Shopping might be second only to television as America’s pastime. We shop for food. We shop for things. We shop for fun. Shop till you drop is not considered a bad thing. Here in Hawaii, tourists shop at the foot of an old tower and love the experience. Locals don’t. Some days there’s nobody there. Some days everybody you never knew is there.

Aloha Tower has been around since construction was completed in 1926. At one time, it was the landscape icon in an otherwise nondescript Honolulu waterfront and skyline.

In 1994 the whole pier area around Aloha Tower was restored. It’s now a hustling and bustling waterfront that still has boat days (days when ocean liners cruise into the harbor and load and unload a few thousand tourists into the shops and restaurants), the historic significance of the Tower itself, and all the trappings of American commercial enterprise hell bent on trapping tourist dollars.

Not many local folks visit Aloha Tower Marketplace. True, there’s a few offices inside the tower. A couple of the restaurants attract the downtown lunch throngs streaming from office buildings just blocks away. But local folks don’t buy their t-shirts at Aloha Tower Marketplace.

Still, this isn’t your typical shopping mall. First, it’s all outdoors. Greenery is everywhere. The pace is slow and relaxed. The folks inside the stores are friendly, although many don’t claim English as their native tongue.

The Tower itself is a simple clock tower and was once Hawaii’s tallest landmark and skyscraper. There’s a 10th floor observation deck which allows you to see a good view of Honolulu Harbor, the airport area and West Oahu, as well as the downtown area and mountains behind. It’s quite a site and it’s free.

Aloha Tower Marketplace is also a place you only need to go to once. A little shopping and a quick snack and you’re done. Forever. There’s no need to come back. Kaput.

Is it that unexciting? In a word, yes. Local folks don’t frequent the Marketplace unless it’s for lunch or after work drinks at one of the restaurants.

That’s it.

For tourists? Go. Enjoy. It’s not like watching Anna Nicole, though. Some things you never get enough of.

Want to know the best places to eat in Hawaii? Click over to Ono Dining for totally biased reviews on Hawai's best (and not so best) restaurants.