Waikiki
Waikīkī is a neighborhood of
Honolulu, Hawaii, in the
City and County of Honolulu, on the south shore of the Island of
O'ahu. The name means
fetched water in
Hawaiian for springs that fed wetlands that once separated Waikīkī from the interior. Waikīkī has long been a place of relaxation, and is today the very center of the tourist industry in
Hawaii. Waikīkī extends from the Ala Wai Canal (a channel dug to drain the former wetlands) on the west and north to
Diamond Head on the east.
Waikīkī Beach is the shoreline fronting Waikīkī and one of the best known beaches in the world. The beach has had its problems, losing sand along many sections because of groynes built out from the shore. This has led to beach replenishment projects in the past, including a "disastrous" one involving a man-made sand that the gentle surf turned into a concrete-like surface.