Kakaako Revealed
Thought you knew them all? This month, new wave sushi chef extraordinaire D.K. Kodama and friends lead us to Kakaako’s hidden treasures and surprise finds.
Sandwiched between downtown and Ala Moana Center, Kakaako is a
waterfront zone of eclectic identity. In D.K. Kodama’s lifetime it’s
gone from a cozy community of Hawaiian, Japanese and Portuguese
“camps,” churches, schools, parks and stores to today’s vast sprawl of
warehouses, auto body shops and upscale high-rises.
Along Kakaako’s Nimitz border is Restaurant Row, the massive restaurant-office complex that’s home to Hiroshi Eurasian Tapas and Vino, two starkly different eateries in the growing d.k Restaurants chain. Kodama first came to Kakaako with Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar in 1999. In neat succession he moved that into the heart of tourist traffic at the Waikiki Marriott in 2004 and opened Hiroshi and Vino.
There’s a lot of little streets and warehouses … it’s a place that’s easy to get lost in unless you know it.
These nine years have made Kodama a veteran of an evolving Kakaako. The
area is undergoing yet another remake as the state moves forward with
development plans that predict a population jump from 6,000 in 2000 to
30,000 by 2030. To help round out his take on it, the busy restaurateur
called in two friends. Michelle Uchiyama is the award-winning owner of
Eclectix Design and has been generating considerable media buzz; she
adds her perspective on an interior designer’s Kakaako. And Melissa
Chang—marketing manager at Aloha Tower Marketplace and The Honolulu
Advertiser’s dedicated Kakaako blogger—is a third-generation foodie.
I grew up in Aiea, went to the University of Hawaii and now I live in Manoa, so I’m not exactly a townie. I never came to Kakaako. But when I was looking to expand Sansei from Maui I realized this place is actually really convenient.
It’s right up against the government buildings and all the businesses in downtown—you can walk—and the historical sites that tourists visit. On the other side you have major shopping at Ala Moana Center and Ward Centers, and you have older neighborhoods like Makiki just up the road. The new UH Medical School went up here and there’s all this redevelopment talk going on. It’s an exciting place.
Yet there’s a lot of little streets and warehouses, and it’s a place that’s easy to get lost in unless you know it. I stumble across unexpected places all the time—hole-in-the-wall-type places, cool new places, some funky places. Of course I have to start with the ones I know best.
Along Kakaako’s Nimitz border is Restaurant Row, the massive restaurant-office complex that’s home to Hiroshi Eurasian Tapas and Vino, two starkly different eateries in the growing d.k Restaurants chain. Kodama first came to Kakaako with Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar in 1999. In neat succession he moved that into the heart of tourist traffic at the Waikiki Marriott in 2004 and opened Hiroshi and Vino.
There’s a lot of little streets and warehouses … it’s a place that’s easy to get lost in unless you know it.
I grew up in Aiea, went to the University of Hawaii and now I live in Manoa, so I’m not exactly a townie. I never came to Kakaako. But when I was looking to expand Sansei from Maui I realized this place is actually really convenient.
It’s right up against the government buildings and all the businesses in downtown—you can walk—and the historical sites that tourists visit. On the other side you have major shopping at Ala Moana Center and Ward Centers, and you have older neighborhoods like Makiki just up the road. The new UH Medical School went up here and there’s all this redevelopment talk going on. It’s an exciting place.
Yet there’s a lot of little streets and warehouses, and it’s a place that’s easy to get lost in unless you know it. I stumble across unexpected places all the time—hole-in-the-wall-type places, cool new places, some funky places. Of course I have to start with the ones I know best.
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