Hawaii's Plantation Village

It was heavy learning experience as a Filipino learning about not just how Filipino immigrants were conditioned in these plantations, but others such as the Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Okinawans, etc. The history is very rich and is an important landmark to have here in the islands, showing both the good and bad experiences these people underwent during this period of time. It shows how Hawaii is a very diverse environment with many different groups trying to find there footing here in the islands. I highly recommend visiting and supporting the efforts here in preserving this part of history. Will warn about mosquitoes so I suggest getting repellent.

Absolutely worth the trip! Gift shop is full of handmade, high quality items! Tour guide is a walking encyclopedia! Extremely knowledgeable, entertaining, & friendly! Don't miss the opportunity to check out the displays inside the visitors center.

We visited the Plantation Village for the Harvest Moon Festival, being kindly granted free admission on this day. Though we arrived pretty late and missed the activities, we were still able to enjoy some of the food. I really appreciated the various historical buildings that the Village has, despite not being able to go through all of them due to the timing of my arrival. There was a kind old man playing a traditional Okinawan instrument who told us about the similarities shares by the histories of Hawai’i and Okinawa. The site’s museum is pretty rudimentary, but it is informative and interesting. I appreciated its temporary exhibit on Okinawan immigrants to Hawaii.

This was a wonderful historical spot to visit! If you enjoy history and want to learn more about Hawaii’s plantation history, be sure to stop by. I came here with my husband and my parents and we all really enjoyed it. We had the guided tour with the sweetest older man. I forget his name, but he’s a very patient, knowledgeable veteran who gave the best tour. It was $11 for seniors and $17 for adults. Well worth it! The premises also house sugar canes, a pond, and one of the workers spotted an endangered bird who was watching us. We had a wonderful time here. The tour lasts about and hour or more depending on how many questions you have. We got to look and step inside real homes houses with artifacts through time. It was a great way to feel like you were time traveling and seeing the progression of how immigrants lived and were treated. There is also a gift shop filled with beautiful local artists work.

Very authentic. If you are interested in knowing how the life and culture was, you are at the right place. Very educational and informative, we'll maintained and conserved. Quite and not touristy.

I recently visited Hawaiʻi’s Plantation Village in Waipahu, and it offers one of the most meaningful cultural experiences on Oʻahu. Located along Waipahu Street in an area historically connected to Hawaiʻi’s sugar plantation era, the village recreates what daily life looked like for immigrant plantation workers who shaped the islands’ multicultural identity. The atmosphere feels educational and immersive. The site is designed as a living history village with restored plantation-era buildings, homes, and community spaces arranged around walking paths and gardens. As you move through the property, you encounter structures representing different ethnic communities who worked on the plantations, including Japanese, Filipino, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Puerto Rican, and Hawaiian influences. The layout helps visitors understand how these communities lived and interacted during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The experience focuses heavily on storytelling and cultural preservation. Guided tours explain the historical significance of each building, along with the migration stories that brought workers from many parts of the world to Hawaiʻi’s sugar plantations. The exhibits highlight how plantation life shaped the islands’ modern food, language, and cultural traditions. Service and interpretation from the staff and volunteers felt knowledgeable and passionate. Their explanations added depth and context to the experience, turning the village into more than just a collection of historical buildings. From a global travel perspective, Hawaiʻi’s Plantation Village reminded me of open-air history museums I have visited in places like Japan, Scandinavia, and parts of Europe where entire communities are reconstructed to preserve cultural heritage.

Super awesome tour from fantastic tour guides. Travelled from the mainland and wanted to learn more about my family’s culture and history. Highly recommend others to take the time to visit and learn about the rich culture Hawaii has to offer 🤙🏽🌺❤️

The Hawaii’s Plantation Village, run by local volunteers, is a wonderful place to spend some time to get to know more about Hawaii’s plantation past. We highly recommend joining the guided tour, led by someone who has lived and worked at one of the plantations. This place may not be fancy or glitzy like the many commercialized tourist attractions in Hawaii, but it is unique and authentic. Staffed by volunteers who want to keep this significant Hawaii history alive. Our guide, Lance, was a wealth of information and shared many interesting details and history of plantation life. The passion he has for the Plantation Village made our tour extremely interesting and informative. We learned so much about an important part of Hawaii’s history that is authentic versus glamorized. This place is truly a gem!

