There are multiple Obon festivals with bon dances going on right now. This one was nearby, so we went to it.
The temple.
Inside.
Prayer area.
Explaining the bon dance.
Ogii lighting some incense.
Selling some plants.
Many people were there.
Us.
This andagi booth was popular.
Jewelry and toy vendors.
More food.
Our dinner.
A children's dance.
Another one where they hop like bunnies.
Adults now.
Even some dogs were dressed up.
Drummers and singers.
A video.
A little plant growing out of the concrete.
Some big houses up on the hill.
A huge one with multiple huge decks.
A smaller, cuter one.
Free fruit.
Murals at a school.
Sunset over downtown.
Neat house.
A light-up shaka symbol.
Friday night fireworks.
Ogii made breakfast.
Crescent rolls with meat inside.
Gandhi statue.
The banyan trees send down multiple root sets from their branches.
A little pond at Kapiolani Park.
Some ducks hanging out under a dragonfly statue.
They were having a ukulele festival there.
People watching at the bandstand.
Balloon arch.
Vendors.
With Ukuleles.
Characters in costumes.
Games.
And food.
Meat.
A second stage was set up over here.
Ogii there.
One of the musicians.
Some people playing volleyball.
A nice view of Diamond Head.
With some clouds above.
Back to the bandstand. Many of the benches are under trees, so nice for shade, not so nice for bird poop. Nobody was sitting in these otherwise good seats. Maybe we should bring a little cleaning spray and some paper towels with us next time.
Another musician.
The Waikiki Shell is nearby. They have some free shows.
And also some paid ones. Right now they're practicing the Jurassic Park songs, to be played along with a screening of the movie.
A few more artists at the second stage.
A video of a few of them.
A tree with many bright yellow flowers.
Stopping for some gelato on the walk home.
On Kalakaua Ave.
I don't really understand "drop off husband here." Maybe if it was a sports bar, but it's a clothing store.
"Aloha" definition in the sidewalk stones.
Cute pineapple purse.
Beautiful black and white photos around Honolulu by the ceiling.
Ogii went in to Ross to buy some headbands.
I sat with the other guys while their wives shopped.
Ogii said she was only got to get some headbands, but after nearly 20 minutes, I began to worry and went looking for her. Sure enough, she had already found her headbands, and had snuck off to look at dresses.
It's weird that 95% of dental assistants are still women, especially now that over a third of dentists are women.
This office doesn't even have one male assistant.
Across the H2 bridge.
To a poker game in Mililani.
The organizer cooked some great BBQ.
Along with sides.
They also had the UFC fight on the TV.
Flopping a full house is always nice.
Ogii preparing some fruit.
The Italian tall ship Amerigo Vespucci was in town for a few days, and it was free to see. The line wrapped around the block, though.
And the nearby parking lot was full.
There was a parking garage a block away, though, which had a nice fountain nearby.
There used to be more restaurants and stores, but most of the Aloha Tower Marketplace has now been taken over by the university.
A statue of a woman watching her lover depart on a boat. Then princess and later queen Lili'uokalani wrote the song Aloha 'Oe about them.
There is also the Ka Moana luau.
And the Aloha Tower. You used to be able to go up to the top, but it's been closed for a few years now.
While the luau itself is private, you can watch the show from these tables just outside the fence.
The ship.
Us with it.
The end of the line, right before you could get on.
From the side.
The mast.
From the front.
The figurehead.
Still a very long line. I think we'll avoid that and just look from the outside.
The university has an esports arena.
Where you can play games on their high-end computers.
One restaurant still there is The Old Spaghetti Factory.
There was a fairly long wait for a table, but it was open seating in the bar area, and there was an open table there.
Bread and soup.
Pasta.
Dessert. Overall it was a very good and very cheap meal compared to other restaurants nowadays.
The luau is starting.
Dancing with audience members.