During the early days, huge sugar plantations dominated life in the islands for many Hawaiians. Like pineapple, sugar cane was a huge cash crop for the islanders. The weather was perfect for growing sweet sugar canes and companies were quick to set up sugar export businesses on several of the islands such as Oahu and the Big Island. To work these huge plantation estates, laborers came from Puerto Rico, Japan, the Philippines, Okinawa, Korea, China and even Portugal to work the sugar cane fields. You can experience what life was like in these island plantations as well as hear talks about life as it used to be during this era at the 50 acre, Hawaiian Plantation Village. The park features a collection of 32 authentic replicas furnished with artifacts donated by former plantation workers themselves. Each living quarter helps tell the story of how these immigrants lived and they challenges the workers faced on a daily basis. Located at the west end of Pearl Harbor at 94-695 Waipahu Street just below the Oahu Sugar Mill in Waipahu. Guided tours are given on the hour with the last tour beginning  at 2 P.M.  This is definitely a fun tour to see how life was during the sugar plantation heyday.  Live demonstrations and various hands-on activities are often provided at the Village so be sure to check on what may be happening in the park when you are there.