As I mentioned in my previous entries, my husband and I visited Japan last summer, and for this trip, we flew with Hawaiian Airlines. Normally, we fly directly to Tokyo before heading to our hometown, Fukuoka, but this time the most affordable option was a round‑trip between Los Angeles and Fukuoka with a connection in Honolulu.
On our return from Fukuoka to Los Angeles, we had a 10‑hour transit in Honolulu — longer than we usually prefer, but perfect for enjoying a little time on Oahu. Today, I’m going to share how we spent those 10 hours during our layover.
We landed on Oahu around 10 a.m. Because we were on a transit flight, we had to pick up our suitcases first, but we were able to check them in again right away before leaving the airport. Thanks to that, we could walk out without carrying any heavy luggage, which made everything so much easier and let us move around freely during the layover.
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| Rental Car Shuttle Bus |
Car Rental
We took the shuttle bus to the Budget rental car office around 12:20 p.m. We had booked our car in advance, so the process was already simple, but it became even smoother because my husband had joined Budget’s Fastbreak program beforehand. We were able to pick up the car at 12:30 p.m. with almost no waiting at all.
Before he joined Fastbreak, we used to wait for more than an hour at the counter, and they often tried to sell extra insurance. The Fastbreak program completely changed that experience. If you plan to use Budget, I really recommend signing up — it saves so much time during a layover.
This time, we wanted to enjoy driving around Oahu, so we chose to rent a standard convertible instead of an affordable compact car. It’s simply more fun to drive with the top down, especially on an island. We were assigned a Ford Mustang, and it was actually our first time trying one.
Usually, convertible cars have smaller trunk space, but since we weren’t carrying any heavy luggage, it wasn’t a problem for us at all.
We decided to have lunch at Ono Seafood, a famous spot for poke. We had really enjoyed their poke on a previous visit, so we wanted to come back again this time. We arrived around 1:20 p.m., and because it’s such a popular place, especially during lunchtime, finding a parking space was quite challenging.
We ordered a poke bowl with #1 Shoyu Ahi and #8 Wasabi Ahi for $17.80. Both were incredibly fresh and flavorful — just as good as we remembered. It really hit the spot.
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| #1 Shoyu Ahi and #8 Wasabi Ahi for $17.80 |
Finding Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles
After lunch, we grabbed coffee at Starbucks and headed toward Papa‘iloa Beach to look for wild sea turtles. We had seen a sea turtle once in the San Gabriel River in Long Beach, California, but seeing wild sea turtles in Hawaii had been on our bucket list for a long time. During our last trip to Oahu, we couldn’t find any, but this time it was August — a season when sea turtles are often spotted — so we were hopeful.
We arrived at the beach around 3 p.m., and sure enough, there were many sea turtles. They were calmly eating seaweed close to the shore — maybe around twenty of them — and it felt almost unreal to see so many in one place.
It felt so good to finally experience something we had been hoping to see for so long.
Kahuku Shrimp
Then we suddenly had a strong craving for Kahuku shrimp, so we decided to stop by Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck. We arrived around 4:50 p.m. We had enjoyed their shrimp before, so we were excited to try it again.
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| Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck |
We ordered the Shrimp Scampi for $17.50. It came with a dozen jumbo shrimp in a rich garlic‑lemon‑butter sauce and two scoops of white rice. The shrimp were garlicky, a little olive‑oily, fresh, and absolutely delicious.
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| Shrimp Scampi for $17.50 |
Driving to Airport
Then we stopped by Kualoa Regional Park at 5:50 p.m. Up to this point, my husband had been driving around the island, but from here I took the wheel for a while.
The view of the island while driving was beautiful — the lush green mountains rising around us. I especially love the mountains here; they reminded me of the hikes we enjoyed in Oahu on our previous trips.
We filled up the gas and arrived at the airport rental car drop‑off around 7 p.m. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 8:43 p.m. Since it was a domestic flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles, the timing worked out fine, but ideally we should have given ourselves a little more buffer.
Overall, our 10‑hour transit turned into a surprisingly rich little adventure. We circled the island in a Ford Mustang, tasted fresh poke and buttery Giovanni’s shrimp, and seeing the sea turtles up close became one of the most memorable moments of the day. Even though it was a short visit, we felt like we experienced a small slice of Oahu — the beaches, the mountains, the food, and the relaxed island atmosphere. Since accommodations in Hawaii are so expensive, making the most of a long transit can be a great option, as long as you’re not too tired. If you plan to do the same, I recommend resting well on the flight before arriving in Oahu so you can enjoy every hour of your mini‑trip.
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