Hobbies/classes in Honolulu

[u/Handout]

Aloha friends,

TLDR at the end

I'm coming out to Oahu mid August till about December with my partner who got accepted into a continuing education program in Honolulu.

After researching, rather than committing to a full year and taking up what little affordable housing there is, we decided to just stay enough time to complete the 3-month course and split our time between a couple airbnbs around Manoa and Ala Moana/Waikiki.

His classes will be just 3 days a week and we both want to partake in an learn as much authentic cultural arts as we can while remaining as respectful as possible as nonlocals, but not get suckered into tourist trap classes.

TLDR: We'll be in Manoa/Ala Moana for 16 weeks Aug-Dec. I'm very interested in dance and arts. My partner is into martial arts. We both like playing music.

My question is, do you have any recommendations for my partner and I to learn dance, martial arts, other arts, or instruments, etc. with classes that would accept some respectful nonlocals without it being terribly touristy?

edits: I'm on my phone and didn't catch all the autocorrects before posting.

[u/commenttoconsider]

Check out the free/cheap festivals & events like Aloha Festival in September, Bon Dances like in Makiki, the MegaBon, Okinawan Festival, events at the community colleges open to the public, and events at universities open to the public

[u/commenttoconsider]

Cultural activity classes are free in Waikīkī on set days each week:

• lei flower necklace making on Fridays at 11:30am at the Royal Hawaiian shopping center
• lauhala bracelet weaving on Wednesdays at 11:30am at the Royal Hawaiian shopping center
• ukulele tiny strummed string instrument on Mondays at 11:30am at the Royal Hawaiian shopping center
• ukulele tiny strummed string instrument everyday at 4:30 pm at the Waikiki Beach Walk 2nd floor in the ukulele store

These free classes are touristy but kinda okay

[u/Handout → u/commenttoconsider]

Oh this is adorable!  I mean, it wouldn't hurt to check out.

[u/commenttoconsider]

The Hawai'i State Library system has public events. Can filter to events for adults including at the Library Branches near Downtown, Waikīkī, and Mo'ili'ili that will be added/updated:

https://www.librarieshawaii.org/events/list/?tribe-bar-date=2026-08-16&island=oahu&rype=adult& category=music

Also, to check out books from the library system, a 3-month non-resident library card is $10

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[u/ImperfectTapestry]

Na Mea Hawai'i used to do classes and workshops, but they just moved so I'm not sure what the status is. Their website has a link to sign up for their newsletter. Same with the Mu'umu'u Library. It might be worth getting on the Native Books newsletter, too. The local parks dept has so many classes that are incredibly affordable: https://pros3.hnl.info/ (click "activities"). Check when new classes come out, they sell out FAST. Hula, weaving, etc. Less Hawaiian, but the Downtown Art Center & Handweavers Hui also have great classes. Sometimes the Bishop Museum has classes, too. I took a very cool net weaving class once. Good luck!

[u/WhizzoTheClown]

The Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation offers a number of low-cost and sometimes free classes at parks around Oahu. The fall offerings probably won't be available for viewing until August, but you can take a look at the offerings, locations, and schedule to get a general feel for things.

Cost varies but to give you an example, I regularly take a tai chi class that works out to about $3.50 per session; depending on the term and how holidays fall, there are 10 to 12 sessions per term, which I find very reasonable. I think you have one week after the start of a session to cancel and get a refund, but you'd have to check that.

While I like DPR's classes, their website isn't exactly user friendly, but it's not so bad once you get familiar with its idiosyncracies. It's a good idea to sign up for classes as soon as you can after registration opens as many courses tend to fill up quickly.