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Kady Pascual

Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

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<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Pokémon go</title>

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Pokémon go

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Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

Aloha Spirit

MĀNOA — Ahead of what promises to be a sobering trip to Maui this weekend, the 

 spent their Wednesday afternoon preparing lei for 

Before members of the team got started, they gathered and received a brief explanation of the cultural significance of lei making from Kahala Rowe, the sister of UH associate head coach 

. Kahala Rowe told the players to have positive mana while crafting the lei, which involved twisting and crossing lau lau leaves to ensure tight and uniform lei.

Each member of the team was tasked with making two lei. Once complete, they went into a cooler, which will be transported to Maui along with the team. The lei made by the Rainbow Wahine will be placed at memorials honoring victims of the Lahaina wildfires. 

On Sunday, the 'Bows will take on Seattle University in an exhibition game in Pukalani. Soccer will come second to both teams in the Valley Isle this weekend, as the primary focus will be on the anniversary of the wildfires, which began on Aug. 8, 2023. 

The wildfires still hit close to home for members of the UH soccer team, which features nine players that graduated from high schools across the state. That includes senior midfielder Leila Kahoano, an O‘ahu native who volunteered at a shelter at Baldwin High School in Wailuku in the immediate aftermath of the devastation.

"I got to hear so many testimonies, and we also had many family friends that went through a lot of struggle, and that kind of just put it into perspective," Kahoano said. "People lost their homes. People lost everything. People lost family, and that's just something you can never replace. For us to show that we obviously support them, that we love them, even though they might not know us, is a really big part of who Hawai‘i is and who we are as an institution here."

Kahala Rowe's advice in embracing lei making as a spiritual experience were words Kahoano and her teammates took to heart. 

"Intention in any aspect, not just lei making, not just in soccer, but in life, the intention that you put into into the things you have is what you're going to receive out of it," Kahoano said. "We are just super big, and our coaches are super big about how you do one thing is how you do everything. So, really being intentional about why we're making these leis. ... It's just a big part of who we are and the culture and everything like that, and it's just amazing to be a part of this opportunity."

Following its exhibition against Seattle, the Rainbow Wahine will officially begin their 2026 regular season on Aug. 13 against No. 23 Texas Tech at 4 p.m. On Thursday, UH announced that its first seven home contests of the season have been relocated from Waipi‘o Peninsula Soccer Complex to the program's on-campus field, including the Texas Tech opener. 

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Hawaii soccer 080526

<title>Hawai‘i soccer makes lei for Lahaina wildfire victims ahead of weekend Maui trip</title>

The Rainbow Wahine will play an exhibition game against Seattle on the Valley Isle on Sunday, a trip in which both programs will also honor victims of the 2023 Lahaina wildfires.

Hawai‘i soccer makes lei for Lahaina wildfire victims ahead of weekend Maui trip

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Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

Business & Tourism

 is almost one year old; the business opened on Aug. 8, 2025, in the former Ba-le space, next to the Don Quijote Pearl City food court.

According to business owner Nathan Wu, the cafe's name is inspired by his family.

“It stands for Nathan, Ava, Katy and Sheldon,” Wu says. “Ava is my daughter and Sheldon is my younger son.”

Wu has worked in the restaurant industry for the past 25 years; his previous culinary experience includes roles at Hau Tree 

when the property was still called The New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel 

“The chef (from Le Bistro) was really talented,” Wu says. “I learned a lot from him; I got a lot of inspiration from him. I was there (at Le Bistro) for around 10 years.”

Wu always wanted to open his own restaurant; he currently operates Mezzo Bistro & Bar, which is in Market City Shopping Center.

“That restaurant is American-Italian fusion,” he says. “It’s been open for five years.”

He wasn’t necessarily looking to open a new concept in Pearl City, but once he learned about the space, he thought it was a good fit.

“In Hawaiʻi, everybody is so busy,” Wu says. “After work, maybe people just want to go home and enjoy a good meal. I wanted to have upscale takeout for busy people; they can still get takeout with restaurant-quality food.”

Wu describes Naks Cafe's cuisine as “international fusion.” He says many of the featured dishes are personal favorites.

“I’ve been putting more wagyu items on the menu,” he says. “We have a supplier directly from Japan, we are getting A5 Toriyama wagyu directly from their farm. We are trying to introduce more wagyu items to the Pearl City area.”

When Naks Cafe first opened, the biz only had ramen on the menu. Now, the menu offers a variety of sandwiches, pastas, wagyu dishes and specials.

“We now have the wagyu beef burger, wagyu loco moco and wagyu beef curry,” Wu says. “I’m thinking we’ll have more wagyu items in the future.”

The wagyu beef burger ($18.85) is one of the most popular dishes. It features a wagyu beef patty with caramelized onions, cheese, arugula and wasabi aioli. The burger comes with fries and mixed greens.

“The salad comes with our housemade dressing, which is a raspberry vinaigrette,” Wu says.

The cafe also offers specials like the Cajun shrimp plate ($17.85) and barbecue chicken and shrimp mix plate ($19.85). The Cajun shrimp plate comes with fresh greens and rice; the shrimp boasts a slight spice.

The fettuccine al funghi ($16.85) and The Naks ($16.85) — which is a bite-sized French toast — are also customer favorites, according to Wu. The latter features crispy, deep-fried French toast bites, tossed in cinnamon sugar and served with a housemade cream cheese whip.

