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    Kuan Yin Temple

    4.6 (32 reviews)
    Closed 8:30 am - 1:00 pm

    Kuan Yin Temple Photos

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    Outside walking in
    Alice N.

    Since we're starting the lunar year off right, asked my parents to take me to pray at this temple. Place is pretty much help yourself (read Chinese/English signage) but if you have questions there are a few monks and docents there to help. Donate your money to the inside middle podium (open slots) then get your incense to burn and pray. I asked for help with family, happiness, and health. Happy lunar 2024 to all!

    Tranquil
    Sharon H.

    Today was a good day to visit the temple as it will be closed in preparation for Chinese New Year, Feb. 1, 2022. The smell of incense drew us in while the sight of a giant Buddha surrounded by offerings of fruit and flowers had us mesmerized. Visitors/worshipers are invited to light one incense, but in these pandemic times be sure to sanitize your hands first as signs will remind you. The overall sense of peace is in contrast to the bustling street and traffic noises from Vineyard Blvd. We didn't linger as it felt almost rude to keep others from their prayers.

    The Entrance is on Vineyard Boulevard
    Nadine C.

    A peaceful, beautiful Chinese Buddhist temple in Honolulu... If you need a quiet place to gather your thoughts, pray for loved ones, count your blessings, or just relax, this might be a good spot for you! Located on the busy Vineyard Boulevard, turn into the shared parking lot of Foster Botanical Garden and park for free! The Kuan Yin (The Goddess of Mercy) Temple is free to visit and donations (fruits, flowers, monetary, etc.) are always welcomed! On certain days, jai (Monk's food - a vegetarian dish) is served. If you're lucky, you may participate and join in the celebration! When you go to the Temple, burn some incense, look at the beautiful water lilies, browse the grounds, and enjoy the calmness and serenity...

    old-fashioned candle...
    Paul C.

    As a 2nd-generation Chinese-American born and raised in Chinatown Honolulu, my paternal grandmother dragged me here as a child and I would cry due to the mass of people, smoke and noise. I was confused and scared, therefore my visits here were not so memorable. However, I have recently come back here to seek inner peace within myself. I first go to make prayers and then make an offering to the Kuan Yin Goddess. On both sides of the entrance are buckets of sandalwood incense. I burn a whole bunch to make prayers and offerings to the different deities on premise. I adore the water lilies in the ponds and often take photos of them with my cell phone. On difficult days I will sit down on the benches to enjoy the trade winds and inhale the incense aroma that permeates the whole temple. There is no admission fee for this temple. However, you are most welcome to make an offering/donation in the box in front of the Goddess. This has helped me immensely during difficult times. If you are in the neighborhood you should stop by for this experience. May the Goddess help you as well. I still hold on to the memories where my grandmother held my hand as well as the visit there earlier today.

    Mikey H.

    I found the temple when I came to the Foster Botanical Garden. Since I parked next door, I just walked over. It is an interesting temple, and I hadn't read up on it, so I did feel bad that I didn't have anything to offer except money. I asked a woman inside if I could take photos. Either she didn't know or didn't know how to speak English, and since I don't speak Chinese, I just took indiscreet photos inside, and a few outside. Lots of incense burning. There were a few people praying. I will definitely be back after I do a little research. I would like to know about the goddess and the other gods within. Worth a visit and it's free. Just remember to bring either some fruit or flowers, but monetary offerings are accepted too.

    Lei I.

    The only reason I visited this place today was for my Intercultural class. It is quite hidden and next to a botanical garden. They either share the parking, park on the streets or find parking somewhere and walk the rest of the way. So it's a Chinese temple and we basically did some observations: -- There was a lot of smoke, they were burning papers and such which I think is part of their rituals. -- The prayer is more of an offering and it's kind of a fortune teller with sticks that have numbers and a book with what the number means. It was difficult to participate because there wasn't a translation sort of book for non-Chinese visitors to look at. There were monks that tried to explain though their English weren't so good. They have little booklets they were giving away for free and a print-out to explain the religion more. Lastly, if you want to take a picture in the temple, you have only one shot, so make it count! They do sell post cards for fifty cents and bracelets which I thought were pretty.

    美麗的花朵盛開

    To share with you the YouTube link to the final Ask A Local video for Honolulu. Here's the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/ToviW_UZRC8

    Chinatown tour by Dr. Jim
    Lai T.