This review is based on the bon dance event put on by the Hawaii Plantation Village. As soon as I got my food I already felt dread. I knew right away this was not the same Somen Salad made by the volunteers last year (last year's one was super ono, plus they only made a limited amount). After the first bite I knew that it wasn't the same, the flavors and textures were completely different. Gave up on the Somen and moved on to the Beef Stew only to be disappointed some more. The stew had no flavor at all. Later on I asked one of the longtime volunteers and she confirmed that the food was bought from somewhere else and explained that many of the long time volunteers that usually prepare the food was not able to cook this year. That is also why there was no Tsukemono (pickled vegetables) available for purchase either. Also the Waffledogs were not good either. Don't think they let it cool down enough when they wrapped it causing it to be on the soggy side when I unwrapped it from the foil (if you do buy from them make sure its the owner preparing them and not the volunteers supplied by HPV).

Located off the Old Waipahu Rd, 1/4 mile after Waipahu Depot Rd and the old sugar mill. A hidden gem in the center of Waipahu to take you back to the old plantation days. You'll find a welcome center and museum at the bottom of the hill. Surrounded by taro patches are the bandstand and plantation style homes representing all the cultures that were brought to Oahu to work on the sugar plantations.

The first Bon Dance of the season for 2023 was held here at the Hawaii Plantation village. It doesn't have a lot of parking so there were designated parking spaces at the tech academy and a nearby school. A shuttle came by every five minutes to bring people either way. The set up was nice. They had lanterns lit up on the little stream ditch, food tents set up in the parking lot, the bon dance in the grass area, the museum was open for viewing, and had some items for sale as well. I preferred more food choices with rice. The only thing with rice was huli huli chicken. Other choices of food were things like chili dog, waffles dog, baked goods, andagi. Minus one star for the food choices. But overall, the event was fantastic and I'd go again,

Great tour of plantation life from the beginning well into the life and challenges of the people that came to work and live in Hawaii

Amazing museum pieces to explore. There is a lot to learn from every culture which contributed to what Hawaii is now. There are guides who are knowledgeable and make the tours worth going to. They teach you about games, food, music, make-up, etc.

Very interesting and eye opening! Learned a lot of the lives of our amazing and brave grandparents and great grandparents! Sign up for the informative guided tour but be prepared for a long journey. Ours lasted over 3 hours and that was pushing it. We didn't get a chance to really look at all the photos and displays so we'll probably go on our own next time. But either way, this is a very special place to visit! Don't miss out!

We missed the hours but were told it's an excellent history tour! We did grab some pics! Next time we will plan better!

TL:DR Take the tour with uncle Ken. It was a fascinating, one of a kind, tour. This is a wonderful experience, with perhaps what might be called a priceless amount of learning and knowledge provided. I remember going as a kid, and just walking through the houses, and it was really cool on its own just to see the different style of houses. But, now taking the guided tour with uncle Ken. Boy howdy. Just a priceless experience: one of the best museum experiences I've had. Uncle Ken is just a wealth of knowledge and passion. I'm a huge history buff, especially a Hawaiian history buff, and the history of plantations is the history of Hawaii post ancient Hawaii and uncle Ken knows his stuff. I started taking notes because he was providing so much fascinating information. Uncle Ken walks you through the houses that are chronologically situated, from original grass and twig huts through to the first Chinese style accommodations through to the Japanese, filipino, etc. all the while he is weaving the tale of Hawaii off all the cultures brought into the plantations, and even hawaiis impact on the rest of the world. Just a fascinating, fascinating story and uncle Ken's passion is contagious. And the tour is long. An hour and a half to two hours depending on if you ask follow up questions. I could have gone for 3 hours, 5 hours, it was just all so fascinating. It was also just a completely relaxed, hawaiian style experience--part of this probably has to do with the fact no one else was there waiting for next tour, which is a shame, this place should be booked solid. But for us it meant no rush. It was very intimate and just one big talk story almost. Oh and even the history of the plants and stuff-- uncle Ken covers that a lot and that too is fascinating-- like how Hawaiian gourd instruments are made from this fruit but with these dried seeds in the them etc. I will say, we had to leave half way through because we had uss Arizona reservations. My cousins continued on and I asked them to fill in as best they could how long the rest of the tour was and what it covered etc. It was pretty tragic for me honestly to have to leave and then find out when we got to the uss arizona that people were having no problem getting on the ferry through standby without reservations. Like I may never get to finish the plantation tour, and that kind of devastates me. Anyway. Obviously my recommendation is to go. I just can't talk up the experience enough.

