Hawaii/Big Island: Hamakua Old Town

Hamakua Town is a collection of old buildings along one street in the once-thriving plantation community that flourished during the heyday of Hawaii’s sugar industry. Many plantations sprang up along the coast here and the town was the center of sugarcane trade. A lot of the plantation and factory owners were Japanese immigrants and the town had a Japanese character which remains to this day in the shops names and the cuisines in the restaurants.