Honouliuli’s First Public Tours Have a Waitlist of Hundreds. Here’s How to Get on It

For decades, one of the most important World War II sites on Oʻahu was off-limits. There’s no public road into Honouliuli National Historic Site, a gulch in West Oʻahu where thousands of people were held during the war. This year, that changed. The National Park Service began offering free, guided public tours in July, and demand has far outstripped the seats.

More than 1,000 people are on the waitlist for the monthly tours, park officials told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a story published today. Each tour holds 26 people.

What happened at Honouliuli

At its peak, Honouliuli held about 4,000 prisoners of war of Japanese, Korean, Okinawan, Italian and Filipino descent. It also held about 400 civilians, mostly Japanese Americans, according to the National Park Service. It was the largest and longest-running camp of its kind in the Hawaiian Islands.

Superintendent Christine Ogura told the Star-Advertiser that the site complements Pearl Harbor National Memorial. Pearl Harbor explains why the U.S. entered the war. Honouliuli tells what the war meant for local communities in Hawaiʻi. Visitors the paper spoke with described families in which some members were detained while others served in the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. On the tour, staff hold up 1943 photographs so visitors can match the old camp, with its rows of barracks and tents, to the valley in front of them.

Tour dates and availability

All tours are on Saturdays. As of Nov. 8, the NPS tour page shows:

• Sat., Nov. 14: Full (waitlist: 320+ people)
• Sat., Dec. 12: Full (waitlist: 320+ people)

The four earlier 2026 tours, July through October, have already taken place. The Star-Advertiser reports the park hopes to add more tours as its volunteer docent group grows. No 2027 dates were posted when we checked.

How to get on the waitlist

There’s no online booking. The NPS takes reservations and waitlist requests by email, first come, first served.

• Step 1: Email hono_superintendent@nps.gov.
• Step 2: In the subject line, write: “[Tour date] TOUR RSVP, Party of [number].”
• Step 3: In the message, include your party’s name and size, a primary phone number and email, and say you’d like to be on the waitlist if the date is full.
• Step 4: Watch for a reply. The park will confirm, and you must answer that email to say you’ve read and understand the tour’s physical requirements.

A few rules from the NPS page:

• One waitlist per party. You can list several dates in one email. If all are full, staff will put you on the shortest waitlist among them.
• Cancellations open spots. If someone cancels, staff call the next person on the list. If you don’t respond within 24 hours, they move on. Calls can come as late as the Friday before a tour. If you haven’t heard anything by the day before, assume no seat opened up.
• Reservations close the Thursday before each Saturday tour.

What to expect on the tour

This is not a stroll through a museum. The NPS describes a fully outdoor walking and standing tour of about three hours, including transit:

• Start: 8:15 a.m. check-in and orientation at Hawaiʻi’s Plantation Village in Waipahu, where parking is free but limited. Carpooling is encouraged.
• Shuttle: A free shuttle bus, sponsored by the nonprofit Pacific Historic Parks, drives the group through University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu lands to the site. No photos are allowed on the UHWO lands, but you can take photos inside the park.
• The hike: A steep, unpaved half-mile trail down into the gulch and back up, with 1 to 1.5 miles of walking in total. There’s no shade, no seating and just one portable toilet.
• Required: Closed-toe shoes with good traction (no sandals or Crocs) and at least 1 liter of water per person. Visitors also sign a UHWO waiver on the day.
• Recommended: Long, breathable sleeves and pants, a hat, sunscreen and insect repellent. Hiking poles are allowed.
• Keiki: Minors must stay with an adult. Strollers aren’t allowed.
• Back by: 11:30 a.m. to noon at Plantation Village, where you can visit the Honouliuli exhibit and explore the village.

Can’t get a seat? Start here

The NPS plan-your-visit page lists other ways to learn the Honouliuli story now, including:

• Hawaiʻi’s Plantation Village, Waipahu: An interactive Honouliuli exhibit with a guard tower, prisoner name tags and a topographic model of the camp
• Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi, Mōʻiliʻili: A free Honouliuli exhibit with artifacts made by people held at the camp
• United Korean Association of Hawaiʻi: A small, free exhibit on Korean prisoners of war held at Honouliuli
• King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center, downtown: An exhibit on martial law, which began the afternoon of the Pearl Harbor attack
• Pearl Harbor National Memorial bookstore: It also serves as the Honouliuli bookstore, with an exhibit display
• Haleʻiwa: A plaque for Sam Nishimura, who was held at Honouliuli, on the building that was once his tailor shop

It makes a meaningful day out with older keiki or visiting family, and the waitlist costs nothing to join.

Sources

• Honolulu Star-Advertiser, “Honouliuli tour revisits WWII’s dark history” by Victoria Budiono (Nov. 8, 2026): https://www.staradvertiser.com/2026/11/08/hawaii-news/honouliuli-tour-revisits-wwiis-dark-history/
• National Park Service, Honouliuli National Historic Site, Public Tour Information (checked Nov. 8, 2026): https://www.nps.gov/hono/planyourvisit/public-tour-information.htm
• National Park Service, Honouliuli NHS homepage and Plan Your Visit page: https://www.nps.gov/hono/index.htm ; https://www.nps.gov/hono/planyourvisit/index.htm
• Hawaii News Now, “Honouliuli National Historic Site to host first-ever limited guided tours” (June 6, 2026): https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/06/06/honouliuli-national-historic-site-host-first-ever-limited-guided-tours/