A MUST visit if you want to understanding the rich history, culture and makeup of the people of Hawaii, not just for tourists, but especially for locals who live in Hawaii! Be sure to arrange ahead of time for a tour and if you are lucky enough (ask for him!) to get Kenneth Kaneshige you will treated to and come away with a wondrous understanding with personal insights of Hawaii. The grounds are immaculate and have been taken care of a retired couple for over 30 years since their retirement as well as a cadre of volunteers who support in the care and maintenance of the grounds and facilities. There were 34 ethnic cultures brought in to work the plantations after 1835 but eight homes and cultures are featured because these 8 ethnicities make up the culture of Hawaii today. You are transported 100 years from the Hawaiian plantation hale (house) thru the 1940ish Filipino home, learning about the main eight homes featured in the village: Hawaiian, Chinese, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, Japanese, Okinawa, Korean, and Filipino. Opened in 1992 and ever evolving, there is now a beautiful facility you enter to register which features the Plantation Store: unique hand made crafts lovingly created by the volunteers and to the left as you enter, an educational exhibit of artifacts from the people who worked and lived in the plantations. Mahalo nui to all the dedicated volunteers who keep the Hawaii Plantation Village alive!

Very informative and interesting. The docents are well versed in the history and cultures of the times. The property is very well cared for and it's always a great way to spend a couple hours.

My Family and I came for the Portuguese Festa Today and as I dropped off my elderly Mother at the side gate and parked, I went back to go into the Festa at the side gate, this woman with bright red hair and a green shirt yelled out for us to go through a tunnel and around the back to the Festa. I explained that I had just dropped off my elderly Mother who had just went in and she said that I still needed to go through the tunnel pointing to the road and not giving me clear guidance of where this tunnel was. There were no clear signs of where to go, I had to go back and ask where was this tunnel? She then said go past the hut and near the rocks. I would like to recommend for the village or Festa itself to provide signs, if you will not have anyone there to guide people of where to go. Other than that, the Festa was very nice. It was nice to be surrounded by my kind of people!

This is a true hidden gem and I can't believe I never heard about it after living here for decades. The history story they tell about the old Hawaii plantation days and how it started is just amazing. You can learn a lot about how all the people who immigrated to Hawaii, help build it's unique multinational culture and unique island life. The place is a bit out of the way and you really need use Google Maps or some similar app to find it. It isn't hard to get to, but just not easy to find on your own given it's location. Once there, it is pretty easy to figure out how to get back out to where you came from. This recreation of what it was like during those days isn't a Disneyland type of excursion. It is really tells the raw history of everything that transpired during those times. They village gives you a good idea of what life might have been like, but I'm sure it wasn't as pretty despite how they keep the place to look as authentic as possible. I think this place is more for adults, but probably a good education for teens who are interested in history and culture. You'll need to plan for time to read the different exhibit information and do some walking. This was a great find for us and I do highly recommend it for others.

Robert was a wonderful and informative guide as we got a glimpse into the sugar plantation life. This is a must-see for anyone interested in the sugar plantation immigrant life.

Neat place to check out with kids for a bit of history. Advise wearing a mask as lots of the homes on the tour are very musty smelling. Various sections of shade (beware of falling mangos!!) but generally an outdoor venue. Small museum inside by visitors check-in/store that's air conditioned. Very friendly & helpful staff.

If you are looking for a low-key, inexpensive activity where you can learn about Hawaii's history - this is a great place to visit

"Take"gave a very informative tour and the history of sugar plantation was very interesting the different countries the workers came from to work on Oahu

Ken is an amazing docent. We got to truly understand the history of the local community and how our families fit into the culture today. Well worth the time.

We really enjoyed the self guided tour. We learned so much about the history of the plantations. Amazing and historically accurate experience.

I wish we had more time to explore this place and would have loved to take the tour - which I heard is free, highly recommended, but just takes a while. It is uber rich with history and a diversity of cultures (Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, Filipino, Korean, Okinawan). It might be different for some or most even, but being Japanese Filipino American, this place has a special connection w/ me because it reminds me of who I am. Everyone was very nice. There was a Japanese craft fair when we went, which was cute. I bought precious moments girl in a kimono and boy koinobori dolls :) We'll be back. Keep on keeping on. We love you guys.

A tour of village is highly recommend. Go with one of the docents when you tour the village. They bring the property to life with lively stories tied to every building. You could go it alone, as the property is well documented, but it is so much more fun with a docent. Watch for the cannon ball tree. I'd never seen one before. Very unique.

