In Hawaiʻi the New Year's table is built around raw fish. Sashimi, poke, sushi, maybe a crab or two, plus ozōni (mochi soup) on New Year's morning and kagami mochi on the family altar. Every household wants the same ahi on the same day, and the fish markets feel it.

Local news covers it every year: lines outside the Kalihi fish markets before sunrise on December 31, and sashimi platters sold out days ahead. The trick isn't finding good fish. It's ordering before everyone else does.

The Calendar

  • Early December: call your fish market and ask if they take New Year's platter orders, and what the cutoff is. The popular ones fill up.
  • Mid-December: order mochi, if you're buying it rather than pounding it.
  • December 30: the smart pickup day. Same fish, a fraction of the line.
  • December 31: if you have to go on the day, go at opening and bring patience. In 2026 that's a Thursday.
  • January 1: many shops are closed. Don't plan a New Year's Day fish run.

Sashimi and Poke on Oʻahu

Tamashiro Market in Kalihi is the one with the line on the news, the pink building with the crab on the sign. If you want a platter from there, order it well ahead or plan for the wait.

Maguro Brothers in Chinatown is a small sashimi-grade fish counter inside Kekaulike Market. Ono Seafood in Kapahulu is the small poke counter locals send visitors to all year. Ahi Assassins Fish Co. in Māpunapuna is a fish market with a poke counter, a short drive from the airport.

Outside town, the Tamura's stores — Aiea, Kailua, Waiʻanae, Wahiawā — each have a poke counter, and they save a drive to Kalihi on the worst traffic day of the year.

On the Neighbor Islands

Hilo's Suisan Fish Market sits right by the bay and is the Big Island's New Year's fish stop. In Kona, try Da Poke Shack. On Maui, Like Poke in Wailuku and Pāʻia Fish Market. On Kauaʻi, Koloa Fish Market and Pono Market. On Lānaʻi, Lānaʻi Ohana Poke Market.

Mochi

Japanese families in Hawaiʻi brought the New Year's mochi tradition with them, and it's still everywhere. Kagami mochi is two plain white rounds stacked with a tangerine on top, set out as an offering. Ozōni is the soup you eat on New Year's morning with mochi in it, and every family's version is different.

Fewer families pound mochi at home now, so most buy it. On Oʻahu, Nisshodo Candy Store on Dillingham Boulevard is the long-running name; it's a take-out-only counter, and you should order ahead for New Year's. Temples and community groups across the islands also hold mochitsuki (mochi-pounding) events in late December, and some sell what they make.

Keeping It Safe

  • Bring a cooler with ice to pickup. A car in the sun is no place for sashimi.
  • Keep raw fish refrigerated until it goes on the table, and don't leave the platter out all night.
  • Eat poke and sashimi the day you buy them. That's the whole point of the line.

Platters, cutoffs and holiday hours change every year, so call the shop. If you get a cutoff date from one of them, send it to us and we'll post it for everyone else.