and even featuring them in an amusement park ride. But in actuality, great whites would choose a seal or sea lion over a human, any day. Researchers believe that many of the "attacks" by this shark happened out of pure curiosity. We all know that curiosity killed the cat, well, perhaps that train of thought has also prompted researchers in saying: Great whites are far more threatened by humans than we are by them.
The great white's most recently documented appearance in Hawai‘i probably wouldn't have been as popular if it weren't for the narration we hear in the background. It's almost as raw and uncut as the shark's seven-minute video cameo. Straight sailor talk throughout, but it's the jokes and the Pidgin-English he spoke that had me chuckling here and there. At the end, the cameraman says something like, "If I wasn't tired, I would jump on the buggah's back, but ah, maybe next time!"
Hopefully it will be a while before there's a "next time." Until then, the two documented videos of great whites in Hawai‘i will give researchers something to work with when studying arguably one of nature's greatest predators.
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
Every year, a local social studies teacher asks his students, "What do you think the largest city in the world is?" And every year, he gets answers like, "Mexico City" or "London." The correct answer, he tells them, can actually be found closer to home, within their home to be more precise. The largest city? None other than Honolulu, located on the island of O‘ahu.
The next question always asked is: "How?" How can this tiny island in the middle of the Pacific – let alone, just a little sliver of it – hold the world's largest city?
The teacher chuckles and points to a map hanging in front of the classroom. He traces the Hawaiian Island chain with the tip of his index, starting at the Big Island and continuing upward to Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau. He then slides his finger to the upper left area of the main island chain, carefully circling a group of small islands and atolls.
A map of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, an extension of the eight main islands.
Honolulu City & County, National Monument
This extended archipelago is known as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands or Papahānaumokuākea (paw-paw-HA-now-MOW-koo-uh-keh-UH). It is larger than 46 of the 50 U.S. states, and all islands – except Midway Atoll – fall under the City & County of Honolulu, administered by the state of Hawai‘i.
It's difficult to tell when looking at most maps, which often depict the islands as no bigger than someone's pinky nail. But zoom in closer and find a piece of the Earth almost completely undisturbed by humans. The area includes 140,000 square miles of islands (10 major ones) and surrounding waters. Today, it's a national monument and bird sanctuary – forming one of the world's largest marine wildlife reserves.
The surrounding ocean also remains untouched and full of life. Rare masked angelfish, yellow barbel goatfish and Japanese pygmy angelfish can be found in the area. Hawaiian monk seals compete for food with large populations of shark and ulua. Oftentimes, the dorsel-fin-duo wins, leaving the seals to die of starvation.
Nihoa & Midway Atoll
Remains from ancient Hawaiian settlements still exist on some islands; they're left so untouched that one would think the Hawaiians just left yesterday. Most of Nihoa, the youngest island, had been used for worship. Heiau (worship areas) and ahu (shrines) still remain in tact, while other evidence show that Hawaiians used to live here for more than 800 years. Many researchers believe they left because of a change in climate, particularly less rainfall. ‘Uala (sweet potato) was their main crop, so little rain meant a low chances of survival.
Midway Atoll, as mentioned earlier, is not part of the City & County of Honolulu. Instead it's an unorganized and unincorporated U.S. territory that once housed the Midway Naval Air Station. It also became a convenient refueling spot for transpacific flights during the 1940s.
Pieces of ancient Hawaiian culture can still be found on the youngest island, Nihoa,
Ancient Hawaiian Tradition Lives On
Many ancient Hawaiian stories and chants make mention of the various islands. The name Papahānaumokuākea comes from an ancient tradition of genealogy and the Hawaiian Islands' formation. According to the monument's website, "Papahānaumokuākea is a mother figure personified by the earth and Wākea is a father figure personified in the expansive sky…Their union resulted in the creation, or birthing, of the entire Hawaiian archipelago." When dividing up the whole name, we get: Papa (mother earth), hānau (birth), moku (small island) and ākea (wide).
Midway Atoll was a popular refueling spot in the 1940s.