8 Aug 2022 We've lived here for more than 11 years and finally got around to visiting this place. Got there at 12:30, took the self guided tour - lady at the counter was extremely helpful, she even gave us free mosquito repellent and thanks to her not a single bite! We received a small handout which showed all the different buildings and a very detailed large notebook (which has to be returned when you're done) which covered and explained every building in depth. It's amazing what all the people who came to Hawaii endured to make a better life for themselves and their families. We had no idea of all the nationalities of people coming to Hawaii in search of a better life. It puts the old movie, 'The Hawaiians' 1970, with Charlton Heston, in a much better perspective - if you've never seen it, you really should. There's also a nice display in the main building which discusses the history of what happened to this island paradise as more and more outsiders came here and how the Hawaiian leaders sold out and put their people in debt so that those leaders could have the luxuries of the outside world - that's something you don't hear much about! The self guided tour was interesting but I wish we could have taken the guide tour. NOTE: make reservations, the last one goes at noon! They have very limited snacks and soft drinks at fair prices. If you're looking for something relaxing and informative this is a nice addition to your visit to Hawaii - just make sure the trade winds are blowing or it can get very warm back in there.

Extremely rare and local experience. Our tour guide not only knew the place backwards and forwards- but quite literally was born on that land. I felt lucky to be able to learn about all the different plants, cultures, and experiences. It was like a window into history!

What a great day with our tour guide, Ken! Ken gave us a very thorough three hour tour and answered every question we had! I would highly recommend requesting a tour guide as it really made our visit very insightful! Thank you Ken!

If you come here, I recommend getting here before 10am so you can take the guided tour. Ken was our guide, and he was amazing. They also have a great gift/thrift shop at incredible prices, filled with handmade pieces made by volunteers.

I haven't had a class field trip since sophomore year. Fast forward to my sophomore year in college, I finally get to go on one. I've been dying to come here during Halloween but never had the chance to make it out here. So hopefully if there is another event this year, I am putting some time aside to go. So parking wasn't an issue. Especially for a class size of about 20+ college students. We all gathered in one spot and a tour guide met up with us. We toured through every village and learned what each ethnic brought to Hawaii and why they were each unique. To get an understanding of our diverse culture, tourists should make this one of their top things to do if interested in culture. Besides the luau's and beaches, one must educate themselves. This activity needs someone knowledgeable, diverse, and well-spoken. I can't imagine this tour without a guide. I'm so glad to see that everything is kept in its original form for the most part. This is unique and located in Waipahu. Something every city in Hawaii should have, something unique to showcase..

It's great to go check out all those typical attractions like Pearl Harbor, Dole Plantation or Diamondhead trail when you're in Oahu, but this Plantation Village was exactly what I wanted to experience: the real history and culture of Hawaii. This is an outdoor museum telling the story of life on Hawaii's sugar plantations (circa 1850-1950). The village includes restored buildings and replicas of plantation structures, including houses of various ethnic groups like the Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Portuguese and Puerto Ricans. Each house showed their living conditions, lifestyles and their cultural beliefs. I was completely intrigued. Since my grandparents, aunts/uncles immigrated to the United States from China, seeing the artifacts inside the Chinese house felt surreal. For a moment, I felt like I was transported back in their era and I felt this emotion and sensed the struggles and everything life they went through. Our tour consisted of 4 people in total. We were here on a Wednesday, 10am tour. Uncle Charlie, our tour guide, was such a sweet gentlemen. His parents and grandparents were actually lived on the plantation. So he been through this life, he lived this life. He was very knowledgeable and gave great stories. He brought his little Pomeranian, Tomo, along for the tour too. Such a cute little dog! Couple things to note: -tours begin every hour ON the hour, starting at 10am and last tour is at 2pm. -$15.00 admission charge per adult. -Wouldn't recommend this to younger children. The tours can last about 2 hours, you're walking or standing most of the time and children can get restless because I'm sure they won't be interested in listening to history info after history info. -Our tour almost lasted 2 hours!!! Be careful if you're pressed on time. -plenty of free parking