    The Kuan Yin Temple was the starting point to our meetup a couple of Saturdays ago. We were very lucky to get a private tour from Dr. Jim, a professor at HPU. Growing up in a Buddhist family, I am somewhat familiar with Kuan Yin, the popular Goddess of Mercy. What I learned from Dr. Jim, is that the technical term for Kuan Yin is a Bodhisattva (a Buddha in waiting). And because it has been forever since I learned about world religions, I was reminded by Dr. Jim's lecture that Buddhists believe that all life is suffering which is caused by desire (and way out of suffering is to practice the 8-fold path). During our visit, we witnessed a festival worship, in which devout followers were going through sutra (chants). Dr. Jim explained that Buddhists pray to the spirit, not actual statue of Kuan Yin. He also pointed out that while the chants were being recited in Chinese, many of the sounds have an Indian origin...no wonder why I can never really understand them :p Here are some more points I learned from Dr. Jim regarding the temple: -The purpose for the great gate in front of the temple is so that you leave all your worldly problems behind and enter the spiritual realm. -Temple lions protect the grounds against evil spirits (many people rub the nose for luck). -The main alter is carved out of teak wood. -If you look carefully there are little animals carved on the roof top. -The sharp edges on the roof top are meant to ward off evil. -The pastel colors and clouds are influenced by Tibet. - The smaller temple is used for solitary worship. A few notes regarding the fung shui: -As you leave the temple, you head West, which is the way towards China (in China temples face South). -The nearby botanical garden houses a sacred Bohdi tree (which is believed to be a descendant of the original tree of enlightenment in China/India). Visitors are asked to refrain from taking pictures of the inside of the temple.

    View from inside Foster Botanical Garden
    Cara M.

    After going to the Mu-Ryang-Sa Buddhist Temple, others have not really matched up in impressiveness, but the Kuan Yin Temple is still a wonderful sight to see to understand the Chinese impact on Hawaii. I quickly stopped here for a look-in after walking around Foster Botanical Garden. It was going to close soon, too, so I didn't have much time to appreciate the details, but I could still feel the change of pace of the temple compared to the busy Vineyard Boulevard right outside. There's street parking if you're lucky, and you might be able to park in the Foster Botanical Garden parking lot because I don't think anyone is really watching.

    Johnson B.

    This is one of the more smaller temples I have gone too nonetheless great to visit. Thank goodness there are English translations of how to go about respecting the temple. Usually practices differ withing Buddhists as well. Taking off shoes vs. not taking off shoes. How to cleanse your mind and body before you step in. How much to donate. If you put your donation in a red envelope or not. Whether to bring your own incense. How many incense. If you need to bring offerings of fruit. How to hold your hands when you pray. Even which hand to put the incense in the holder. So it is very nice that they have an English speaking monk to prep you before you go inside.

    Kelvin C.

    I come to this temple to pray for luck, health, happiness, wealth, and ancestors. The location is next to Foster garden. Very clean and beautiful. Mom came here regularly to pray and also utilized fortune telling services.

    Exquisite scenery

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    5 years ago

    A great place and everyone is nice and friendly and a nice space to get away from the hustle and bustle of regular life

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    Nice mostly quiet and peaceful place to provide offering and say your thanks

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    a powerful place, lots of inceanse and kind practisioners, great for new and devoted buddhists alike!

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    Kuan Yin Temple Reviews in Other Languages

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    Review Highlights - Kuan Yin Temple

    Located on the busy Vineyard Boulevard, turn into the shared parking lot of Foster Botanical Garden and park for free!

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    Koboji Shingon Mission - Blessed River rocks.

    Koboji Shingon Mission

    4.8(6 reviews)
    1.0 miKalihi

    I've never thought of myself as a believer, but I found myself more enlightened when I come to…read morethese kinds of places. They're like life insurance: they're there when you need them. Same like temples, parks, zoos, etc. You get the idea. I found this gem pretty close to my work place, so on a whim on a random work day, I stopped here for about 1/2 hour on an "extended" lunch break to check things out. First things I did notice was the parking, it can be quit tight here, so you may just need to find parking on the side street. Being that it's location in Kalihi, it's kind of gets weird at night especially when Kuhio Park Terrace and Kalihi Valley Homes nearby. With that said, these Buddhist shrines installs a sense of calm in one's life. While we do pass them in our daily lives without much thought to them, when you start to just make time to stop by and check things out, you'd be amazed on what goes on here on a day to day life. I was raised a Chinese Buddhist, so coming here was just second nature. Although I went to a Catholic school for a few years, I didn't buy into the whole Christian thing, but that's another story to tell. The temple is somewhat small, but adequate for everyone to do their respects, worship, and whatever else they do here. Now more than ever, spiritual prayers and just being aware of yourself, spiritually and emotionally, can re-energize yourself within this place. Donations are always appreciative and it stimulates good relations with the temple and the spiritual energy that surrounds this place. You could call it karma, but it's just the right thing to do. While I don't come here every day, since I have my regular place at the Kuan Yin Temple on Vineyard Blvd, this place is always nice to visit and do your thing. A++