Visiting the National Monument
Visitors can only enter through a permit system. To prevent stray species from disrupting the ecosystem, clothes must be new and kept wrapped until visitors arrive. Items like cameras, blankets and binoculars must be cleaned and frozen for 48 hours. These rules do not apply to the French Frigate Shoals and Midway because they have already been altered by humans; therefore, caution in introducing new species do not matter. The Midway visitor program reopened in 2008. Tours of the atoll is given through tour companies or a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service volunteer.
Sources: Kuoha, Keoni. "Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument: Rebuilding Upon a Hawaiian Foundation." Kamehameha Kapālama High School, Honolulu, HI. 11 Oct. 2011.
Papahānaumokuākea: Marine National Monument. 2011. NOAA. 12 Oct. 2011 <http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/>.
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
Not to be confused with what you might shout before cannonballing into the hotel pool…BANZAI!!!
This Japanese art form is far from a war cry prior to a fierce attack (of the chilly pool). Bonsai is a technique of growing miniature trees in containers and has been around for centuries.
Some bonsai are tiny enough to fit in your hand, like these baby beauties.
It continues to thrive in popularity worldwide, and in Hawai‘i, has become its own niche, with several bonsai clubs and a 22-acre Hawaii Bonsai Center in the heart of Waimānalo. Now with classes offered to Hawai‘i's visitors and locals, learning the ancient techniques has become even more attainable.
Bonsai literally means "tree in a pot." The horticultural art form developed thousands of years ago in the Japanese and Chinese cultures. It's not considered a bonsai until the plant has been pruned, shaped and trained to grow into a specific shape. Bonsai may live to be hundreds of years old. But the actual age of the tree isn't as important; a tree that's really well-trained may appear older than it really is.
VIDEO: A real bonsai beau. James Meyer of Hawaii Bonsai Association falls in love with the art all over again.
Bonsai can be grown indoors and outdoors and requires special attention when it comes to watering, fertilizing, repotting and trimming/pruning. The practice incorporates a number of techniques that include leaf trimming, pruning, wiring, clamping, grafting, defoliation and deadwood. Some of the "living sculptures," as they're called, start with seedlings or cuttings while others start with materials collected from the wild or a nursery stock.
James Meyer, educational chair for the Hawaii Bonsai Association, proudly showed me his bonsai as I came upon the Classic Bonsai Club booth at the‘Ohana Festival. Amazingly, it was more than 100 years old from Florida and followed the deadwood practice. Dozens representing the Classic Bonsai Club worked meticulously in the heat of the afternoon, too concentrated on their masterpiece to move into a shaded area.
The association offers classes to anyone interested in pursuing the art of bonsai, including tourists.
"Bonsai is worldwide," he said. "So if they come here, and they're interested in bonsai, they can get a start here…and they can use the knowledge back home."
Hawai‘i's definitely the place to be if you're considering becoming a bonsai belle or beau, yourself. We're home to the largest bonsai collection in the world, located between the Ko‘olau Mountains and Mount Olomana. Under the care of the Liew family, the Hawaii Bonsai Center offers two-hour guided tours that consists of a brief introduction to bonsai, followed by a bonsai demonstration and finally the walking tour of the 22-acre farmland.
(Top) James' Buttonwood Bonsai has been around for more than 100 years. (Bottom) The living sculpture doesn't have to be a big one.
Taking a bonsai home with you on the plane may be difficult. Check with airlines on their plant and flower policies. One lady told me that you'd have to first get rid of the soil and put the plant in an air-tight container. But that all depends on the size of the plant, too. Over-sized ones might have to go through cargo or get shipped separately.
I asked James why people bonsai? He said bonsai gardening not only promotes a healthier way of living, but it lessens stress and promotes patience in one's life. Hmmm…sounds like bonsai could be the answer to sticking to those new year's resolutions!
