Ota International — Local services in Honolulu

Left a great review when I first came across this salon, but I unfortunately had to delete it since I got my hair botched today with the worst haircut every by a stylist that I’ve went to a few times so I trusted him with my hair & was not new to being serviced by him. He’s the owner of the salon & his name is Roges. He’s done great work for me before but yesterday he did a really bad job. I have Curly hair & I explained what I wanted in detail & I thought we were on the same page, i continuously explained that I didn’t want him to go too short & how I was afraid that he would because I didn’t want a full haircut just wanted bangs. He cut a lot of inches off disregarding what I said & he knew it looked bad after washing it because he was struggling to style it & had me help assist him.The bangs were so high & the cut was super choppy & I ended up with a mullet. (The day before my birthday). Will not be returning due to the fact that I reached out to him & zero response of anyways to help or refund me. I don’t even feel pretty & I wish I never went there & my birthday is ruined. Worse experience ever & I’ve spent hundreds of dollars at this establishment & always left generous tips prior. I will no longer be sending or suggesting this salon due to the way the situation was handled. Be careful if you go here & be firm about what you want to them because it’s your hair & you have to wear it. You will not get refunded or offered any alternative to fixing it so be careful or go somewhere else. Was super excited about supporting this salon but I cannot after today & it left a terrible taste in my mouth to not even give an apology.

Update: January 1st 2024, I’ve yet to be given any sort of refund or a free fix to my hair. I have made multiple attempts to resolve it with the owner but no fair solution given. I’ve been forced to even out my haircut on my own to the best of my abilities. I am still struggling with how short my hair is & still very sad about it & had an awful birthday/ ending to my year. Even more upset that I trusted the owner with my hair for him to not even care to fix it free of charge. Worst Salon...

This shop has amazing energy. It is obvious that everyone in here knows exactly what they are doing. You can genuinely feel a comfort from the moment you walk through the door that you are in good hands. Very professional. Mucho love surrounded within this shop. Rich is an amazing barber. Definitely exceeded all expectations to the point that I can confidently say with all my heart that every barber should strive to reach his level if they have not. I give this review with no biased opinion, only my humble thought on my personal experience. You be the judge~see pictures. I have only been cut once by this man, and I am truthfully contemplating changing my own personal barber after 8 years of said barber. This says a lot considering I have been cut by hundreds of barbers from all over the United States. This man knows his craft, and has mastered it. If you are looking for perfection in a fade or beard work... look no further. Rich is your man. FYl I am a super perfectionist about my fade and beard work. 100 out of 5 stars. Thank you again Rich! I look forward to my next cut by you and my time in this...

I have traveled all over the world. From Hawaii to Washington DC to Tokyo Japan to Shanghai China. During my travels, getting a great haircut has been incredibly important to me. It always has. No matter what hair salon, barbershop or hair studio I have gone to, I have not had as great a haircut and experience as I have had with Katsu.

Katsu has been cutting and styling my hair now for seven years. No matter where I have gone to in Hawaii, no one has been able to cut my hair as good as Katsu. I highly encourage anyone and everyone, no matter what their hair type may be, to see if they can get their haircut at Ota International.

Katsu simply is the best and he is putting together a team of incredibly respectful, talented and trustworthy individuals to make men and women in Hawaii...