    Interesting hole in the wall temple located on School St. You can't see it from the street until…read moreyou're literally on the sidewalk and find the narrow walkway path that leads you to the back. Once you reach the back, you see temple upstairs, and the jizu/ offering shrines to your left. Bon dance season here at the temple is awesome! White elephant sale ranging from specially blessed decorated river rocks, baked goods, produce, hand crafted jewelry, blankets, etc. to shop for personal or gifts. Food booth is a must to visit, one of the best foods served at a bon dance. Their andagi are huge, almost fist sized, and their plate lunches are so good that it leaves you full in satisfaction. Shave ice range from just plain, or flair it up w/ some azuki beans, ice cream, or condensed milk for an extra more.

    Photos
    Koboji Shingon Mission - 2019

    2019

    Koboji Shingon Mission - 2019

    2019

    Koboji Shingon Mission - Strawberry/ Passion Orange shave ice w/ ice cream, azuki beans, and condensed milk.

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    Strawberry/ Passion Orange shave ice w/ ice cream, azuki beans, and condensed milk.

    Jikoen Hongwanji - Setting up for tomorrow (7-22-23 Bon Dance)

    Jikoen Hongwanji

    5.0(1 review)
    1.5 miKalihi

    Jikoen Hongwanji is full of warm, caring, and lovely people…read more To refute some other reviews that might be on here for the bazaar, the event was quite enjoyable and my only complaint was that I wish it was open longer (the bazaar was on Saturday, April 1 from 8:30am to 12:00pm). Due to covid, they haven't had it for awhile and we were ecstatic when we saw that they were holding the bazaar again. Parking - The parking at the temple can be difficult (especially if you are making a left turn in). Luckily for the bazaar, Kapalama Elementary was available for easy parking one block over. They had several volunteers and a police officer helping to direct folks to ample parking and to oversee the lot. I felt very safe parking there. Food - The food was great! Unfortunately we arrived at about 10:00am and a lot of the food items were sold out (I really wanted to get the maki sushi). The andagi was delicious and the fresh tofu was refreshing. I will wake up early next year to get my fill. Items for sale - There was a large variety of items including men's and women's clothing, bags, toys, housewares, fabric, knitted goods, random curios (I bought a large metal globe for $5!), and much more. I think everything was more than fairly priced. There were some great deals, and I had to resist buying more. Plants - By the time we arrived there was a limited selection of plants. These were also very well priced (anyone with a plant buying problem should avoid this event). We got a beautiful large lily that just bloomed for $5. There were some aloe vera plants priced from $1-3, and the man working the booth gave us several for free (although we ended up donating some extra money to make up for the plants since it went to a good cause). Overall, it was a great event and my family is looking forward to coming back again.

    Photos
    Jikoen Hongwanji - GPS led me to this wall... I had to go around the block and find the entrance on School Street

    GPS led me to this wall... I had to go around the block and find the entrance on School Street

    Jikoen Hongwanji - The dancing begins...

    The dancing begins...

    Jikoen Hongwanji - Opening blessing to the Obon dance 2015

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    Opening blessing to the Obon dance 2015

    Chinese Buddhist Association of Hawaii Hsu Yun Temple

    Chinese Buddhist Association of Hawaii Hsu Yun Temple

    4.4(12 reviews)
    1.0 mi

    My Hunny and I visited this temple on Mother's Day to give flowers to my Popo and Mom. It's a…read morebeautiful temple and although the parking is very small, somehow they make it work. There's a massive tree in the lot and a lotus blossoms in the nearby plant pots. We could hear the monks chanting during their ceremony and prayer/Meditation. We enjoyed taking photos of the nature surrounding the temple. It's a very peaceful, spiritual place where you can embrace nature. The breeze was cool and refreshing after we finished burning incense and cleared the smoke smell from out clothing. It was a lovely Mother's Day.

    I met my dad's cousin for the first time and she told me about this temple. I didn't know what to…read moreexpect. I mean, once you drive up, it's a little hard to believe that it is located in a residential area. It is really something to look at! Respecting the temple is the first thing to remember because you don't know who is watching. It was interesting that I took off my shoes and put them on a shelve with a bunch of other shoes, but no one else was inside. I walked around and looked at the different statues. I read some of the stories. I did take some pictures which I wasn't sure was okay or not. The one Buddha that called to me was the one with the many arms. I felt like him the past few months, doing way too much and juggle more things than I probably could handle. I knelt, lit an incense and said a little prayer. Hopefully He heard me. I also gave a money offering, which you should always do. Definitely worth coming to. Next time I'll spend more time meditating. 谢谢!

