United Fishing Agency Auction…

better known as the Honolulu Fish Auction is held Mon-Sat mornings at 5:30 am at the Pier 38 location.

Hawaii Seafood Org…How does the fish auction work?

Honolulu Fish Auction (which was started in August 1952) is the only fish auction between Tokyo and Maine and the only fish auction in the US that auctions tuna.  (Suisan’s in Hilo, the only other fish auction site in Hawaii, stopped operating the auction on July 21, 2001, had been in existence since 1907.)    Honolulu Fish Auction’s location as one of two anchor tenants at Honolulu Harbor’s Commercial Fishing Village helps assure the freshness of its daily offerings.

Fishermen start to unload their catches directly from their boats starting around 1:00 am, then they are weighed, inspected, graded and laid out for bidders to inspect and bid on.

Up to 160,000 pounds of fish will be auctioned off in the next few hours.  From sea to boat to auction floor and off to the consumer…freshness and quality is of highest importance.

View this video from “Hawaii Seafood”

A fish auction allows everyone to come out a winner.  The fishermen are assured of getting a fair market price.  The buyers, who may be buying for wholesale fish houses, restaurants, or retail stores, are assured of getting the freshest fish possible.  And, the consumer benefits by getting fresh local fish at a fair price.  It allows the purchase of fish in smaller lots than by the shipload, allowing direct access for smaller buyers.

Another benefit of this method of selling is that there is very little waste.  No matter what the fishermen catch, there is a pretty good chance that it can be sold.   When fish are purchased under contract, as in most places, there is a lot of wasted by-catch (unintended, untargeted fish that may be caught and discarded), but since each fish is sold in small lots or individually at an auction such as this, virtually every fish caught finds a buyer.

Relocated into its present state-of-the-art location in 2004, the Honolulu Fish Auction should be around for quite some time.  At least, that is the hope of the United Fishing Agency, the local fishermen, and fish procurers alike.   Hawaii residents eat about 3 times the national average of fish annually and are very aware of freshness.  After all, if you grow up eating raw fish…poke, sashimi, or on sushi, you’re going to know fish!

Hawaii is also one of those unique places where people prefer to buy their fish whole, with their heads on, unlike most mainland stores that sell filets.   The locals want to know what kind of fish they are buying…a filet could come from any number of different fish and is easy to mislabel (intentionally or unintentionally).  And, one of the first thing any local will want to do is to see the fish’s eyes…clear, bright, and unwrinkled…to judge its freshness, as well as the bright red coloring of its gills.

So, if you’re an early riser and would like to observe something different, feel free to attend the Honolulu Fish Auction at Pier 38, Honolulu Harbor.

Pele’s Curse

Virtually every visitor to the Big Island hears about “Pele’s curse” upon anyone who takes rocks or sand home as a souvenir of the islands.  There are thousands who scoff at such beliefs and take home lava rocks and/or black sand as tokens to remind them of the great time they had while visiting the islands.

Is Pele’s curse real or imagined?  The bottom-line is that its up to you to believe or not.  I will say this, of the thousands and thousands of people who choose to ignore the warnings and take one or more of “Pele’s children” home with them, thousands end up sending them back along with letters filled with stories of misfortune that have stricken the senders since returning home with their souvenirs.

The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, hotels, and Post Offices receive thousands of packages containing rocks and sand with requests to return them to Pele in hopes of putting an end to unlucky streaks of bad luck that have befallen them.  Coincidence?  Probably.  Superstitious nonsense?  Possibly.

Does it matter?   Not really.  Whether its a matter of appeasing Pele’s curse or simply peace of mind in having returned these items, is a matter of concern only to the sender.  Is it possible that the bad luck that they have encountered had nothing to do with Pele’s Curse and will continue in spite of returning these bits of the islands?  Yes.  Is it also possible that their misfortunes will come to an end?  Again, yes.

