Ho’opulapula Haraguchi Rice Mill

Our orientation at the Cliffs presented this tour as a wonderful sight seeing tour, trying lots of local foods, driven around on a tour bus, etc. Although the above is true, it was grossly exaggerated. The ‘tour bus’ is very old and the AC just did not work. My 81 year old Mom struggled with that, as we all did. The tour begins with 30+min of the guide showing you pics of her family (as she is the sixth generation running the taro/​rice mill), wildlife in the area, taro plants, more wildlife pics, on and on. Just way too long and honestly… boring. What is intended as ‘interesting’ simply put, isn’t at all. Essentially the four of us in our group knew right away this was a bust. We pile in to the ‘bus’ and she drives about ½ mile up the road, pulls over next to an open field and we all pile out. It was odd. Also, too much standing for those that struggle with that. They do not make that clear in the beginning so you don’t have any clue to ask for a portable seat ahead of time. You are there about 45 min and it is just not that engaging. We then drive about another ½ mile down the road to her family farm that just is nothing to look at… run down and not anything you should present in a ‘tour’. Once we get out of the bus, no kidding, we have to look at more pictures. Slide show this time. The rice mill was renovated to resemble what it looked like back in the day and that was interesting… for about 10 min. Toward the end we try some taro and coconut and coconut water. That was good. We are still sitting there just wanting to leave and she rudely says to the entire group ‘I can see that some of you are getting antsy so why don’t we head back…’, uh, yeah, because listening to you talk about your family just isn’t interesting. The best part of the day was when we returned to the starting point and we got lunch. Lunch was good. But not worth the almost $ 70 bucks we each spent on the tour.
Average age on tour 65+. If you’re a bird watcher (we heard a lot about birds!) you may find some enjoyment in the tour. Although bits and pieces of Hawaiian history was interesting, it simply was not engaging enough or worth it. All four of us in our group were completely dissatisfied. My mom and I shared our feedback with Sara at the Cliffs (where we stayed) and she seemed insulted that we didn’t enjoy it. That is a whole other story. Maybe she is friends with that family, who knows. In any event, it was a lot for me to complain because I feel there is enough negativity in the world but I had no choice in this one. Avoid this tour…

The presentation at our condo made the tour sound very interesting with some Hawaiian history, local food tastings and a special lunch. We were excited to take our very active little kids on an adventure.
Though very informative, it’s definitely not for kids. The guides are very nice and helpful, but this was not a good tour for our family.
It seemed like the average age of the other tourists was over 65. Sign-​in and orientation takes about 60 minutes, then you drive a mile to the very edge of the taro farm along the highway for another lecture on taro farming and local family history. There are so many seniors and so much standing around that the bus keeps folding chairs inside so the elderly don’t get too tired. You are then given sticks and offered to collect invasive snail eggs off the growing taro plants. This was actually the only part that our boys were interested in. Problem was the sticks are too short and it’s hard to reach the eggs without falling into the mud.
After about an hour of that, you drive to the rice mill. I was expecting a huge old structure with tons of character. Instead it’s a barn that was rebuilt after a hurricane in 1982 with old equipment inside. Our kids could not stand the hour at the mill so we played in the street until it was time to head back the food truck for lunch.
I liked the lunch, others in our party thought it was average.
I offer the following suggestions to improve the tour:
— make it two hours long instead of four.
— longer sticks to gather the snail eggs
— go deeper into the farm, don’t just park along the highway.
— do a tractor/​hay ride through the farm.
I feel bad posting a negative review because the guides are so nice and warm hearted and I think well intentioned, but this was over-​sold and families with kids need to be aware. The concierge or presenter at our hotel should have mentioned that it’s not ideal for families.
If you are a farmer or gardener, then you may love this tour. If you are a family or active couple, I would suggest doing something else. d

ALOHA from KAUAI,
The beauty of Kauai is in it’s culture and the passing of this through the generations to come. This is not prevalent on the other islands as it is in Kauai. This tour is about the heritage and history of Kauai, and the courage that it takes to continue into the 21^st century.
If you are to truly experience the Island of Kauai, then the farm and botanical tours should be requisite. The FARMER’S MARKETS are to become a part of the journey also, since it also these families that promote the cultural heritage and ancestry of the island.
I have been coming to the island for 20 years and no matter how many times I visit a farm or do a botanical tour I learn even more and more and it brings me closer to the people of Kauai.
Mahalo Lyndsey,
Drew

Great little tour of a family Taro Farm and Rice Mill. Would recommend to anyone wanting to do something off the beaten path.

