Hawai‘i 12-EAT “DIE-HAPPY” LIST

DAY 1️⃣ – LAND & LOCO 🌊 🏝️ Island Vintage Coffee ★★★★★ 11-hr flight numbness cured by braised-beef loco moco (gravy volcano). Coconut-soft-serve acai = breakfast dessert; share or roll out. Sweet-potato fries side = candy sticks, steal from partner plate. 🍟 Tip: opens 06:00 – perfect before Hanauma Bay 07:10 slot. DAY 2️⃣ – SUSHI & POKÉ 🍣 🍣 Sushi Ginza ★★★★★ Monday lunch 150 $ pp (15 courses) – fish blocks NYC-size x2. Oma-specialist; ask for “extra toro” while you can still afford rent. Book online 30 d out – lunch sells faster than PS5. 🐟 Poke for the People ★★★★ North Shore shack; ahi + salmon bowls, crab-stick add-on, purple taro side. No seats = tailgate picnic, ocean view included. 🌅 DAY 3️⃣ – COFFEE & IZAKAYA ☕ 🍞 Kona Coffee Purveyors ★★★★ 11 a.m. queue short; black-sesame Annam puff = flaky lava of joy. Buy 6 get 1 free stamp – airplane snack solved. 🍶 Izakaya Uosan ★★★★★ Butter-sea-urchin rice = ocean crème brûlée. Foie-gras daikon & wagyu-foie sushi – no misses, just bliss. Sake list starts at 6 $ – warm cup, cold heart melted. 🍶 DAY 4️⃣ – HOTEL BREKKIE & BAKERY 🍰 ☕ Umi (in-hotel) ★★★ Ocean view, food “okay-salty”; go for latte view then escape. 🥐 Halekulani Bakery ★★★★ Coco-cake famous; matcha lava pineapple bun = green goo selfie. Black-choc-sea-salt-caramel roll = sin in square format. Fig-ham Danish = sweet-savory swing – buy 3, eat 2, gift 1. 🍢 Yakitori Hachibei ★★★★★ Butter corn on stick = candy you can floss with. Sea-urchin wagyu skewer – uni melts into beef fat = luxury fondue. Dippy raw-egg chicken tsukune = trust fall your taste buds take. 🥚 DAY 5️⃣ – CAFE & COLD CURE 🌧️ 🥪 Island Brew Coffee House ★★★★ Cloudy day = photos muted, but patio vibe still vacation-mode. Acai bowl mountain + kalua pig panini = enough for two brunches. 🐟 Maguro Brothers + Sato Seafood Tasting platter + mac-nut poke – reviewer had cold = flavour TBD, but fish sparkle visible. Buy poke anyway – steamy rice fixes head-cold blues. 🍚 DAY 6️⃣ – MUSUBI GOODBYE 🛫 🍙 Musubi Cafe Iyasume ★★★★ Teriyaki Spam musubi = soy-glazed brick of joy. Vacuum-seal 10 pcs, TSA allows – airplane neighbours instantly jealous. ✈️ 🥥 Island Vintage Coffee (ENCORE) ★★★★★ Papaya half > ABC store version; crab-scramble portion = share or food-coma. Final coconut latte sip = promise to return. 🌴 💡 UNIVERSAL HACKS Reserve dinner spots via OpenTable – skip 45-min lines. Bring cool-bag + ice pack – bakery goodies survive flight home. Tipping: casual 15 %, full-service 18-20 %; small bills ready. Most spots take UnionPay/Alipay – zero FX pain. 💳 🎯 3-MEAL SAMPLE DAY 07:00 Musubi spam + coconut latte 12:00 Poke bowl ocean-view 18:00 Yakitori stick parade + matcha pineapple bun dessert Calories don’t count when ocean is your backdrop. 🌊 #US #Hawaii #Honolulu