    Photos
    Chinese Buddhist Association of Hawaii Hsu Yun Temple - 5/24/25

    5/24/25

    Chinese Buddhist Association of Hawaii Hsu Yun Temple
    Chinese Buddhist Association of Hawaii Hsu Yun Temple

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    Daijingu Temple of Hawaii - Omamori line

    Daijingu Temple of Hawaii

    4.4(22 reviews)
    1.9 mi

    Daijingu Temple of Hawaii is a Shinto shrine, quietly located in Nu'uanu. During an actual Kona…read morestorm downpour, the temple was still open. We were the only patrons, but I enjoyed the serenity and the sound of heavy rainfall. Our group paid our respects, doing a silent offering, 2 bows, 4 claps, prayer, and a final bow. This is different from the typical nirei-nihakushu-ichirei "2 bows-2 claps-1 bow", therefore take care to note each shrines prayer customs! The shrine attendant was very helpful in explaining the different protection charms for sale and also explained the yakudoshi "years of calamity" concept to us. If you like to visit a Shinto shrine in Hawaii, Daijingu Temple of Hawaii was a beautiful place. Highly recommend!

    12-30-23 Learning from a previous year, pre-order your omamori for the new year on line and pick…read moreup before New Year's Eve or day is much easier if you don't like waiting in long lines. Today we could pick up our order in the main upstairs blessing area instead of in the basement. We could also receive our blessing today too. The person manning the orders and doing the blessing has you double check your order. Ours had 42 items and cost $186.00. I got protection omamori for: Personal safety Children Pets Traffic Health Home: fire, robbery, harmony Fortune slips Safe return Water safety for grandson Academic success for granddaughter I'm glad this system worked perfectly, we could park right there instead of at the park and we could choose our day and time slot for pick up. Happy New Year for 2024.

    Photos
    Daijingu Temple of Hawaii
    Daijingu Temple of Hawaii
    Daijingu Temple of Hawaii

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    Honolulu Myohoji Mission - Tea room at Myohoji

    Honolulu Myohoji Mission

    4.8(4 reviews)
    0.6 mi

    After hiking Nuuanu Pali this Sunday morning went to Myohoji Temple in Nuuanu where l use to train…read moreAikido and Sumi-e classes over 30 years ago haven't been back since but a was nice visit this Sunday morning walk sadly there are no flower Ikebana class or tea ceremony classes or Sumi-e class but they are open for Aikido Karate Kendo and now even Yoga look up their website for classes scheduled times Great place for self meditation too very quiet and surrounded with good vibes and surreal surroundings great for your soul spiritual practice file:///var/tmp/com.apple.messages/com.apple.MobileSMS/LinkedFiles/8492EE91-34D6-4829-9318-BAC037BD562C/IMG_4058.HEIC file:///var/tmp/com.apple.messages/com.apple.MobileSMS/LinkedFiles/8E3B2A3C-D77A-4EEE-9078-0E12BC4CF891/IMG_4053.HEIC file:///var/tmp/com.apple.messages/com.apple.MobileSMS/LinkedFiles/8B091496-F36E-4D51-8EAE-372481EAF186/IMG_4054.HEIC file:///var/tmp/com.apple.messages/com.apple.MobileSMS/LinkedFiles/D13A3987-D15C-42DA-92AC-A467F3AF95DC/IMG_4052.HEIC

    The other day, I had the wonderful fortune of visiting Myohoji with two friends. We were able to…read moremeet the resident minister: Reverend Takamasa Yamamura. He was in credibly friendly. We were allowed to visit the hondo (the temple) and the multi-purpose complex. We had a wonderful time talking with Rev. Yamamura about a number of topics. And then he was kind enough to invite us to a tea ceremony (urasenke). The history of Myohoji is quite fascinating. And we were so glad to have had the opportunity to learn more about the temple, it's resident minister, and the various activities that take place. We are looking forward to visiting again in the near future. :)

    Photos
    Honolulu Myohoji Mission
    Honolulu Myohoji Mission
    Honolulu Myohoji Mission - The most beautiful temple in Honolulu.

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    The most beautiful temple in Honolulu.

    Kuan Yin Temple - buddhist_temples - Updated May 2026

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