While the fam are away, Mama's going to play.....tourist! So when you live here, sightseeing gets pushed to one side, but my boys went to the Mainland for Fall Break so this was my last ditch attempt to see some things before we relocate. I've been dying to come here for ages and finally, Cinderella got to go to the ball!! I booked over the phone and rocked up at my appointed time to find I was the only one on the tour! Yay! Personalised tour! Well I couldn't have asked for a better tour guide, Gary you're a rock star! Gary is a retired teacher and knows how to work a crowd, after a career of teaching Middle School! He bills his tour as a Historical comedy tour and it doesn't disappoint. You become the stars of the show, it's a brilliant way to bring history alive and Gary does it so well. So I was expecting a 1 hour tour, we were soon joined by two bone fide tourists (Gary called me kama'aina, which made my day!) and it turned into a 3 hour extravaganza, it was brilliant! I was so upset I had to leave, as I had another appointment, but I could have stayed all day! I really wish all tour guides were as funny and enthusiastic as Gary, he really was a gem! Looking forward to bringing the kids back for the Haunted Plantation!! Seriously tourists need to get out of the Waikiki/Downtown zone and get out to Waipahu, this is the real Hawai'i! It's an excellent way to see how it's rich history has made it such an epicentre of different cultures and nationalities.

Our tour guide Lance (?) was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about life on the plantation. He could speak from personal experience since he also grew up on a plantation. This tour provided a lot of valuable information on the history of Hawaii and the all of the different immigrant groups that came to work on the sugarcane plantations. We were able to tour houses of Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan, Portuguese, Filipino plantation workers, kitchens, a shrine, bath house, shop, and learn about the different plants that they used. This would be a great experience to bring kids during the pandemic because it is very educational and everyone that works here is welcoming and embody the aloha spirit. We had a great time! Also it was really easy to get a tour during covid because we were actually the only group that visited the whole day. Please check this place out!

Wow. Knew this place was here but never went before. $8 kama'aina rate is worth every penny. Free parking, bathroom, picnic tables under huge Monkeypad tree. Friendly staff, knowledgeable guides. This outdoor museum showcases the story of sugar plantations and immigrant history of Hawai'i. 34 nationalities came to work on Hawaiian plantations but the museum focuses on 8 who.had the most influence starting rightly so, with Hawaiian families. The plantings of various kalo strains, native birds I saw included kolea, au, and Hawaiian stilt besides the malihini breeds of mynah, pigeons, yellow canary. Covering 100 years from 1845 to 1945, it's a literal walk through time. There are unexpected gems like a Chuukese traditional hale, secret society house that Sun Yet Sen gave his speeches at, a real Shinto shrine, bodhi tree.

All I can say is hidden gem. Do you know Hawaii was known for their crops? Or why there's a diverse population of Filipinos, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and Hawaiians? Ambiance: Parking: * There is plenty of parking (20-30) didn't really have a problem parking as it is not the most commercialized places to be. Feels: * My grandparents immigrated to Hawaii from the Philippines and this story helped me have a stronger identity of myself. The content was extremely relevant and I am fortunate to have partake in this tour. Our tour guide knew his stuff. He was patient and friendly as well. I enjoyed the artifacts as they were extremely accurate, it really sucks you in as if you were living back in time. From their every day grind, to their living styles, you definitely have a chance to learn about the villagers. Overall: 5 stars. I enjoyed the intimate setting, the artifacts, and the knowledge. Definitely a hidden gem in Hawaii. I recommend these to those who have family ties connected from Hawaii. K(no)wHystory K(no)wYourself TL;DR Tip: * Though I had an enjoyable tour, go to the early tours since it will be less rushed. * Through collaboration and our collective experiences we adapt and contribute. That's how we're a meting culture not a melting pot.

Excellent way to spend a couple of hours connecting to the history of Hawaii. Robert was out amazing guide - he really brought the village to life with the details that he shared and experiences he recounted as a child. I left with a renewed sense of appreciation for the culture. Highly recommend visiting and booking the tour.

Awesome visit like always. Lot of renovations completed. Workers and staff are also very nice and professional. Always love visiting here.

Before covid i took my mainland relative and another fam member here. We all hvnt been on the tour in years and im so glad we did the tour again and we had a great guide! Sorry i forgot her name but she was okinawan and she was really nice and very informative. I love how all cultures came together and worked together and was awesome learning about the different cultures again. Such a wonderful experience and highly recommend also pls support, Aloha.

This cute little historical site is a great place to visit to learn about the multicultural background of Hawaii. This non profit organization has sweet volunteers and staff who are quite knowledgeable about Hawaii's past. The traditional buildings and homes are fascinating. It can be a little dense with information but our tour guide made it quick and interesting. Not really recommended for super small children (due to all the historical information and artifacts) but our 3rd grader did pretty well.