One of the highlights of our trip and recommend for anyone visiting the island and wanting to take in a little history (Lyndsey the tour guide who grew up on the farm was amazing and gives you perspective only someone from the farm could), while also enjoying some fresh taro and coconut (they feed you along the tour). And to top things off they’ll have lunch waiting for you at the end. Both the chicken and pork were delicious.

My husband and I took this unique tour while in Kauai on our honeymoon! Lindsey was a wonderful tour guide, and very informative. She went into the history of the taro fields that have been in their family for six generations. We were able to go the Taro fields, see the barn and have a food demonstration with samples that was really fun! My husband and I also tried the taro shakes they sold at their nearby stand and they were delicious. Highly recommend this unique and informative tour!

This is a MUST DO in Kauai! Not only is this of great cultural and historical value, but it is lots of fun too! Lyndsey is the best tour guide and she shares a farmer’s perspective on many levels! This valuable land is also a natural wildlife habitat that the sixth generation farmers protect. While growing taro and rice, the family has adapted to the weather — including FLASH floods, taro thieves (YES, it is a big deal!), land use changes, while creatively changing with the times and being a huge asset in agriculture.
Lyndsey took us out to the taro patch and shared lots of info, including the adventures of movies being made in their farm and growing crops for WWII troops and Hawaiians! She also shared about «invasives», theirs being the Apple Snail. We got to pick them off the taro plants with Haraguchi created farming tools! Very competitive and fun! All of this takes place on the protected natural wildlife habitat — which means we saw Nene and other endangered wildlife, all who make their homes on the farm! It is just the most beautiful place!
The next stop was the rice mill. It is a historical landmark, and no photos inside. However, we were allowed to touch and investigate the machinery, the architecture, and Lyndsey explained the workings and history, which was punctuated with lots of fun and interesting anecdotes. We were also allowed to take pictures outside — and this was very well explained — maximizing all we could see and do!
Just outside the rice mill is the «taro experience». Before we left on the tour, we all sampled taro smoothies. OMGoodness, they were really good! However, the taro that we saw prepped and pounded, was absolutely delicious! The gentleman also cleaned and cut the coconut, and added flaked coconut to the taro. It was served on ti leaves and was absolutely delicious! What a perfect ending to an absolutely awesome experience!
But that wasn’t the end! We were taken back to the food truck and served lunch! We had Kalua pork with lomi lomi, rice and taro pudding. The other dish was absolutely fabulous — laulau which is roasted pork and taro leaves steamed in banana leaves. OMG it was SO good! Taro pudding also, with Hawaiian water for both! Now THAT’S the best way to end this fabulous tour!

If you are looking for a unique tour on the North Shore or you want to step back it to old Hawai’iI, you have to check out the taro and rice mill tour.
know a taro farm and rice mill tour may not on the top of your Kaua’i to do list but if you like its definitely worth checking out, especially if history is your thing.
The tour is conducted by Lyndsey, a fifth generation farmer, who had grown up out in the taro fields. She makes the tour worth while. Yes, everything you will learn and see is educational and quite fun. And, the food and smoothies are fantastic enough that you will probably want to stop there stand for more the next time you are in Hanalei, but Lyndsey just puts it over the top. You could tell how much she loves her family, their farm, and educating others about their tradition and what they do.
First, after meeting at Hanalei Taro & Juice and sampling an ono smoothie made with taro, we headed down the road a bit to go see one of their many, many taro fields. The view was nothing short of breathtaking. There we learned about taro and how its grown and some of the history of farm. She also educated us on the endangered birds the lived in and around farm, which is located on a wildlife refuge. There we did the first hands on activity. If you wanted you could help pick up and collect apple snails and their eggs. It may sound a tad gross but it wasn’t at all. I don’t really even know how to describe the tool you use to remove them, besides saying that it looked like a metal kitchen strainer attached to a long pole.
After the fields we stopped at the rice mill. The mill is no longer in use but the history behind it is incredible. After touring the inside of the mill and looking at old family photos and artifacts we finally got to try the taro.
We drank coconut water from a coconut cute open in front of us. We also got to taste taro which was cooked, mashed, and mixed with shredded coconut straight from coconut we just drank from. It was delicious. I’ve had poi at luaus but this was nothing like that. It was the consistency of mashed potatoes (and those not poi but and other dish) so good. My dad had five servings he loved it so much.
At the end of the tour you are taken back to the family’s taro and juice cart for lunch. The kalua pig was out of this world. I have tried the kalua pig at at least 20 places on Kaua’i, but their pig, along with the Koloa Fish Market’s are my all time favorites.
Their taro mochi is a much try! I can’t even begin to describe how much I am obsessed with their mochi.

