Manoa

Manoa consists of an entire valley stretching from Manoa Falls at the mauka end all the way to King Street. The neighborhood is bordered by the Ko’olau mountain range to the north and the H-1 Freeway to the south. Saint Louis Heights is located to the east while Tantalus is situated immediately west of the valley. The Manoa neighborhood is set within four distinct areas: Lower Manoa, Manoa Area, Upper Manoa and Woodlawn. Lower Manoa is located at the entrance to the valley and includes properties north of Wilder Avenue and Metcalf Street. Manoa Area, which is characterized by its tree-lined streets and gentle slopes, is the central and main section. Upper Manoa consists of the lush green back portion of the valley, while Woodlawn is the northeast back portion of the valley and includes properties east of East Manoa Road and Kahaloa Drive. Homes in Manoa tend to have a charming Asian flair that reflects the area’s early Chinese and Japanese immigrants, who first settled in the area in the 1920s. As such, Manoa offers more vintage, classical colonial and plantation style home designs than most areas in Honolulu. Due to the regular rain that the area receives, Manoa is rich in vegetation while still maintaining dry valley walls. As a result of the regular rainfall, rainbows are a common sight in Manoa. Homes within Manoa consist primarily of either private houses built prior to the 1960s or low-rise condominiums. In addition to being the location of the first sugarcane and coffee plantations on the Hawaiian Islands, Manoa is also associated with a number of Hawaiian legends.