Sources: Hawaii Bonsai Center, Bonsai Clubs International, Wikipedia
HAWAII BONSAI ASSOCIATION / Apply for classes online at www.hawaiibonsaiassoc.org / $125 per person multi-class package, minimum age 15
HAWAII BONSAI CENTER / 41-909 Mahailua St., Waimānalo, HI 96795 (Map) / 808-373-9266 / Guided tours: $15 general admission; $10 Kama‘aina; $5 students/senior citizens
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
Tucked away and often overlooked, hole-in-the-wall places usually turn out to be the most pleasant surprises. Sure Shot Cafe is one of those places on O‘ahu that's packed with hidden treasures. The super-casual front door is off to the side and can be easily mistaken for a storage space in the Makiki Shopping Center. Just a quick drive from Waikīkī, Sure Shot's neatly nestled between a Subway and a mini-mart.
This sign will help guide you to the little cafe in Makiki.
But as soon as customers walk through those doors, they're greeted by plates full of freshly-baked pies, cakes, pastries and quiches. The air inside is warm and toasty, bagels and scones all cozy in the oven. The cafe's dully-painted walls extend way back into the building, where an overstuffed bookshelf sits beneath dimmed lights. And all around, people chat up a storm, read the latest headlines or tack tack away on their laptops – with a coffee or sandwich in tow.
The cafe describes this as "Coffee culture at its best" because of the "Good Food, Good Coffee, Good People." It's not difficult to find out what they serve; four gigantic panels hanging from the ceiling act as floating menus. In addition to pastries baked daily, there are bagel sandwiches, homemade soups and salads, fresh fruit bowls with oatmeal or homemade granola and vegetarian items. The weekend always has a waffle special, and the coffee? It will surely satisfy anyone in search of some caffeine. They've got a full espresso menu and an array of rich roasts to choose from. Non-coffee beverages include teas, hot cocoa, lemonade, italian sodas and steamers.
I've been coming here for the past couple of years, usually on my way to work when the sun's still asleep. Sure Shot's the first business to light up the little shopping center everyday, opening at 6 a.m. sharp. And it's always the same crew hard at work behind the counter – the tattooed gal making sandwiches in the back and the guy with the thick black-rimmed glasses taking orders and making coffees in the front. Sometimes I see a few other employees, but these two are always buzzing around when I come in. Their website describes their employees as the Motley Crew, consisting of students, teachers, musicians, punks, geeks and jocks – with tattoos, piercings and (I love this!) green and purple hair.
Pumpkin in one of its most unique outfits: pumpkin cheesecake.
I actually talked to a tourist once who showed up to Sure Shot after a friend highly recommended it to him. He made sure to get there before they ran out of the pumpkin cheesecake they had at the time. Their desserts are made in-house and change, depending on the fruit season. But you can always count on the scones, muffins and croissants to be there every morning. It's the kind of place where you order first, then take your pick from the plates that cover the countertops.
Good Food, Good Coffee, Good People? I think those are pretty Good Reasons to give them a (sure) shot.
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
The same weekend lion dances and fireworks sound off the new year in Honolulu's Chinatown, a similar cultural happening takes place on the other side of the city. The ‘Ohana Festival is how the Japanese in Hawai‘i have been ringing in the new year for the past decade – complete with taiko drumming, cultural demonstrations and a foodie's haven.
Crowds of people joined the fun at this year's ‘Ohana Festival in Honolulu.
By mid-morning on Sunday, the Mō‘ili‘ili community was up and rocking. A steady doon doon doon from the rhythmic taiko drumming escaped into the overcast skies, followed by a blend of folk and rock music that put a contemporary spin on the traditional art form of ensemble taiko drumming. The group, Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko Hawaii, really kicked it up a notch with several Karate kicks and punches incorporated into the choreography. Girls, guys, kids and adults lit up the grassy performing area with their colorful costumes, wide-eyed expressions and the high-pitched shrills that were interjected between beats.
VIDEO: Hawai‘i taiko drummers take the art of drumming to another level.
Across the way, a different kind of beat could be heard – the beat of mochi being pounded into its stickiest form. It's the food of the new year in the Japanese culture that takes time and strength to prepare. We watched as a group of men circled around the large stone bowl and took turns hitting the rice inside with a big wooden hammer. Kids later jumped in to take a whack at the white globby goo, using all their might to lift the heavy mallet-like device over their heads. The gathering crowd cheered and chanted for each new pounder who stepped up to the plate, helping them to get through the rigorous swings. Whack, whack, whack…In the end, I'm sure the hard-working mochi fleet would agree that enjoying the finished product made it all worth it.
