Our family of four spent a wonderful thanksgiving vacation at Takasan and Mimi’s place. We have visited North Shore before and much prefer the island feel and laid back culture here, compared to something else like Waikiki, or the more resort/touristy towns. Takasan is a gracious host and quick to respond whenever we had questions.
The space is large and spacious, nestled beneath palm trees and lush greenery. If you aren’t accustomed to country sounds, bring ear plugs - there’s a rooster choir at 3am every morning 😅 didn’t quite bother us, we were up around that time most days because of the EST jet lag.
Foodland is down the hill with some pretty delicious food trucks. Definitely try North Shore Shrimp and Sunrise Shack. And you don’t have to go far for a poke bowl or sushi - Foodland has a wide selection and they are super fresh as well. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (which I much prefer over Starbucks) is right next to Foodland as well so proximity and convenience to amenities is a definite bonus.
Given that we visited in November, the waves were pretty high and choppy. North Shore is a surfers paradise, which we were aware of, but if you’re looking for calmer waters, you can drive 20 mins NE to Laie and it’ll be prefect. I’m sure there are other calm beaches as well, but just bear in mind that the waters can be quite rough during the Fall/Winter seasons. (We have a five year old that loves the beach and we could easily let her swim on her own at Laie while watching on the sidelines, we couldn’t really let her swim at the other nearby beaches like Waimea or Sunset Beach.)
Bring water shoes because the tide pools at Shark Cove were really fun. There’s snorkel gear at the house as well as beach chairs and towels. We saw many sea creatures and my daughter thought that was the “best part of the trip.”
The house cools down really nicely in the evenings but can be a tad hot during the afternoons. There is a portable AC unit which cools down the living area but not as well towards the back of the room. There are several fans to alleviate that but it’s a tropical island after all, so we just went with the flow.
Kitchen is well equipped, washing machine/ sun-drying was easy…overall, a great trip and memorable five days here. Thank you for a wonderful stay!