Girls’ Day, also known as Hinamatsuri, is March 3. Here are some great places to celebrate with the girls!
Totoya
One of the many food traditions on Hinamatsuri is chirashi sushi, or scattered sushi. Essentially, it’s a bowl of sushi rice with scattered pieces of fish. Here in Hawaii, that could be translated to a poke bowl — but Totoya demonstrates traditional chirashi sushi well. Options include the nishiki kaisen bowl ($33), which comes with original negitoro tuna, scallops, sea urchin, salmon, snow crab, salmon roe, tobiko and nori. Another option is the salmon bowl with salmon roe ($16.95) which comes with salmon, salmon roe and tobiko.
Totoya
1127 12th Ave., Honolulu
808-600-5017
@totoyahawaii
Waikiki Tea
A common celebration for Hinamatsuri is going out for tea with the girls. Waikiki Tea features famous Lady M crepe cakes as well as innovative, delicious drinks. For a floral but sweet twist, the rose tea latte ($6.50) is a black tea with a frothy yet gentle fragrance of rose. One of the biz’s signature crepe cakes includes the strawberry matcha mille crepes ($10 a slice), which are light and achieve the perfect balance of sweetness. Pick up a box of Royce Chocolates — popular in Japan— as a great Hinamatsuri gift.
Waikiki Tea
234 Beach Walk, Honolulu
808-886-6000
@ladym.waikikitea
Dell’s Kitchen and Bakery
A trip to a Japanese bakery is an excellent way to celebrate Hinamatsuri. Dell’s Kitchen and Bakery offers a plethora of Japanese baked goods to share. Famous for its pans (bread), the bakery’s other options include spicy curry pan ($3.50), tomato curry with chicken pan ($3.50) and okonomi yakisoba pan ($3.75). The biz’s melon pan ($3.25) is not only delicious, it’s a great tribute to the traditional Japanese version.
Dell’s Kitchen and Bakery
1110 McCully St., Honolulu
808-840-0496
dellskitchenandbakery.com
@dellskitchenandbakery
Yo Mama’s Mochi and Snacks
Chi chi dango is a Hinamatsuri staple. Pillowy soft and sweetened with coconut milk, Yo Mama’s Mochi and Snacks perfects the sweet treat with the traditional pink coloring. Yo Mama’s chi chi dango ($7.64 for 6 ounces) is great to gift-give for Girls’ Day or to indulge with loved ones. For those willing to try different flavors, the biz has a buttah mochi sampler ($12.37) featuring three choices of either ube, classic, Ghiradelli chocolate, coffee, pumpkin or u-biko flavors.
Yo Mama’s Mochi and Snacks
808-840-7065
yomamasmochiandsnacks.com
@yomamas.mochi
