Locally known as the "five-mile hill," Kainaliu is an old plantation town located 5 miles (8 km) south of Kailua-Kona. The traffic jam between Kailua and Kona that extends down the hills during heavy traffic hours has come to be referred to as the “Kainaliu Crawl.” But this old plantation town itself is far from what this misleading phrase connotes. It is experiencing a renaissance.
In addition to the old Japanese family-operated shops (such as Oshima's, built 1926, and Kimura's, built in 1927), refurbished storefronts and new restaurants, galleries, bookstores, boutiques, cafés and quaint specialty shops dot this little town, which is located at an elevation of 1,394 feet (425 m). Also check out the vintage Aloha Theatre, which opened in 1932 originally as a silent theater. The theater continually showcases film, live music and dance.