“Kids love it; our homemade cream cheese whip is really good,” Wu says.

Customers can also choose from drinks like Oreo milk with Nutella cloud ($6.85), and mango or strawberry matcha lattes ($6.85). While most customers order their meals to-go, they can also enjoy their meals in the adjacent food court area, which offers seating.

Naks Cafe is celebrating its first anniversary this Saturday, Aug. 8. The biz will be offering a 16% discount on food, along with a buy-one-get-one-free special for drinks.

“We’re offering 16% percent off because Aug. 8 is like 8 plus 8,” Wu says. “We want to make it memorable.”

Open from 11 am. to 7 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays

Naks Cafe owners 073126

<title>Naks Cafe offers gourmet takeout meals in Pearl City</title>

The business, which is located next to the Don Quijote Pearl City Food Court, has been open for one year. Business owner Nathan Wu strives to provide the community with affordable, high-quality meals for takeout.

Naks Cafe offers gourmet takeout meals in Pearl City

Lopaka and Tanya Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

Hawai‘i History

Columnists

Prior to Western contact, the Waiākea Peninsula at the edge of Hilo Bay sustained a thriving Hawaiian community for generations. As Hilo gradually developed into an important port for the sandalwood trade, supply replenishment, and the whaling industry, the area began to change.

Although the traditional stewardship of the ʻaina ensured the loʻi kalo (taro fields) and the loko iʻa (fishponds) continued to provide food for the area, the peninsula slowly took on a different purpose. Then, the introduction of private ownership through the Great Mahele of 1848 forever changed how Waiākea would be managed.

With the expansion of Hilo Harbor, the wetlands were drained, and fishponds fell into disuse. To accommodate larger ships, the bay was dredged, and the fill from the bay was used to create new land along the shoreline. Ancient canoe landings disappeared beneath that newly created land, and much of the ceremonial landscape surrounding Kūakaʻananuʻu Heiau was erased. Roads, homes, and public buildings gradually spread across the shoreline, covering many of the features that had defined Waiākea for centuries.

Due to the harborʻs continued growth and change, today’s shoreline bears little resemblance to the one that greeted the first Western merchant vessels. During the early 1900s, a new public park was created to honor the last reigning monarch. Liliʻuokalani Gardens, with its walking paths, decorative bridges, and ornamental gardens replaced the loʻi kalo and loko iʻa, creating a space where residents and visitors could enjoy the shores of Hilo Bay.

In 1933, the Hilo Parks Commission invited director Cecil B. DeMille and other celebrities from the film "Four Frightened People" to plant banyan trees along a new roadway. Later that year, Babe Ruth planted a tree, and the road was formally designated the following year in time for a visit from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who planted his own tree. Over time, nearly 50 trees were planted by aviators, entertainers, politicians, and other notable visitors, and the Banyan Drive became known as “Hilo’s Walk of Fame.” In 1939, the Naniloa Hotel opened its doors on the site of a former yacht club, welcoming visitors to its tranquil location by the sea.

Like the rest of Hilo, the Waiākea Peninsula has had to face the destructive power of the sea. Tsunamis in 1946 and 1960 devastated the coast, destroying homes, businesses, and facilities along the waterfront. While many of the banyan trees survived, a new infrastructure once again reshaped the landscape and Banyan Drive soon became the center of Hilo’s visitor industry.

By the 1970s, Banyan Drive was already established as the center of Hilo’s visitor industry. The Naniloa and the new Hilo Hawaiian, along with other new hotels, welcomed travelers from around the world, while nearby golf courses, parks, and public spaces drew both residents and visitors to the bay.

Although centuries of development had transformed nearly every part of the peninsula, places like Mokuola (Coconut Island) continued to preserve a connection to an older Hawaiʻi. The landscape may look different from the days of loʻi kalo, loko iʻa, and Kūakaʻananuʻu Heiau, but its mana cannot be erased.

Perhaps that is why, despite decades of change, stories continue to emerge from Banyan Drive, describing experiences that seem to be connected to a long-lost past. Former staff have mentioned doors of empty rooms rattling for no reason, and housekeeping staff talk of the water faucets in one of the rooms turning on by itself.

However, the scariest stories are the ones about a group of visitors who turn up during specific moon phases, without reservations. One security guard said it starts with the sound of drums. It’s distant, but the sound is a consistent beat that doesn’t change like modern music. As the drums get louder, a mist appears on the building’s mauka side and moves through the wall and the hotel rooms, exiting through the wall on the opposite end of the building on their way to the ocean.

“I know it’s not my imagination,” he said. “The lights dim and flicker, pictures on the wall shake or fall to the floor, sometimes the furniture moves.”

The guard said that the employees at the hotel know to make themselves scarce during that time, but no one really talks about it with each other.

Grand Naniloa Hilo

<title>Night Marchers at the Naniloa</title>

Babe Ruth and President Franklin D. Roosevelt are among the Mainland luminaries who planted banyan trees along Banyan Drive. The history of the Hilo area surrounding the Naniloa Hotel goes back to ancient times, and as hotel staff tell it, on some nights the old days come marching through in a mist.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Pokémon go

Kady Pascual

Social Media & Marketing Manager

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Pokémon go

Authors

Kady Pascual

Social Media & Marketing Manager

More in Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

Enter for a chance to win tickets to see Disney’s live action adaptation of the animated film ‘Moana’

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