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Getting to Nuuanu |
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Today most people travelling from outside the Hawaiian Islands would arrive by plane at Honolulu International Airport, the major airport serving the Hawaiian Islands. This large airport includes the "reef runway," a runway built on an artificial island created on the fringing reef of Oahu's southern (Kona) coast. The airport lies on the edge of Pearl Harbor, famous home of the US Pacific Fleet. It is a direct ride from the airport to Nuuanu. Two highways will take you there. Nimitz Highway follows the coast, and leads into the waterfront of Honolulu, then on to Waikiki.
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H-1, an "interstate" highway, takes a slightly more inland route, and connects more directly with Nuuanu. Many people ask how Hawaii can have Interstate Highways. Under Federal law, Federal Highway funds can be used to connect military bases. All three of Hawaii's Interstate highways run from one military base to another. H-1 runs from Pearl Harbor to Diamond Head crater in the ahupuaa of Waikiki. Diamond Head was once a military installation. It is one of several prominent craters that adorn the Honolulu area. The highway can be either fast or slow, depending on the time of day. Either way, Nuuanu lies only a few valleys down from the airport.
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You know you are approaching Nuuanu when the crater of Puowaina, commonly called "Punchbowl," looms suddently into view. Punchbowl marks the far edge of Nuuanu , but lies within Honolulu ahupuaa.
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This automobile journey takes perhaps half an hour from Honolulu airport (depending on "rush hour" traffic. Because one is travelling fast, one might not realize that the junction of H-1 and Pali Highway also marks a division between bustling downtown Honolulu on the makai (ocean) side, and the lush and quiet Nuuanu valley on the mauka (mountain) side. It is this juxtaposition of the modern urban environment with the traditional and historical landscape that characterizes Nuuanu. High-rise apartment buildings and freeway ramps mix with old Japanese temples, schools, and monkeypod trees. Fast transportation or clogged traffic give the Honolulu area a character far different from the gentler regions of this and other islands. Now you are ready for your arrival.
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