Whether you are a believer in Pele’s curse or not is up to you.  What bothers me are those who feel they must scoff and ridicule those who choose to believe!  If you are one who took rocks and/or sand home with you as a souvenir and have not been inflicted with any bad luck…good for you.  I will point out that taking rocks, or anything else for that matter, from the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, is not permitted by park regulations, not legends or curses.

Avoid Pele’s Curse, Take pictures, Not sand or lava rocks

There are signs posted requesting that you not take black or green sand from many of the beaches.  Its a simple matter of supply and replenishment.  Hawaii has millions of visitors a year.  If each visitor chose to take home a piece of the island or jars of sand, do you think that would have an impact for future visitors?

(While you are considering the answer to that question, I will tell you that from time to time, the sands at Waikiki Beach have had to be replenished with sand from other parts of the island.  As a matter of fact, a major replenishment project was completed this spring, dredging tons and tons of sands from offshore Waikiki and pumping it back onto the beach.   Is the sand removed by tourists or by natural ocean currents?  Both are to blame.  However, the sands at the red (Maui) and green (Big Island) sand beaches are not as readily replenished, since there aren’t any other beaches to replenish them from.  There is a finite supply of these unique colorations.)

The locals are just as guilty of removing sand from the beaches to take home as island visitors.  In fact, they tend to bring sand home by the bucket or truck load for use in landscaping their yards, so probably are more guilty than tourists.   Fortunately, even that practice has been reduced considerably as everyone becomes more environmentally aware.

Pele’s Curse…Real?

Let me know what you think.  Have you experienced Pele’s curse?  Have you returned rocks you have removed from Hawaii?  Or do you think its all just superstitious nonsense?  I’d love to hear from you.

Note: This post is from June 2011, however, while specific dates are obviously incorrect, the remainder of the information is fine.  You will also find a link to this year, 2012’s, bon dance schedule at the bottom of this post.

Summer is Bon Dance Season

Between this weekend and the end of summer,  Bon Dance season is underway and you will find a  festival just about every weekend at hongwanji missions and temples throughout the state.  Japanese tradition is that the summer months are when ancestral spirits return to visit family and friends.  The Japanese custom of o-bon — shortened in Hawaii to bon —honors the spirits of family members who have passed away.  You might even remember scenes from such a celebration from the movie, Karate Kid II.

In Japan, the tradition of summer bon festivals dates back more than 500 years.  Here in the Islands, the festivals serve as both a ceremony of spiritual remembrance and a celebration of cultural heritage and community.  Everyone is welcome at an bon dance, regardless of religious background or ethnicity. As such, each temple’s festival is often well-attended by people of all ethnic and religious backgrounds.

State-Wide Bon Dance Schedule

To give you some idea of the popularity of this age old tradition, there are 30 bon festivals on Oahu alone, beginning  last Saturday and ending on September 17th.  The Big Island has 25 scheduled with the last being on August 27th.  Kauai only has six more, not counting the opening festival held last weekend.  And, between Maui, Lanai, and Molokai, 11 more, not counting the two held last weekend.

Hawaii Magazine published the state-wide schedule last week.   Included are the dates, location, and contact phone numbers for more information.  If you’ve never been to an bon dance before, see if there’s one being held near you and check it out…the food alone is worth going for.   (I admit, I’ve been to several and have never danced, which tells you what I go for…love saimin and a teriyaki stick!.)

UPDATE: Here is the 2012 state-wide bon dance schedule as published in Hawaii magazine.

The USS Arizona Memorial

Everyone who has ever heard of Hawaii has heard of Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial.   They almost always know the story behind the opening hours of the U.S. entry into World War II that included the sinking of the battleship USS Arizona and the tragic loss of 1177 men that went down with her.  The USS Arizona Memorial is one of the most visited attractions in Hawaii.

Mighty Mo

Some are even aware of the presence of the USS Battleship Missouri Memorial located nearby.  For those who may not be familiar with that part of US history, the deck of the USS Missouri is where the treaty with Japan was signed, thus bringing the war with Japan to an end.  So, in effect, you can see where the war began and ended in one celebrated location.

