The North Shore: Haleiwa

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Back to OahuThe North Shore: Haleiwa

Haleiwa means serious shopping for those who know that the unhurried pace of rural life can conceal vast material treasures. Ask the legions of townies who drive an hour each way just to stock up on wine and clothes at Haleiwa stores.

Art, Gifts & Crafts

Haleiwa's shops and galleries display a combination of marine art, watercolors, sculptures, and a plethora of crafts trying to masquerade as fine art. This is the town for gifts, fashions, and surf stuff -- mostly casual, despite some very high price tags. Haleiwa Gallery in the North Shore Marketplace displays a lot of local art of the non-marine variety, and some of it is appealing.

Edibles

Haleiwa is best known for its roadside shave-ice stands: the famous Matsumoto Shave Ice, with the perennial queue snaking along Kamehameha Highway, and nearby Aoki's. Shave ice is the popular island version of a snow cone, topped with your choice of syrups, such as strawberry, rainbow, root beer, vanilla, or passion fruit. Aficionados order it with a scoop of ice cream and sweetened black adzuki beans nestled in the middle.

For food-and-wine shopping, our mightiest accolades go to Fujioka Super Market, 66-190 Kamehameha Hwy. (tel. 808/637-4520). Oenophiles and chic wine club members from town shop here for the best prices on California reds, coveted Italian reds, and a growing selection of cabernets, merlots, and French vintages. Fresh produce and no-cholesterol, vegetarian health foods, in addition to the standards, fill the aisles of this third-generation store.

Tiny, funky Celestial Natural Foods, 66-443 Kamehameha Hwy. (tel. 808/637-6729), is the health foodies' one-stop shop for everything from wooden spine-massagers to health supplements, produce, cosmetics, and bulk foods.

Fashion

Although Haleiwa used to be an incense-infused surfer outpost where zoris and tank tops were the regional uniform and the Beach Boys and Ravi Shankar the music of the day, today it's one of the top shopping destinations for those with unconventional tastes. Specialty shops abound.

In addition to Silver Moon, other highlights of the prominent North Shore Marketplace include Patagonia (tel. 808/637-1245) for high-quality surf, swim, hiking, kayaking, and all-around adventure wear; North Shore Custom & Design Swimwear (tel. 808/637-6859) for excellent mix-and-match bikinis and one-piece suits, custom ordered or off the rack; Kama'ainas Haleiwa (tel. 808/637-1907), the new gallery-gift store for quality island crafts, Hawaiian quilts, soaps, hats, accessories, clothing, and food specialties; and Jungle Gems (tel. 808/637-6609), the mother lode of gemstones, crystals, silver, and beadwork.

Nearby Oceania, 66-208 Kamehameha Hwy. (tel. 808/637-4581), also has some treasures among its racks of casual and leisurewear. Foldable straw hats, diaphanous dresses, dressy T-shirts, friendly service, and good prices are what we've found here. Oogenesis Boutique, 66-249 Kamehameha Hwy. (tel. 808/637-4580), in the southern part of Haleiwa, features a storefront lined with vintage-looking dresses that flutter prettily in the North Shore breeze.

Surf Shops

Haleiwa's ubiquitous surf shops are the best on earth, surfers say.