Walking in Ala Moana Regional Park, between Waikiki and downtown Honolulu.
Photograph by Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Ben Ono
“When a Hawaiian says ‘aloha’, you must respond with energy,” says the guitarist leading a hula group on Kuhio Beach. It’s a word imbued with love, compassion and respect a catch-all for laid-back island life. It also captures the spirit of Honolulu: a city of shave ice and tropical print shirts, of shady
lanais (verandahs), fragrant
leis (garlands) and buff beach boys surfing as sunshine smacks off cool, blue water. The skies are bright year-round and the ocean infuses everything, from fresh poke bowls to stories of early voyagers arriving by canoe.