It was surprising and certainly amazing to find this prayer wheel in a stupa just a block or so off…read morethe quaint main street in Paia. We were invited to offer our prayers and blessings while walking around the stupa clockwise, simultaneously releasing the prayers and blessings of others before as well. The wheel rang a bell with each complete turn, symbolic and also sobering. It was a wonderful experience. Thank you Maui Dharma Center.

Found an unexpected find in Paia, Maui. A place to listen to a calming chime as you walk through…read morethe temple. There was no one there to guide me. Place some money in the donation box in appreciation of letting people enter the temple.

Love this hongwanji. It is centrally located in town and has parking available (small lot). Super…read moreexcited for Obon season and the bon dance this weekend!!!!

This review is for the annual obon festival which happens every August for two nights…read more THE EVENT: The facilities are classically old and smells accordingly, but not in a bad way. It's one of Maui's few obons that take place on pavement rather than on grass, which is great for the allergy-sensitive person. The dance area is surrounded by buildings that offer an elevated view of the festival. They sell a wide variety of cuisines - a mix of local, Chinese, Okinawan, and Japanese. There's also some games for the kids. FOOD: Roast Pork - The pork was finely shredded, similar to kalua pork. It was nicely seasoned and came with a dollop of light brown gravy, steamed rice, and pickled cabbage. The portion was tiny for $6, but it went toward a good cause (the church's Boy Scout troop.) OVERALL: Good food, no dusty environment.

Out of the buddhist temples I have visited, I think Wailuku Hongwanji's hondo is one of the most…read morenicest one's I've seen. Inside is very clean and air conditioned also. The current resident minister Rev. S. Murakami is very nice and open to discussion. The members are very nice also. There is a huge parking lot but not too many stalls. Their social hall is pretty spacious and they also have classroom style conference rooms upstairs of the social hall.

The mega garage sale that happens yearly is worth the hype! We got there at 7am and that was too…read morelate lol. JK. Get there early and get ready to stay in some lines to get in. Really well organized though. Everything is so cheap, I'm talking $.50, $1, $3. Books, Kids toys and clothes, Kitchen things lots of it, Electronic things, Clothes, Hawaiiana decor, Plants (this was my fav, such a nice selection of nice plants) Tips: - Bring a wagon or bags (they have some boxes and bags in case you dont have your own) - Bring cash, smaller bills - Dont come with a plan just look around and shop til you drop (i had a bag full and atill only spent $5 total) - Leave kids and dogs at home. It's just really crowded

I was really impressed with the Bon dance at the makawao hongwanji. I've been to several dances on…read moreOahu, and my friends and I drove over to makawao thinking it couldn't possibly be as good or better than the Oahu Bon dances. Boy were we wrong. When we arrived, it was raining, but he dutiful parking attendants directed us to a parking spot and we walked the short distance to the temple. I appreciated the fact that the songs were announced and that so many people dressed up!! Because it was raining, they had moved the since indoors, which I thought was very accommodating. I've had to dance in the rain before and it was not fun. I was also impressed with the dancing! Everyone seemed to know all the dances, it was intimidating, but very useful. There was also a huge variety of food options, which we were not expecting at all. My friend's mom had said that chow fun is a thing at Maui Bon dances, so we were looking forward to that, but there were also hot dogs, curry, musubi, shave ice and pickled vegetables and fruit. The chow fun was really good. Salty, but good!!

We don't regularly attend this mission but we came for obon season and it was perfect. It's easy…read moreto find and there are accessible bathrooms. They also have regular markets held here with pop up local vendors. I would come again. Parking is a little difficult for events so go early.

I didn't go inside, but on the way to 'Road to Hana' we stopped by. They have very clean grounds…read moreand more less quiet (there is a main road nearby and you can hear cars passing sometimes). Overall buildings are well maintained and there's some space for parking.

