Getting ‘Lost’ in Paradise

By Rob Kendt

updated 10:03 a.m. ET Feb. 7, 2007

The actors on the hit ABC TV series "Lost" are anything but: With the show now in its third season, they certainly know their way around the island of Oahu, the 600-square-mile pleasure spot where "Lost" is shot. In fact, most of the cast resides there more or less full-time.

But is it a dream come true to live in a place most people think of as a vacation destination, or can it be too much of a good thing?

“It’s sort of surreal,” confesses Yunjin Kim, who plays the show’s preternaturally alert Sun Kwon. “When I get time off, I go back to New York, because after driving to work every day, I want to just walk and walk.”

For Josh Holloway, who plays the ornery redneck, Sawyer, “The only problem about living in a place that most people consider a vacation spot is that everyone wants to come visit.” He, too, counter-programs his holidays: “Now that we actually live on an island with beautiful beaches and turquoise water, we love to go to the opposite for vacation — like mountains. Snow would be super-nice.”

Emilie de Ravin, who plays the willowy blonde Australian, Claire, still commutes between Oahu and Los Angeles, so she fills her downtime on the island with unsupervised outdoor activities as simple as walking on the beaches.

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"This is one of these places where a lot of it’s kept so untouched; there’s so much natural beauty. It’s very unusual terrain, with these gorgeous, lush mountains rolling into the water. One of my favorite things is that you’ll see five different rainbows a day. It makes you feel so fresh and clean.”

For visitors who want a fresh look at this tourist-heavy destination, these "Lost" stars have a few recommendations — some of them familiar Hawaiian favorites, some along roads less traveled. The series is shot on beaches and in rainforests along Oahu’s North Shore, but most of the cast members make their homes on or around the island’s opposite shore, where you’ll find the bustling capital of Honolulu, the popular beaches of Waikiki and Diamond Head, and the slightly sleepier, more residential town of Hawaii Kai.

Yunjin lives closest to the heart of the action, in a condo near Chinatown, where most nearby amenities are accessible by foot. Her recommendations start there.

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“We used to go to a place called Indigo,” Yunjin says of Honolulu’s popular Eurasian restaurant, where diners can sample the cuisine in the main room or unwind in the Opium Den & Champagne Bar. For French food, she recommends Michel’s, a posh, pricey eatery that also gets a nod from Josh as an ideal spot for a romantic dinner. Carnivores will want to try Hy’s Steak House, designed to resemble an English mansion but serving a mix of European and Hawaiian specialties.

One particular favorite of Yunjin’s is Hoku’s, the main restaurant at the nearby Kahala Hotel & Resort, which puts its own spin on the fusion theme: Signature dishes include slow-braised Kahuku pork belly, pancetta-crusted onaga (snapper) and salt-crusted rack of Wisconsin lamb.

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