Mochi was just one of the edible delights at the ‘Ohana Fest. A neat row of food booths stretched across the community's baseball field with an array of flavors to be had – sushi, andagi, carne asada and shave ice. This year, a few new savory flavors were added to the mix from food trucks that lined Beretania Street. Needless to say, no one left the event hungry that day!
Over the years, the festival has gotten so popular that organizers had to split it into two locations to accommodate the thousands who attend every year. Across the street from the food booths and mochi pounding, the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i served as the go-to place for attendees to get their shopping fix on. My sister's really into vintage Asian stuff and ironically, found a paper wallet with a calendar inside from the year she was born: 1993, Year of the Rooster. A find of the day that didn't stop there. She left with a bag full of cool stuff – old record covers, wall art and a framed hologram-type photo of a Hiroshima temple.
My sister's loot from the day. The festival had something for everyone.
We had planned on staying for an hour or two but ended up hanging out 'til the very end. Nearly half a day's worth of being wonderfully embraced by the Japanese culture helped me to understand just how much they've influenced our community overtime. While I'm not Japanese, I still relate to the Asian ways through my Chinese ethnicity. I enjoy seeing pieces of an ancient culture carried on through today's society, but most of all, I enjoy knowing that cultural festivals like this one never fail to bring a new kind of life to our busy little communities.
Photo Credit (second photo): Ariel Navares
JAPANESE CULTURAL CENTER OF HAWAI‘I / 2454 S. Beretania St., Honolulu, HI 96826 (Map) / 808-945-7633 / www.jcch.com / Opens Tues-Sat, 10am-4pm / Municipal parking; Near bus route
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
Hawai‘i's got a very mixed bag when it comes to the types of snacks we love, thanks to the many cultures that have made the islands their home over several centuries. The colors, sounds and flavors of their mother countries traveled with them to Hawai‘i, becoming a part of the local culture that's still enjoyed today.
A colorful mix of arare is packed with different flavors of Japan. Disclaimer: Shells not for eating.
One in particular can be found mixed with popcorn, covered in li hing mui or chocolate or all by its lonesome. Arare (ah-DAH-day), a dry roasted rice cracker from Japan, has almost become a staple in Hawai‘i's snacking repertoire. Made from glutinous rice (sticky rice) and doused in soy sauce, arare (also known as mochi crunch or kakimochi) has a salty crunch to every bite.
The tasty snack comes in a variety of shapes, colors and flavors that can be bought at stores by the bag or by the jar. Arare is named after snow pellets because the smaller ones look similar in size and shape to snow (hina arare). Some are wrapped in dried nori seaweed (norimaki arare) to give it an extra crisp taste while others are filled with peanuts (kaki no tane). Mixing arare with li hing mui or covering with chocolate are examples of how Hawai‘i put a twist on the traditional Japanese snack.
My favorite has got to be the red nori iso peanut, which has a lightly sweetened crisp cracker shell and a peanut inside. A few summers ago, we did a road trip across the U.S. and made sure to bring a bag to snack on; we should have actually brought three or four bags because we ended up having to ration our only bag like we were trapped on a deserted island! Arare is great for those long drives around the island, in the movies, on the beach and at home. Pack them in your carry-on to take back with you and to enjoy on the plane and all year long.
The earthy red color of iso peanuts sticks out in any bag of arare.
Japanese usually ate arare when they celebrated the Doll Festival (Hinamatsuri) on March 3. It's better known as Girl's Day in Hawai‘i. This is when the special colored arare (like pink, yellow, green and blue) can be found between January and March in preparation for the festivities.
It takes about seven days to make arare and includes several steps – cooling, aging, drying and roasting. The rice then gets milled into a powder and steamed into a sticky dough. The dough's then formed into shapes, dipped in some soy sauce and dried. Popular Hawai‘i brands you'll see are Enjoy, Tamoe Brand and Big/Mini Pounder. Get in the mix and try arare today!
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
Published by Bruce Fisher
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