Highly recommended to anyone visiting Hawaii. It is essential to learn about the culture and history of where you are visiting, and you will learn everything and more with this tour. We are so glad we did this!

A lot of times, both Hawaii residents and tourists take these islands for granted and often don't find out or know about the history or culture behind these plantations and villages. Thankfully, Hawaii Plantation Village is able to uncover a lot of that information. Our docent, Jean, shared a lot of stories and interesting things about the different houses of various ethnic groups such as the Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Chinese, Portugese, among others. This is basically an outdoor museum with a number of houses that we went into and our volunteer docent explained the stories and cultures behind them. Unfortunately, there's way too much information to share that I can't remember every single little detail. But our docent was superb in engaging us in interactive discussions and activities along the way, and I got to learn more about previous generations and what they went through in Hawaii. You should definitely try to stop by and experience this one-of-a-kind attraction in Hawaii, as you will discover a lot about Hawaii that you've probably never heard in the past and also if you're interested in history.

There is only one law of the land when taking a trip back in time at Hawaii's Plantation Village: "Sugar is king." The days of sugar cane fields are long gone and for even those of us who grew up with a different understanding of Ewa Beach and Wailua, the memories of cane fields as far as the eye can see might be distant. Arakawas, the super store that long pre-dated Daiei and DonQuijote, is long gone. But the Hawaii's Plantation Village remains to remind us of Waipahu's strong ties to the sugar cane industry at the heart of where much of it took place. Visitors will have to hunt for the museum tucked away in plain sight in the middle of old Waipahu town. You won't have much purpose to travel to this area aside from the museum itself because it is right off of Waipahu Street, a long road for the town of Waipahu. At Hawaii's Plantation Village, you'll have an immersive visit on a completely restored street resembling much of Hawaii's Sugar Plantations (c. 1850-1950). The Village includes restored buildings and replicas of Plantation structures such as houses of various ethnic groups - from China, Portugal, Japan, Puerto Rico, Korea, Okinawa, Polynesia - and community buildings. The site is open and accessible on weekends, although you should phone ahead. The staff takes care to guard this treasure and make sure that the hard work and limited resources devoted to preserving this century old town is not going to waste. Take note of the special trees, such as the cannon ball tree. You'll be glad you stopped by to appreciate the humble beginnings of Hawaii's plantation communities.

First of all......everyone from Hawaii needs to experience this wonderful venue - to really understand and appreciate the many cultures that make up our islands. And for visitors.....if you REALLY want to learn about the history of Hawaii.....in addition to the Polynesian Cultural Center, you need to visit Hawaii's Plantation Village! Do not visit the village without signing up for a private tour.....the stories and facts add so so much to the experience! Also, I need to mention that my tour wasn't really geared toward young children, and may have only been appreciated by older children/teens that have a true interest in history, but with that being said....I know they have many school groups that visit, so call ahead or email Hawaii's Plantation Village for information about children's activities, and/or tours designed for younger visitors, etc. There is ample parking, a small rustic gift shop, and water/drinks for sale for a reasonable price. Bathrooms are available at the main building where you check-in, and at another location towards the end of the tour. The staff is friendly and helpful, and I'd like to extend a shout-out to Ken who was our informative tour guide!

Hawaii's Plantation Village is amazing. W-A-Y off the beaten tourist path, tucked away in a corner of Waipahu, I learned about Hawaii's plantation past. I've been twice, and both docents were knowledgable, talkative, and seemed to enjoy showing off the history of their islands. Good thing I like history, and I enjoy talk-story. My second visit was different from the first, as each docent has different stories to tell. Today's docent was interested in the plants and gardens, and taught us about how plants came to Hawaii, and how different groups use the plants. (There are many varieties of taro. Some are used for the leaves; others are better for making poi. Who knew? Not me.) Open Monday-Saturday, tours are at 10,11,12,1,2. It took us 2 hours and cost $15/person. This place has no fire dance, no coconut bra wearing wahines, no tacky costumes, no corny jokes about poi. Just artifacts and stories from people who care. I recommend it for any tourist or local curious about Hawaii history. Read some other reviews for details of what you'll see.

