United States · Hawaii · Honolulu
Kakaʻako, Honolulu — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Kakaʻako is a commercial and retail district of Honolulu, on the southern shore of Oʻahu between Ala Moana and Honolulu Harbor.
About Kakaʻako
Where to stay in Kakaʻako
Where you base yourself shapes the visit — here's the character of each area.
Beds cluster toward Ala Moana. Kakaʻako runs as a commercial and retail strip between Ala Moana, which sits near Waikīkī on the east, and downtown Honolulu with Honolulu Harbor closing it off to the west. Gallery-minded stays lean west, toward the Honolulu Museum of Art and the Mission Houses Museum.
Waikīkī keeps the larger hotel stock.
About Kakaʻako
What are the main landmarks in Kakaʻako?
Capitol Modern sets the tone. The Honolulu Museum of Art and the Hawaii State Art Museum both draw on this side of Honolulu, and Capitol Modern carries the state collection under a name of its own. Kawaiahaʻo Church and the Mission Houses Museum stand toward the downtown edge.
Families take the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center. Makiki Christian Church and the Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Pacific round out the buildings filed to this stretch of Oʻahu.
What is the history of Kakaʻako?
How old Kakaʻako is, the register does not say. What the register keeps for Kakaʻako is a position and a function: a commercial and retail district of Honolulu, held between Ala Moana and Honolulu Harbor on the island of Oʻahu. Institutions supply the rest of the record.
Mission Houses Museum, Kawaiahaʻo Church and Makiki Christian Church are filed to the same few blocks, and the Honolulu Museum of Art sits with them rather than apart.
Where is Kakaʻako?
Kakaʻako takes the southern shore of Oʻahu between Ala Moana, which lies near Waikīkī, and the downtown Honolulu waterfront at Honolulu Harbor.
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Updated September 2026