The town of Aina Haina is a residential community in east Honolulu just to the east of Waikiki and Diamond Head. The district includes the Aina Haina beachfront area as well as the gated Hawaii Loa Ridge on the east along with Niu Valley.
Aina Haina has a newly renovated shopping center with a grocery store and a variety of shops. Also in Aina Haina are two elementary schools, Aina Haina Elementary and Holy Nativity, as well as a new Waldorf High School.
Homes in the area range from single-wall houses built in the 1950s to multi-million dollar estates which are more common in nearby Waialae Iki and Hawaii Loa Ridge.
Parks in Aina Haina include Aina Haina Field, Nehu Park and Kawaikui Beach Park as well as the dog-friendly Wailupe Park near Wailupe School. Aina Haina also has several churches.
From Aina Haina it is just a five-minute drive to Kahala or Hawaii Kai, and about twenty minutes to Waikiki and downtown Honolulu.
Aina Haina was developed around Kalanianaole Hwy. and said to mean “Hind’s land” after local dairyman Robert Hind who owned the HindClarke Dairy. A main street in the town is Hind Drive. Others say the word haina in the town’s name means “sacrifice” referring to some ancient practice that took place in this area.
In the back of Aina Haina valley are the ruins of Kawauoha Heiau, a sacred Hawaiian area dating to ancient times.