Sumida Farm

Jarrod and I frequently drive down Kamehameha Highway in Pearl City to go out to eat or to go shopping. That often-congested expanse of road is filled with restaurants, stores, and the Pearl Ridge Mall. And nestled in among all the commerce is a most unlikely thing: a few acres of bright green watercress fields, complete with scarecrows and a little thatched-roof hut. I've been fascinated by Sumida Farm since we first drove by it last October, and I finally remembered to take my camera with me so I could snap a few pictures as we passed it.

I was curious about the farm and a quick Google search turned up some interesting information. According to the Hawaii Indpendent (which recently ran a profile on the farm), it sits on 10 acres of land and produces 70 percent of Hawaii's watercress. Sumida Farms has been in business since 1928 and somehow managed to avoid being overtaken by shipping centers or bought out by developers.

I've always been annoyed that the Pearl Ridge Mall is in two separate wings, so you either have to pay 50 cents to take the monorail or get in your car and drive the distance (maybe a quarter mile + traffic and stop lights) to get to the other part. But now I realize that Sumida Farm, a green oasis situated perfectly between the two sections of the mall, is the likely reason for the inconvenience. And I have to respect the farm owners who probably withstood multiple haranguings by developers and offers of millions of dollars for their prime acreage so they could keep their 10-acre farm that was there long before Macy's and Sears and Chili's ever thought of expanding to Hawaii, before Kamehameha Highway was even a paved road.