This place was AWESOME! Too many times tourists visit Hawaii without getting to know anything about the real history and culture, or what they see is just entertainment. Similarly, too often local people don't know our own history and what it's taken to get us to where we are today. Hawaii's Plantation Village, though, is an awesome tribute to life on Hawaii's sugar plantations that started in the late 1800s. It shows similarities and differences in ethnic groups, cultures, and changes that happened over time. Tours start at the top of the hour starting at 10am, and my friends and I were honored to have Uncle Charlie as our tour guide. He brought his little dog along for the walk, and my friend Ryan basically went crazy because he loves dogs. We started at the Chinese kitchen, which is the only original structure from plantation days. Some of the original woks and other cooking utensils are still there. Cooking, eating, and cleaning was communal since basically everyone was poor, and there were no individual cooking quarters yet. We also got to see houses and kitchens for other major ethnic groups to work on the sugar plantations: Portuguese, Japanese, Filipino, Okinawan, Puerto Rican, and Korean. One interesting thing was the double bathroom with side-by-side toilets. Women and children would go to the bathroom in pairs for safety! The Japanese bathhouse and tofu-making room were both pretty amazing too. We ended the tour in the recreation hall were offered different fruits that are grown on the property, including ulu (breadfruit), guava, started it, longan (similar to lychee), sugar cane, jabong (pomelo) and rose apple. So refreshing after a walk in the hot sun! I highly recommend visiting Hawaii's Plantation Museum to both tourists and locals alike! Be sure to ask lots of questions because the tour guides love it, and that's how to get to know both them and history better.

We had a great tour today with Lance! He wasvery thorough and knowledgeable. Thank you!

I've had my fair share of field trips here by now... growing up here means I've had my own field trip visits as a child. And now that I have 3 children, I've visited with them as well. I can honestly say it hasn't always been the same experience every time. Of course you'll have your usual tour of the different houses learning about different cultures and eras. They also have activities the kids can do to have a tiny bit of the experience as if they were really around during those times. When I was a child, I remember making our own bottle cap toy with a string that you'd wind up and continuously spin and spin til you were bored lol. On recent visits, they have let the children play games like horse shoe, dress up, and Chinese lion dance. For the children, education wise, it was awesome to see that they have a lot of vintage and historic items. Things like the buildings themselves might have been there forever, cookware, clothing, furniture, etc... Aside from the place and antiques being old, you can see that they are still very well taken care of. So, please when you visit, be respectful of that. I can never recall how much visits are but I think it's definitely worth it for at least one visit if you haven't been already.

My friends and I went to the Haunted Plantation event here. We planned out to be there at 6pm to beat the traffic and lines but we didn't! There was no parking on site and barely any street parking. We managed to squeeze ourselves on the edge of the hill! A couple cars down, a car slid down the hill and they had to call for help to pull the car out. Park at your own risk! Once we parked, we walked over to get into the line for tickets. The line already looped around part of the field and the staff parking lot. It was insane. We got to the line at 6pm and got to get our tickets at 7pm. We got the VIP tickets, which were $30 each. Fast pass was $20, but there was still a line to get in from there. General admission was $15 which was another long line. Just expect lines through out this event. After we got our tickets, someone escorted us over to the front of the line to get into the village. We joined a group, so they were in front and we were in the back. When we enter through, we also had to go through the whole thing in a one single file line.. The front was where all the action was, since they would get scared first. Be in front if you want all that action! Being in the middle/end was still creepy since they follow from behind! There were a lot of houses. I was surprised. Throughout each house, there were different characters and lighting. I think the few things I remember were being in the dark and a flashing light flashed and something was right in our faces! There was a scary girl standing above us and creeping over us! She opened her legs as we walked under her. There were clowns with big scary bins about to hit us. Another creepy girl jumping in and out of windows! There was a lot happening! I was just trying not to trip down stairs and be left behind. Over all, great experience! Plan ahead and be in a smaller group!