If you’re at all interested in agriculture, its impact on Kauai or the history of taro and rice in Hawaii, I recommend taking this tour. We were lucky and were the only folks that showed up for the tour that day so we got a private tour. My wife and I had an absolute blast. We learned a great deal from Lyndsey. She was very receptive to any and all questions we had about her family’s history and certain aspects of her job.
Lyndsey was so nice and enthusiastic that she could have been talking about wallpaper and I probably would have still been interested. She gives a much better tour than any I’ve had in recent history.
The tour takes you in to the wildlife reserve in the Hanalei valley. You get to see a part of Kauai that you wouldn’t be able to access otherwise. Lyndsey educates you about the various endangered birds in the reserve and how it impacts the growing and harvesting of the taro fields. You also get to learn a great deal about taro itself and the various dangers presented by indigenous and feral inhabitants of Kauai. Not to mention, that on top of all that, you get to have some fresh poi and get a tour of an old traditional rice mill, sadly, you can’t take pictures of the rice mill. I would say this is the only downside of the entire tour.
To finish it all off, you’re then treated to a meal prepared by Lyndsey’s husband (I believe). I had the Kalua Pork with Poi, Mac salad and taro Mochi. The mac salad had taro in it as well and everything was delicious.
I left with a new appreciation of poi, agriculture and wildlife in Kauai. As well as a better understanding of the history of Kauai and a full belly!
Forgot to mention, you start off the tour by meeting at the smoothie stand ran by Lyndsey and her husband. You are then treated to a delicious taro based smoothie and given some information on the various endangered birds so you know what to look for on the tour.

Visiting the rice mill is like stepping back in history to learn how rice was grown in the Hanalei Valley. The Haraguchi family now grows taro for the Hawaiian market after the collapse of the rice market in the 1960s. Tours are by appt only on Wednesdays at 10am.
We met Lyndsey Haraguchi, a 5^th generation farmer, at the rice mill kiosk next to the Hanalei Taro & Juice Co., which she runs with her husband. There were 5 of us on the tour, though they can accommodate up to 14 people.
We started with a smoothie (yum) that included taro, as do all of their food products, and sat on the picnic benches while Lyndsey gave us a pictorial overview of what we would be touring. Then we jumped into the Suburban and headed to the fields near the Hanalei river.
Getting onto the land is a real treat since it is part of the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge & is totally off limits to people unless they are on this tour. We saw a number of endangered bird species up close, and wandered around the taro fields while Lyndsey told us the details. We did a hands-​on activity of gathering destructive apple snails and their eggs — I don’t think we made much of a dent with the 3 snails & a few tablespoons of bright pink eggs, but it was fun.
Then off to the rice mill where freshly cooked taro root was pounded the old fashioned way by hand & mixed with freshly grated coconut. Anyone who says poi is yucky has never had it fresh like this — yum. The old rice hulling & polishing equipment looks like it’s ready to go, but there is no motor. Lyndsey hopes to build a water wheel to run it as it had been run before the old diesel engine was brought in around 1900. The old engine is too far gone to get it going again.
After the rice mill tour we headed back to the starting point where we were served lunch of kalua pork, lau lau pork or chicken with a side of taro macaroni salad & rice or poi. Dessert was a coconut mochi — a family recipe, as are the smoothies.
Overall we had a fun educational time & appreciated Lyndsey’s knowledge & desire to share her family history. I have a new appreciation for taro & poi.