Day 5 begins with an hour long bus ride to a must-see spot in Honolulu – Pearl Harbor. I’m not a big history buff, nor was I ever taught WWII from an American perspective, so I must admit I”m not all that familiar with Pearl Harbor. Knowing only the basics, I couldn’t fully comprehend what took place there so many years ago. Perhaps it’s more sentimental to all the American and Japanese tourists that were there.

While we packed lightly for our day at Pearl Harbor, I was annoyed we weren’t allowed to bring any handbags inside. I wasn’t even allowed to bring my camera bag due to so-called ‘security measures’. (Or is it really a ploy to rip you off $3 for storage?) I only realized halfway through the day how not having my bag with me really sucked – my sunscreen was inside the bag!!! @_@

The moment we got inside the visitors center we lined up for tickets to the USS Arizona Memorial. It’s the only free attraction at Pearl Harbor. Our tickets were for 11:40 a.m., which meant we still had some time to spare, so we decided to buy tickets to both the USS Bowfin and the Battleship Missouri.

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The Bowfin was the closest one, so we saw it first. It used to be customary to name submarines after fish, so the name ‘Bowfin’ was taken from a predatory fish found in the Great Lakes. We were given an audio guide at the entrance and had to follow number signs stationed throughout the submarine to listen to the corresponding commentary. It was pretty neat seeing the living quarters, the kitchen, the control room and the torpedoes at both ends. It was cramp for space inside and I really had to watch my head as I moved from one room to the next. It’s hard to believe that the Bowfin was once operational!

After we made our way back to the visitor’s center, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at the cafeteria and toured the museum. Then we headed off in the other end towards the Contemplation Circle to get in line for the USS Arizona.

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It was close to noon by the time we walked over. The sun was right above us and I soon gave up on searching for what little shade there was in the Contemplative Circle. If only I had more pockets I could have packed the sunscreen! I ended up trying to shield myself with my jacket. Shoulders starting to get burnt already. =(

Finally we got loaded onto the boat. The ride was short, lasting only five minutes or so. As we approached the USS Arizona Memorial, the exterior looks exactly as it does in postcards – White and pristine, floating on top of a sunken wreckage. The outline of the ship is visible from the surface and one of the turrets still remains above water. At the end of the hall, there is a marble wall which lists the names of the 1,177 people who lost their lives that fateful morning in 1941. It’s kind of surreal when you see it in front of you.

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After making it back to the visitors center, we took a shuttle towards our last stop at Pearl Harbor – the USS Missouri. Known more commonly at the ‘Mighty Mo’ or the ‘Big Mo’, this was the last battleship built by the United States. It was also the site where the Japanese surrendered to the U.S. The battleship itself is massive. It took about an hour to tour the inside of the ship as well as four levels of decks we were permitted on. Aside from seeing the plaque which commemorated the surrender of Japan to end WWII, we also saw the spot off on the starboard side of the ship where a Japanese kamikaze pilot flew right into the Mighty Mo. A dent still marks the spot to this day.

After touring the remaining areas of the ship, we headed back towards the shuttle and got dropped off at the entrance. We picked up our bags at the locker storage and I was finally reunited with my sunscreen! I practically slathered the whole bottle on myself. =P

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It was nearing 3 p.m. and we had to wait for the bus to take us back to Waikiki. Between the wait and the actual bus ride, it took more than an hour to get back. I was already a little hungry by then. Luckily I had scoped out a McDonald’s the night before so I knew exactly where to go to grab a bite to eat. (I know the importance of establishing landmarks based on places to eat. LOL.)

This was what I wanted desperately to try:

The McTeri Burger!

I’m pretty sure these can only be found in Hawaii, where aside from Spam, teriyaki sauce is apparently in abundance. Hehe. It was super yummy! I vote that they make these available worldwide. =P

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After filling our tummies, we ended up taking a bus to this store. Does the sign outside look a little familiar?

Hehehe. Donki!! I nearly lashed out at the stupid bus driver when we were making our way to the store. HE TURNED OFF THE AUDIO ANNOUNCING ALL THE STOPS!! By the time I realized we had gone too far (I’ve only been on the route twice at most), we were already 5 or 6 stops past Donki. We had to backtrack our way by foot and it took an extra 20 minutes to get there. I could have murdered him! $%#!%@^*$!!

Anyway, we made it inside Donki. It’s not quite the same as I remembered it from Sapporo. It felt more like a Japanese version of Costco instead, hehehe. Of course, being in the States, especially in a tourist area, the markup was unavoidable. While it was fun walking down the aisles looking at what they sold, it wasn’t all that fun taking our items to the cash register. =(

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Back in Waikiki we decided to splurge on dinner. We ended up at a Japanese restaurant two blocks from our hotel, Odoriko (Odoroki, as I kept calling it). The lady taking our order assumed we were Japanese at first. I tried making my order in Japanese, but apparently my Japanese wasn’t very convincing, so she ending up taking our order in English. T_T

We ordered the ahi poke for our appetizer. Poke is a traditional Hawaiian dish of raw fish salad. I had a chirashi bowl as my main course, while my sister had the sushi selection. Everything was really yummy. The cutest little Japanese boy was seated at the table next to us. We made funny faces at each other during dinner. He was a messy eater and kept splattering his food all over the table (most of it ended up on the floor). His poor mom was on her hands and knees picking up the mess!

We had to call it an early night after dinner. Our wake up call the next morning was set at 5 a.m. Our Big Island tour is coming up next!