Matsumoto Shave Ice, Reviewed

Hours, prices, payment and parking from Matsumoto’s own site and menu, checked Sep 27, 2026. Weather closures are posted on the shop’s Instagram.

Best for

• CouplesGoodA cheap, quick North Shore stop; share an Ichiban Special.
• FamiliesGreatOpen daily, a $3.75 small, and published allergy and vegan guidance.
• FriendsGreat39 flavors and four named combos, so everyone orders something different.
• SoloGoodWalk-up counter, and a small bowl is a one-person snack.
• GroupsGoodParking behind the shops, but no phone orders, so the whole group waits.

Pick a size, add toppings, then choose up to three flavors or one of four named combinations: Rainbow (strawberry, lemon, blue pineapple), Matsumoto’s (lemon, blue pineapple, coconut), Tropical (lilikoi, guava, mango) and Hawaiian (blue pineapple, coconut, banana). Add azuki beans, the shop’s own red beans boiled in sugar, for $1, condensed milk for 50 cents, or mochi for $1. For local flavors, try li hing mui, ume, pickled mango or yuzu (more in our local Hawaiian snacks guide). Prices are as printed on the menu checked September 27, 2026.

M. Matsumoto Store opened as a grocery on February 13, 1951. The next generation turned the groceries into T-shirts, souvenirs and snacks, and the shave ice took over. Since 2015 the shop has sat in Haleiwa Store Lots, with a second entrance for shave ice. The ice is shaved on a Fujimarca machine. The shop says it makes over 1,000 bowls on a warm sunny day, and it takes no phone orders, so on a busy afternoon the line is part of the stop.

Our itineraries lean toward Aoki’s, a short walk down Kamehameha Highway, for its texture. The practical differences: Matsumoto opens every day, while Aoki’s closes on Tuesdays, and Matsumoto publishes its allergy, vegan and gluten-free guidance. Try both.

Open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Thanksgiving (Nov 26, 2026), Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. A small is $3.75 and a large $4.25; most toppings are $1, vanilla ice cream with beans is $1.50, and the Ichiban Special is $7.25. Every flavor is gluten-free except the Ichiban Special’s waffle tray. Cards are accepted.

Matsumoto is at 66-111 Kamehameha Highway, Suite 605, in Haleiwa Store Lots. Park behind the shops; the center has 95 stalls. From Waikiki it is 34.6 miles, about an hour without traffic, via H-1 and H-2. It is the Haleiwa stop on our Oahu Scenic Drive Map, and pairs with the North Shore food trucks and the rest of the North Shore.

• Aoki’s Shave Ice sits about 50 meters away across Kamehameha Highway and is the pick for homemade syrups, a board of twelve named combos and shave ice shakes. It is closed Tuesdays.
• Waiola Shave Ice saves the drive: the original McCully shop is about 10 minutes from the Royal Hawaiian, open every day, with 50-plus flavors and bowls that hide ice cream, custard or azuki beans under the snow.

• Arrive near 10 a.m. The line builds through the afternoon.
• Mix up to three flavors. Or pick one of the four named combinations.
• Ask for ice cream. It is a $1 add-on, or get the Ichiban Special with everything.
• No artificial colors? Choose mizore, lilikoi, lychee or yuzu.
• Vegan or nut allergy? Skip the ice cream, condensed milk and cream flavors; for nuts, also skip the beans and mochi, as the shop advises.
• Check Instagram in bad weather. The shop posts closures there.
• Make a day of it. See our self-guided Oahu food tour and renting a car on Oahu.