S. Tokunaga Store Now Offers Ke Nalu SUP Paddles

If you’re on the Big Island of Hawaii and you’re interested in Ke Nalu Stand Up Paddles then Hilo is the town and the venerable S. Tokunaga Store is the place to go. Tokunaga’s is such a great place for our paddles, we’re thrilled to have them there. The store has been in Hilo for 92 years, surviving two tsunamis and several economic downturns, always coming back better and stronger than before.

Sumie Tokunaga founded the store in 1920 as a grocery store, but Sumie was an avid fisherfman, so five years after opening he added fishing gear. The fishing side of the business grew rapidly and soon Tokunaga’s was the place to go for fishing equipment. In 1946 a tsunami devastated Hilo, destroying homes and businesses–including Tokunaga’s. Sumie rebuilt the store further inland but another tsunami in 1960 destroyed the store and most of Hilo again. Sumie rebuilt again, even further inland.

Tokunaga’s is widely considered to be the premier fishing equipment store on the Big Island. Their expertise is well appreciated in the fishing industry, they are one of the few Daiwa, Shimano and Penn factory service and warranty centers in the US. Michael Tokunaga, who now owns the business, is Sumie’s grandson, and has been running it since 1991. Michael has expanded from fishing equipment to camping, diving, archery, shooting, and other outdoor equipment. In the last few years he added stand up paddle boards and accessories to his lineup, realizing that SUP was both a complimentary outdoor sport on it’s own, and a great fishing platform.

We’re very pleased to have Ke Nalu paddles offered in a store with such a vibrant and remarkable history