Submarine, USS Bowfin

A third attraction located at Pearl Harbor that many visit is the World War II vintage submarine, the USS Bowfin.  The salvage and restoration of this submarine is the result of years of effort and cooperation between both military and civilian volunteers.   The process began with its purchase on August 3, 1979.  The Dillingham Corporation did much of the preliminary restoration work as many Navy League members worked hard to secure the necessary funds to support the project.

In December 1980, it was moved to its current location, near the Visitor’s Center for the USS Arizona Memorial.  And, officially opened as a museum ship on April 1, 1981.   In 1986, it was named a National Historic Landmark.

USS Oklahoma

The battleship USS Oklahoma, like its sister ship USS Arizona, was also sunk in those opening hours of World War II, the morning of December 7, 1941.   It went down with 429 Marines and Sailors and now, they are also paid tribute to with the opening of the USS Oklahoma Memorial, which opened fittingly on December 7, 2007.

Pacific Aviation Museum

Last, but certainly not least, is the Pacific Aviation Museum located on Ford Island, a short shuttle ride from the Visitor’s Center to the Arizona Memorial.  It includes the 42,000 square foot Hangar 37, which includes aircraft from World War II, including a Japanese Zero and from the Korean War.   In addition, there is also Hangar 79, which houses aircraft from the Vietnam War era to the present.  There are both, self-tours and docent-guided tours available.

These are all must-see displays and tours for World War II history-buffs.  You can easily spend a full-day going from attraction to attraction.  I always suggest that you arrive early, even if you only plan on viewing the USS Arizona Memorial.  While admission is free to the USS Arizona Memorial, there are small charges from $10-$30 per adult, for the other attractions mentioned.

Pearl Harbor remains a very active part of the US Navy and is the only naval base in the US to be designated a National Historical Landmark.  As a result, the following security measures are enforced and you should plan accordingly.  Do not bring items listed or you will have to pay $3/bag for them to be held.

Security Measures
Strict security measures prohibit purses, handbags, fanny packs, backpacks, camera bags, diaper bags, luggage and/or other items that offer concealment. Visitors may bring a camera and cam-recorder. A storage facility, operated by the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park is available in the immediate area of the entrance to the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center. There is a nominal storage fee of $3/bag. The storage facility is in operation daily 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Visitors may use the same bag storage and parking stall for visits to all Pearl Harbor Historic Sites.

Yes, its snowing on Mauna Kea, on the Big Island of Hawaii…now!  I was going to embed a video from the Mauna Kea Observatory, but the video cameras are frozen over, so instead, I’m going to send you to the National Parks of the Pacific website and you can see the pics they have posted there.  http://ht.ly/5agfF

People are always surprised to hear that Hawaii gets any snow at all, but even the locals are surprised to see snow on Mauna Kea this time of year.   Hawaii has been having some very unusual weather for the past several days with flash flood warnings and watches from Kauai to Oahu and Maui.  Honolulu even closed 5 of their golf courses Friday due to severe thunderstorms and air-to-ground lightning.

Maui County is under a flash flood watch throughout the night, tonight.  This weather system is expected to continue pushing its way eastward bringing an end to the rain for Honolulu later this evening.  Of course, that means that the Big Island, the Kona and Waimea areas in particular, will probably be next on Sunday.   Along with the rain, this system is also accompanied by some strong winds as well.

Seems like this year has brought unusual weather from the east coast to the Hawaiian islands and everywhere in between.  Deadly tornadoes, heavy rains and flooding, have affected much of the mainland.  Meanwhile, I’m sitting here in eastern North Carolina, baking in upper 80’s to low 90’s summer-like heat which has found its way here over the last couple of weeks.

Anyway, I just thought I’d share the news, in case you hadn’t already heard, that June 6th brought snow to Mauna Kea!

Scheduled to open Aug. 29, 2011, Aulani will be a family destination featuring Disney cast members restaurants and water slides on the beach front property.

Built on 21 acres in Ko Olina, Aulani, will feature 359 hotel rooms and 481 two-bedroom equivalent Disney Vacation Club villas.
Rooms are housed in two 15-story towers with views of the ocean, mountains and grounds.

