The Counter Cultural Tour of Honolulu

The Counter Cultural Tour of Honolulu

The concept of this tour was created by two time, New York Times featured tour guide Michael Pellagatti — and is presented by Michael (seasonally) Dr. Kalani Young & her husband Dan

To date, this is the ONLY WALKING TOUR in Honolulu to discuss Honolulu’s growth as an urban center in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, along with the city’s myriad of cultural and artistic allegories. Most of the tours in Oahu do not go into much depth about the architecture, history, and urban planning behind Honolulu — this tour does. This tour also covers some of the lesser known histories behind the city in general such as the unlawful usurpation of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, the rise of the sugar industry, the 1900 Chinatown fire, the 1940s labor movement, the 1970s Hawaiian Renaissance Movement, Tyke the Elephant escaping the circus and running loose through Honolulu in 1994, and Honolulu’s interpretation of the Occupy Wall Street Movement in 2011.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Iolani Palace, 364 S King St, Honolulu, Oahu, HI 96813-2900

The physical seat of the Hawaiian Kingdom built in 1882, and the site of where Hawaii Queen Liliuokalani was imprisoned for a year.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives, 553 S King St, Honolulu, Oahu, HI 96813-3002

The tour will begin at the mission houses where the American Board Commission of Foreign Missions set up shop in the 1820s, creating the foothold for what would later enable the illegal usurpation of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Ali'iolani Hale, 417 King Street, Honolulu, Oahu, HI

Site of the Kamehameha I statue, and prominently featured in Hawaii 5.0, this is the seat of the Hawaiian Supreme Court

Duration: 5 minutes

Pass By: Downtown Honolulu, Honolulu, Oahu, HI

The main body of the tour, downtown Honolulu was built by the sugar and whaling industry. This is where the finance, real estate, and power players are. Downtown Honolulu also witnessed a massive fire in 1900 and has a dark history involving illicit activities brought on by increased trade.

This portion of the tour takes about 45-50 minutes.

Stop At: Hawaii State Capitol, 415 S Beretania St, Honolulu, Oahu, HI 96813-2425

Featuring Washington Place (the home of the Governor) St Andrews Church, the Father Damien Statue, the 9/11 memorial, and the Marianna Pineda statue of Queen Liliuokalani — the Hawaii State Capitol building is the seat of government for Hawaii with rather fascinating architectural features.

Duration: 20 minutes