Shave Ice came to Hawaii by way of sugar plantation laborers from Okinawa and other parts of Japan, where eating kakigori — the Japanese term for sweetened shaved ice — dating back to the royal families of the Heian period.

Small stores were opened by Japanese immigrants to serve plantation workers in the early 1900s – some of these stores sold shave ice. By the 1950s, shave ice was sold regularly at many Japanese-owned mom-and-pop stores like M. Matsumoto Grocery Store. which has become perhaps one of the most iconic Shave Ice places to go to on Oahu with wait times stretching up to half an hour, and the line snaking out the door. The store, which recently underwent rennovations as the area begins to gentrify, now operates as Matsumoto’s Shave Ice.

My third and final stop was at Island Snow in Kailua Beach Center, where President Barack Obama has been known to make stops at with the family for Shave Ice.