The resort includes two restaurants, an 18,000-square-foot spa, a wedding lawn, a conference center and extensive water activities, including a central swimming pool, 900-foot tube floating watercourse, wading pool, body slides, sunset-facing hot tubs, a quiet adult pool, a snorkel lagoon, and a conservation pool.  In addition, there are the Ko Olina lagoons themselves for guests to enjoy.

The Ko Olina lagoons are four man-made lagoons on the eastern end of Oahu.  They have been a popular destination for locals and visitors to Honolulu, alike.  Aulani will be the second resort to be built at the Lagoons.

One thing the Disney Resort will probably not be offering is an on-site luau that many hotels tend to offer.  After all, both Germaine’s and Paradise Cove, two very popular luaus are located in the area.

Aulani will also include a signature kids’ club – Aunty’s Beach House – where kids can explore Hawaiian culture through fun and games, arts and crafts, and many other experiences created just for them.

And, the good news for locals is, Disney is now in the process of hiring to fill 800 job openings, bringing much needed jobs to Honolulu.

Recently, Bay View Mini-Putt Putt, on Oahu,  added a twin-line single seat zipline to its offerings.  Its only 400′ long, but then again, its only $40 for 3 rides.  The line takes you over the two putt-putt courses and you get a nice view of Kailua Bay (Oahu, not Kona)  in the distance.

Operating hours are limited to Fridays from     3:00 Pm to 9:00 Pm

Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00 Am to 9:00 Pm

Holidays and school vacations  9:00 Am to 9:00 Pm

This latest development brings ziplining to four of the islands in Hawaii; Kauai, Maui, and the Big Island being the other three.  Maui continues to have the most number of ziplines including the longest and fastest,  followed by Kauai, and then the Big Island, which only recently opened its only zipline in the Kohala area.

A question was asked on Yahoo Answers by a lady who wanted to know how to figure out exactly how much her room, tours, and groceries would cost her.  She was confused because she saw a figure of 13.42% being used (which I still don’t know what that would have been for), but remembered seeing something about the state sales tax being 4%.  At any rate, I thanked her for her inspiration and this article is the result of my providing her answer.

Hawaii doesn’t have a sales tax!  That’s the good news.

The bad news is, it does have a gross receipts tax, called an Excise Tax.  What’s the difference?  An excise tax is charged on everything.  Goods, services,  and even usually tax-exempt non-profit organizations …everything!   Hmmmm, in retrospect, maybe not having a sales tax isn’t such good news after all.

The state excise tax rate is 4% and the City and County of Honolulu, which encompasses the island of Oahu, has an additional .5% to help fund a future rail transit system.  But, if you look at your sales receipts, you will see that you were probably charged 4.166% or 4.712%, not 4% or 4.5%.

The reason for this discrepancy is a unique one.  Hawaii, as far as I am aware, is the only state which also charges a .5% wholesale tax.  And, since this is permitted to be passed along to the customer as a tax on tax, the “actual excise tax of 4%” becomes the odd 4.166% you are charged or 4.712% on Oahu.

A more familiar tax that people who travel will notice is the room tax.  Given our current economic situation and the fact that all states are looking for additional revenue sources, its a way for them to raise money without raising the ire of locals…re: voters!   Hawaii modified theirs in calling it a “Transient Accommodation tax”, currently 8.125%.

You will also find some additional fees/taxes on your car rental agreement.  There is a $3 per day rental vehicle state surcharge, a customer facility charge of $1/day, and they even pass along a pro-rated share of the vehicle licensing fee (about 25-50 cents per day), and there is an 11.11% Concessionaire Fee Tax (which, when you add in the state excise tax, is 15.277% in total taxes/15.822% on Oahu).  Confusing?  Absolutely!

So, if you get a car rental rate of $31/day, it will total to almost $40/day after all the fees and taxes.  (It could be worse.  I don’t recall exactly where, but I remember being charged a “tire disposal fee” at one place I rented a car.)