We had a great visit here, albiet it was a bit long. I would suggest, that if you are going on the docent led tours, set aside about 2 hours or more. Ours lasted two hours and when my mom went on the tour at a later date, it was about two and a half hours. I guess it depends on how busy they are and which docent you get. Anyway, it gave me a ton of time to take millions of pictures. Also, make sure you have comfortable shoes because there's going to be a lot of walking and standing. The main building has a local community center feel to it. You'll see many of the docents hanging out like old times over a table of food. Most of them are old timers who grew up in the plantation systems and have many experiences to share. The whole operation seems to be mainly run by these same volunteers. We had friendly George and his dog Tomo as docents. You'll learn that most of the buildings are replica's except for just one original. Also, they tell the story in terms of the different waves of immigrants that came to Hawaii from their respective countries. Honestly seeing the buildings are nice, but what make the walk facinating is the stories that George had about his life on the plantation. He really knew his stuff. Unfortunately, we had one "know it all guy" who "read a book" before he went on the tour asking all kinds of questions and adding his two booksmart cents to what George had to say. I'm thinking, "Brah, who is someone going to believe? You, the guy who said he read the book or the guy who lived the damn book." Moral to this story, don't be "That Guy". Anyways, one of the truely unfortunate things is that much of what they have sometimes gets stolen or vandalized. It's just surrounded by a regular fence after all. There is even an area to bring a bag lunch and have a small picnic. I think this is what we should have done after the the tour. There really isn't any other place in the State of Hawaii that you can experience what the old plantations might have been like. The whole experience seems to be volunteer and donation run, so keep this in mind while visiting. It's not going to be like a visit to the Smithsonian. It's like visiting that elderly pidgin speaking uncle in his old abode who has many stories of the old days to tell. You should listen.

The village was full of historical significance and our docent had great stories about growing up during the sugar industry on the Island. HIghly recommend as the tour provides a rare, personal, and informative experience.

How have I never been here before? I feel like this is a very important place to visit to really "get" Hawaii today. Not just for tourists but for locals, to better understand your roots. Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan, Puerto Rican, Portuguese, Korean - each nationality has a house here and a story about their unique history. Why they came, who they wanted to marry, what some of their traditions contributions to modern day Hawaii were, these stories and more were told by our lovely tour guide. I came here with my Southern MIL who was intrigued on a different level - a tourist learning a whole lot about Hawaii's recent history that never really gets told in the other typical tourist attractions. Tourist or local, you definitely should make a trip here. Great place for photographers to snap some interesting shots.

While on Oahu, there are plenty of things to do, but I've done most of them and wanted to see something new this last visit. I decided a trip to Plantation Village was in order. This is the kind of place kids go on field trips to... in fact my niece had just done so, so she was filling me in on all the details before we even got there. Darn her. Anyway, Plantation Village is an outdoor museum that has a collection of houses that have been moved there to represent plantation life for the different cultures of people who came to Hawaii to work the sugar fields. There are houses depicting cultures of Japan, China, Filipino, Puerto Rican, etc. Some of them had furnishings and usual household items to give you an idea how they lived, one had photos and writings that are normally housed in the museum which I believe was closed for remodeling while we were there. I'm kicking myself because i can't remember our Guides name, darn it. She was really good and she also filled us in about a lot of the flora in the park. She was very knowledgeable about the history and the flowers and trees we saw. Tours are given hourly starting at 9 every day except Sunday. We were there on 12/26/12, a Wednesday and luckily no one else showed up for he 11am tour. PERFECT since we were late. We had a private tour for the six of us so that made it really nice and this way my sort of obnoxious family didn't annoy any other guests. We're kind of loud, so, well... it's good to have a private tour and our guide was awesome and put up with us talking over her at times. We all really enjoyed the tour and the grounds. It was a beautiful sunny day and we spent some time feeding the fish and taking a million photos. It's just a nice place to spend an hour or so. The cost is normally $13, but military and Kama'aina is only $7! Hooray! Whenever I start to tell people about it they get confused and think I am talking about the Polynesian Cultural Center. This is NOT that. This is a small outdoor museum in Waipahu, but it's worth visiting if you are interested in history.

This site is a good reason to go to O'ahu. It's not an all day tour (except for the drive from your hotel). It's a little bit low budget and the guide's script is a bit forced at times. Nevertheless, this gets four stars for introducing me to history I'd never heard before. If a tourist is fiscally conservative and even a little bit anti-union then they might not like it so much. This site tells the story of the plantation workers. While they don't demonize the owners and managers as much as they could (or should, in my opinion) it might put off a more ardently Republican visitor. Our guide also spent rather some time discussing the tendency of the Japanese immigrants to be inclusive and ecumenical regarding religion. I was cringing just thinking about what might father might think of that. Keep these in mind when considering your companions.

This place is a hidden treasure in Waipahu! We had the joy of being escorted by Charlie and his Pomeranian Tomo. Charlie is 90 and can truly "talk story" about growing up on a cane plantation and about Waipahu history. We learned a great deal about the major ethnicities who worked the plantations and saw how the houses were tailored to their cultures and needs. Our tour took about two hours. I'd rather learn in a place like this than idle at Waikiki!