36 Hours in Honolulu

Start your weekend by heading toward Diamond Head, the Oahu landmark that was formed by a volcanic eruption some 300,000 years ago and looms on the eastern edge of Waikiki. On the way, stop by Fort Ruger Market. Previously a general store, serving the neighborhood since 1937, it now turns out Filipino and Hawaiian food classics. Pick up lechon (crispy-skinned roast pork, $19.95 a pound) and poke (seasoned raw cubed fish, $29.95 a pound), and bring your snacks to one of the lookouts on the crater’s southern flank. During the winter months, you might glimpse migrating humpback whales. Closer below you’ll see surfers catching their last waves of the day, and sometimes, during the Friday night sailing races, sailboats round the Diamond Head buoy as golden hour descends.

An easy walk from the museum, but difficult to find, MW Restaurant is tucked into the second floor of a luxury car showroom. Out of sight of the Maseratis and Bentleys, MW’s dining room offers more subtle luxuries in the form of pork hash dumplings bathed in truffle-bacon broth ($18), Kona kampachi (amberjack) coated in dried mochi shavings and pan-fried until crisp ($48), and a recent special of a lobster lasagne ($65). Don’t skip dessert, in particular the shave ice ($16), a granita of seasonal and local fruit — which has recently included mango and persimmon — over panna cotta and coconut tapioca ($16). Regulars are known to pull up to the bar just for this upscale take on a local favorite.

Spread over two parking lots, the Kaka‘ako farmers’ market by Kewalo Basin Harbor, toward the western end of town, is big enough that you need a strategy. Start at Wallflour Bake Shop before it sells out of its pastries. You might find a liliko‘i (passionfruit) sticky bun ($6.50) or an Okinawan brown-sugar, twice-baked croissant stuffed with kinako (roasted soybean flour) paste ($6.50). Then beeline to MA‘O Organic Farms and Kahumana, two social enterprise farms supporting communities on the west side of Oahu, for local produce like tart-sweet apple bananas and longan. Marvel at Sugah Papi’s Farms’ quick knife skills as you dig into a rainbow fruit bowl ($17) that might include dragonfruit, liliko‘i and starfruit.

Foster Botanical Garden ($5 admission), an oasis wedged between the freeway and Chinatown, is home to an orchid conservatory and some of Oahu’s oldest trees, including a bodhi tree and endemic loulu palm. Watch out for falling cannonballs, the woody, heavy fruit of the cannonball tree. The grounds once belonged to Mary Mikahala Elizabeth Robinson Foster, known as the first Native Hawaiian Buddhist (the bodhi tree given to her is said to be a descendant of the one under which the Buddha attained enlightenment). She was one of only two people allowed to visit Queen Lili‘uokalani, Hawaii’s last monarch, in her imprisonment during the U.S. military-backed overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893. They shared a love of plants, so it’s fitting that the Lili‘uokalani Botanical Garden lies just across the freeway.

As you leave the garden, admire the adjacent Kuan Yin Temple, a Chinese Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva of compassion, and peer into the 1922 Shinto shrine Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii, across the street. Both are active places of worship, so approach with respect. From there, cross into Chinatown, which, perhaps more than any other Honolulu neighborhood, has faced cycles of prosperity and poverty. It is one of the largest intact historical districts, where newer boutiques and artists’ collectives coexist with longtime businesses. Buy a fragrant tuberose or white ginger flower lei (starting at about $15) at Cindy’s Lei Shoppe and try on modern aloha shirts and dresses at Roberta Oaks’ store. Peruse Native Books at Arts & Letters Nu‘uanu, which carries an extensive selection of Hawaiian and Pacific Island books within an art gallery and community space.

Ascend winding Tantalus Drive, through a canopy of trees dripping with vines, to reach the Liljestrand House, built by the architect Vladimir Ossipoff in 1952. Only accessible by advance reservation, guided tours ($50) lead you through one of his finest residential works, designed with California redwood, Yokohama sandstone from west Oahu and polished concrete for seamless transitions between indoors and outdoors. Or, if you prefer a full jungle immersion, the Tantalus region is a launching point for a network of hiking trails. Head to Pu‘u ‘Ualaka‘a State Wayside for panoramic views of the entire southern coastline, and for the beginning of the ‘Ualaka‘a Trail, a one-mile loop through banyans and pine trees. Beware, the path can get muddy and buggy after rains.

By the commercial fishing harbor, Nami Kaze opened a few years ago and has already become a local, multigenerational favorite. The chef and owner, Jason Peel, focuses on vegetable and seafood small plates. The entire first page of the menu is devoted to Hawaii’s produce, in the form of ‘ulu tots (fluffy, fried breadfruit bites) in barbecue sauce ($12) and corn beignets ($10) that are more like puffs of air dusted with Japanese curry powder. Slippery sensations abound in the raw tuna with natto (fermented soybeans) and okra ($24); if you prefer your seafood cooked, there’s pan-fried kampachi with ponzu butter ($34). (It’s also worth coming for brunch for creations like honey-walnut shrimp waffles.)

Many guides urge you to get out of touristy Waikiki, but it is full of gems, if you know where to look. Start with a Japanese breakfast at the traditional Yoshitsune, cloistered in the Park Shore Waikiki hotel. The spread of broiled fish, pickles, housemade tofu and miso soup (from $35) will fuel your jaunt through Waikiki’s backstreets. Follow the self-guided tour by the Surfjack Hotel and Docomomo, a nonprofit that preserves modern architecture and design. See the apartment building Waikiki Skyliner’s two patterns of breeze blocks, anchored by a black Puna lava rock wall; a three-story walk-up’s railing depicting breadfruit leaves and fruit; and White Sands Hotel, built around a courtyard pool and waterfall-fringed koi ponds.

Explore the eclectic shops of Kaimuki, a neighborhood east of Waikiki. Seek out Pitacus Chop Art on the second floor of a turquoise building, where the designer Lisa Weimken reworks vintage Japanese fabrics into one-of-a-kind dresses and unisex separates. Pop into Island-Boy shop where whimsy and minimalism share space on the shelves stocked with shaka-shaped bottle openers and Lindquist’s handmade leather bags. At the 70-year-old Crack Seed Store, glass apothecary jars display a variety of crack seed (sour-salty-sweet preserved fruit snacks). For something more substantial, grab a slice of quiche or a sandwich at the Local General Store, a bakery and butcher counter. Stick around long enough, and you can catch the Curb, a cafe and wine bar, as it transitions from pouring coffee to natural wine at 2 p.m.