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Honolulu

Chinatown

The oldest Chinatown in the United States, still a working market district rather than a themed one.

Chinatown

Why go

Lei stands, fish counters and noodle shops in buildings that have been doing the same thing for a century, and the best eating per dollar in Honolulu.

The catch

It is a real neighbourhood with real problems and the blocks change character quickly, particularly after dark. Come in daylight, and treat the markets as somewhere people shop rather than a photo opportunity.

How long
2-3 hours
With children
With care
Effort
Easy
Cost
Free
Parking
Difficult

Mornings, when the markets are workingLunch

Getting there

Driving times on real roads, from the same data the trip planner routes on — not straight-line distance.

From Waikīkī12 min4.6 miles
From HNL airport29 min11.8 miles
From Downtown Honolulu4 min1.2 miles
From Ala Moana8 min2.8 miles

Add traffic. These are free-flowing times, and the H1 through town at eight in the morning is not free-flowing.

More on Chinatown: OpenStreetMap

Hours, fees and access rules have not been checked against a primary source for this entry yet. Confirm before you build a day around it.

See it on the map Build a trip around it

What else is close

Nearest by road, which is not the same as nearest on a map — and not the same as sharing a region either.

  • Foster Botanical Garden2 min awayThe oldest garden on the island, in the middle of downtown, full of trees nothing else here has.
  • Aloha Tower3 min awayThe 1926 harbour tower that was the tallest building in Hawaii for forty years, with a free observation deck.
  • Hawaiian Mission Houses3 min awayThe oldest standing Western houses in Hawaii, with the print shop that produced the first Hawaiian-language type.
  • Iolani Palace3 min awayThe only royal palace in the United States, in downtown Honolulu.
  • Kawaiahao Church3 min awayThe coral-block church at the centre of downtown, built from reef quarried by hand.
  • Judiciary History Center3 min awayA small free museum inside Aliiolani Hale, the courthouse behind the Kamehameha statue.