Robert was a wonderful tour guide with a wealth of knowledge about the various immigrant groups... read more
Robert was a wonderful tour guide with a wealth of knowledge about the various immigrant groups... read more
My family had a very educational time at the Plantation. You can pay for a tour or go at it on your... read more
If you want to get off the beach and learn a bit about Oahu’s history, consider visiting the plantation village, which illustrates what life was like for the thousands of indentured labourers brought to the island to work on its sugar plantations. The 30 or so buildings represent life between the early 1900s and the 1940s. On the two-hour tour you’ll walk through replicas of the housing that Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan, Korean, Philippino, Portuguese and Puerto Rican workers lived in, from rustic early accommodation with outdoor plumbing to more spacious housing with electricity. Each ethnic group was housed in separate camps, part of the plantation owners’ divide-and-conquer strategy, but shared facilities such as the barber shop, social hall and Japanese community bath provided an opportunity for workers to find common ground, leading in time to unionization and improved working conditions.
From Waikiki, you can take the E Country Express bus to the Waipahu Transit Centre, then either connect to the #43 bus or walk about 7 minutes. The entire trip is supposed to take no more than one hour, but because of traffic congestion due to road works in Honolulu, it took closer to two hours going (coming back was much faster), so give yourself some wiggle room just in case the repairs are ongoing.
Kudos to our tour guide, Ken, who was knowledgeable and humorous.
We took a bus from Honolulu to get here, and had to walk several blocks from the bus stop to the plantation village, but it was well worth it. Our guide, Ken, was a walking history book....his father was one of the plantation workers years ago so he had an insider's view as well as being extremely knowledgeable about the history of Hawaii in general. We were so enthralled that even after the walking tour was over, we visited with Ken for another hour. It was a "hands on" walking tour through a reconstructed village that was divided into sections representing each of the cultures that had been brought to Hawaii to work in the fields....Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, Phillippino, Cubans.....people from all over were enticed there to work, and then often found their hopes dashed by the reality of the harsh life they often faced. Definitely worth the visit!
This hidden gem is not widely promoted, it is not. Money maker but it is the best interpretive exhibit I have seen anywhere in the US. A guide take you through the homes of plantation workers from various backgrounds (Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese) as different immigrant groups worked on hawaiian plantations. Hard work and impoverished conditions--these were the roots from which many of today's leaders in hawaii have sprung.
The exhibits are moving, compelling and authentic. The guides are first rate at telling the story of the immigrant families. This is very much like the Tenement Museum in New York City's lower east side--also a great small museum.
Hard to find and there is little publicity. It is worth tracking down. It is west of the airport. Plan to spend a half day there. Or bring a picnic lunch. There is not much around in the way of food service. They do have picnic tables though.
I'm a local in my early 30s from Hawaii and today was the first time I've been to this location. It was excellent! As a local I still learned a lot. Thanks Aunty Fran (our tour guide), you're the best! ;-)
We decided to learn more about Hawaii's culture on this trip and were glad that we chose the Plantation Village. Be sure to see the museum displays in addition to the guided tour of the plantation houses (some people on our tour missed the museum). The museum gives you a good background on living conditions, why foreign labor was needed, picture brides (one 19 year old bride found that her suitor was actually 45!), why the ethnicities were segregated in their own groups, etc.
Our guide, Gary, was entertaining and informative. I appreciated his ability to talk about plantation life in a way that made us consider our own personal reactions to the conditions. The staff we met were friendly local people. They let us sample some of the local fruits. This place is away from the hustle and bustle of Honolulu, but sometimes that's what you want, right? It's near the old Waipahu sugar mill (a distinguishable landmark as you're driving), and the directional signage was pretty good. Check in the tourist magazines for a discount coupon (I saved $3); and they had a discounted rate for seniors. The tours are hourly from 10AM to 2PM, and we were there for over 2 hours.
If you want a good taste of Hawaiin history and cultural aspects go see the sugar cane Plantation Village in Waipahu. I had good directions from mapquest, but the tour guide says that even Hawaiins don't visit the Plantation very often because they can't find it. Spent almost three hours there with a very good tour guide. He knew lots of factual information, and some fun tidbits as well. Most of the buildings on the plantation are reproductions but there are many authentic plantation village artifacts to be seen. The history of the people that worked on the plantation was particularly interesting.