Chinatown Walking Tour

Artifact at the Hawaii Heritage Center

With Hawaii’s unique cultural diversity right in your back yard, it is easy to discover different parts of the island from neighborhood to neighborhood. ITT offers a variety of local tours — the Chinatown Food and Historic Tour being one of them. On this walking tour discover the intriguing history of Honolulu’s Chinatown as you sample Chinese treats along the way. This unique walking tour explores historical buildings, open markets, Chinese-style bakeries and more.

I went on this tour for the first time in August and learned a lot about Chinatown that I didn’t already know. This tour is offered once a month and departs from the Hickam ITT office.  A quick 15-minute bus ride and we ended up in the heart of downtown Honolulu where we begin your adventure. The first stop was the Hawaii Heritage Center. We discovered artifacts and exhibits that trace back to the early days of Chinese ancestry in Hawaii. After looking around we were given a 30-minute brief of the Chinatown history before we met up with your guide and departed on the walking tour.

Enjoying char siu pork, a Chinese barbecued pork, at one of the many restaurants on the tour.

Not every tour is alike, but generally the sites you’ll see include:

• The statue of Sun Yat Sen in the Chinese Cultural Plaza – Sun Yat Sen was the first provisional president when the Republic of China was founded in 1912. He spent his youth living and studying in Honolulu.
• Shung Chong Yuen Bakery – A delicious stop on the tour. This Chinese bakery, which remains much unchanged after 43 years, is famous for their puffed rice, moon cakes, peanut candies and macadamia nut brittle.
• Hotel Street – In the late 1800’s a great fire spread throughout eight blocks in Chinatown. See some of the structures that were rebuilt out of brick according to new regulations. During the 1940’s Chinatown was the main entertainment center for plantation workers and military personnel. Hotel Street was known as the red light district and housed brothels as well as theaters, bars, tattoo parlors and swing and jazz clubs.
• Lei Shops – Visit a few of the many lei shops on Mauna Kea Street. You’ll find the best variety of fresh flowers and leis at the best prices.
• Mauna Kea and Oahu Marketplaces – These outdoor marketplaces are made up of several souvenir shops that sell crafts, clothing and jewelry. You’ll also find produce stalls that sell locally grown fruits and vegetables, even fish, chicken and pork – from head to toe! A food court with different ethnic dishes can also be found.
• Char Hung Sut Manapua Factory – This restaurant has been open for over 50 years and you can see the cooks hard at work making some of the island’s best manapua (steamed or baked bread filled with a char siu pork filling). Don’t forget to pick up a sample before you leave!

A worker at Char Hung Sut Manapua Factory making fresh manapua.

After all the walking, we ended the day with a delicious and traditional Dim Sum lunch at Golden Palace Seafood Restaurant. You’ll be able to eat many of the traditional Chinese dishes, such as char siu manapua, fried rice, beef and broccoli with cake noodle, sweet and sour pork, and much more!

The next available tour will be held on Saturday, Sept. 29 from 8:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Cost is $25 for adults and $20 for children, which includes a round-trip shuttle from Hickam ITT, guided tour and Dim Sum lunch.

For more information call 448-2295 or any of our ITT offices or visit www.greatlifehawaii.com.

Hula Fitness

By: Melissa Heintz

The hula is an integral part of the Hawaiian culture and dates back to the ancient times. This type of dance is a form of storytelling. Many who have watched a hula performance notice the graceful hand movements, swaying hips and smiles on the faces of the dancers that seem so effortless. But before the performance comes the hard work and training that a hula dancer endures to bring that performance to life.

If you’re new to Hawaii and looking for a unique and cultural work out, Hula Fitness at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Fitness Center is a great place to start. This class is held every Monday morning from 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. and teaches you basic hula dance moves with fitness moves incorporated into the routine, such as lunges and squats. You’ll also explore the art of Tahitian dancing, with fast hip movements that work your core. The class is 30 minutes of conditioning and 30 minutes of dance lesson, where you’ll learn and practice a full-length hula.

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I arrived at the class somewhat knowing what to expect. I have experience in a lot of styles of dance. I started ballet when I was three, took jazz and hip-hop throughout high school and was a part of my college dance team. The first time I danced hula and Tahitian was in my freshman year of college, when I participated in the Hawaii Club’s annual luau, so I already knew the basic hula steps. You don’t need to know this before taking the class. The steps are fairly simple to pick up, but my background in dance definitely made following along quite easy.

Here are some things that you can expect when arriving to this class.

• Hula is performed barefoot, so you won’t need shoes.
• Wear regular athletic clothing. Most students will wear a pareo, or wrap skirt, around their hips. If you don’t own one, you can find inexpensive pareos at the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet or at the local Navy Exchange. Most department and discount stores in Hawaii have a section of local goods, so you shouldn’t have a problem finding one.
• Some students wear flowers in their hair. This is optional but adds a nice touch of authenticity to the class.
•  Occasionally they use hula items to enhance the dance, such as puili sticks and ‘uli’ulis. These are not mandatory, but the class has made their own ‘uli’ulis in the past.

‘Uli ‘ulis, a vibrant colored feather gourd rattle used in Hawaiian hula.

A hula dancer wearing a pareo and using puili sticks to enhance the rhythm of Hawaiian hula.

There were only women in this class, even though it’s open to all. Most of the ladies were regulars and they were so welcoming and friendly to myself and another newcomer. It truly shows the aloha spirit and ‘ohana, meaning “family” in Hawaiian.

Our instructor was Frieda Chandler, but most of the students know her by her Hawaiian name, Kealohalani. She has danced hula since she was 2 ½ years old! She is also a certified group exercise instructor and fitness specialist for MWR, so she knew a lot about fitness as well as the art of hula dancing. Some students came up with their own Hawaiian name. My parents gave me the middle name Leilani, meaning “heavenly lei” or “royal child”. What Hawaiian name would you choose?

I showed up to the class with none of the materials listed above, but I was able to enjoy it nonetheless. The hula drills incorporated a lot of squats (my least favorite workout!) and abs. Also, holding your arms up for the entire length of a song really works your arms. The next day, I definitely felt it in my glutes, triceps and shoulders. Without these muscles being conditioned, you may be concentrating on the strain instead of dancing from the heart.

At the end of the conditioning, Kealohalani showed us the moves to the song “White Sandy Beach” by Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwo’ole. This song talks about his love for the island and the beautiful beaches of Hawaii. After the first few times going over the moves, she told us to stop concentrating so hard on the hand and footwork and to feel the song and dance from the heart. That is what hula is all about. It was the perfect way to end the class.

Classes cost $3 per class or you can buy a booklet of 10 tickets for $25. The price is inexpensive compared to other companies that charge for dance classes. Overall, I would recommend this class to those who are new to the island since this is an easy way to get familiarized with the dance and culture of Hawaii. There are not many group exercise classes that can give you a work out while you learn something that’s both historic and cultural to the people of the islands.