Must visit spot if you're visiting Kaneohe. It's about 15-20 min drive from the botanical garden…read more You have to enter the Memorial Park to get to this temple. It's a smaller replica of the actual temple from Japan. We ordered tickets online for $10/person and $6 for parking. They don't check your tickets when you enter which we thought was very strange lol. It's very beautiful and peaceful with the mountain and smoky cloud in the background. They have a couple benches for you to sit. You can enter the temple but it's actually pretty small. They have artists and vendors under the temple too. I loved seeing all the koi fish and mini pagoda up hill. There's also a large bell that you can ring for funsies.

Buy parking and admission tickets online. Seniors are $8, great price! Non-Seniors are $10…read more Great place to spend an hour. Very tranquil and if you're high strung, it's a good place to take a breath before reality kicks in and you're back to your highly-wired self. Arrive early to grab a parking space. Restrooms are portable potties.

This beautiful Korean temple is a hidden gem of Honolulu, Hawaii. Tucked away into the mountainside…read moreof Palolo, a residential neighborhood, this temple is one of the largest Korean temples outside of Korea. There is a suggested donation and no photos inside the temple. My sister recommended this place and the views are absolutely spectacular and tranquil. Parking can be a bit steep when driving up, but there's plenty of parking spots. Highly recommend!

Cyndy's Bottom Line: Peace & tranquility…read more *Visitor Hours: 9-5pm daily *Admission by Donation: General $3.00, Seniors(60+) $2.00, Children $1.00, groups of 5 or more reservation in advance *Visitor parking lot on the premise has approximately 12 stalls or street parking within the neighborhood. *Be careful and drive slowly upon exiting the parking lot because of the steep driveway which may hit or damage the front end of your car. *There are activities held at the temple for the community- Korean service every Sunday 10:00-12noon. Insight or Vipassana meditation, Korean Dance and Drum, Korean Language (Reading and Writing), Painting, Yoga and Korean Tea Ceremony. *Website for more info - muryangsatemple.com e-mail: muryangsatemple@gmail.com Mu-Ryang-Sa Buddhist Temple is nestled deep in the lush, tranquil Palolo Valley for over 40 years and is the largest Korean Temple outside of Korea. The name of the temple means "Broken Ridge Temple.". What appears to be a flaw in the construction the roof was lowered because it exceeded the height limitation of the City & County. The temple is magnificent despite the roof's lower height. The grounds are beautiful and abundant with plants especially the variety of mango trees and coconut trees throughout the property. There are statues such as the Statue of Miruk Boddhisatava. There are lotus buds and lovely lotus flowers in bloom and pots of water lilies too. Water is saved in plastic containers and drums. The most interesting sight is the pots of aged miso and shoyu on the roof top below the temple. Highly recommmend a visit to capture the tranquility and beauty of the temple and Palolo Valley.

Love the thai food very reasonable price. Staff very friendly. I will be following themread more

I found this spot from my hours of research and I have been to the Hollywood one many times and…read morethought this might be a great spot to take my mom. She loves going to temples and loves Thai food so I definitely was excited to explore this temple together. Based on the address on Yelp, I got lost for a good 10-15 minutes. I almost gave up but luckily spotted it and had to do a U turn and we finally arrived. So I arrived 10 minutes before the food stalls closed but honestly they stayed opened a bit longer than their closing time. As I saw ppl arrive even later and was able to still make purchases. I do have to say that they do start cleaning, and not everything is available as things were being sold out. They have a table for you to grab utensils and condiments. There are some tables you can sit and eat the food that you purchase. Most of the food I purchased was about $10 each. And you pay each stall that you are at. My mom and I enjoyed everything we ordered, if only we were staying in Hawaii more days, we would definitely come back or even order more. The hard part is that they do not have a website and they are not open every Sunday either. So try calling or just randomly go and pray that it will be opened. I honestly really enjoyed my visit. Both a cool temple to go see and being able to eat authentic Thai food it was an extra bonus. 2 thumbs up from this Yelper. I highly recommend coming here if you have not been. Ordered: *Fried Bananas *Papaya Salad (you can request how spicy you want this) *Pork noodle soup *Sugar Cane Juice *Fish Cake *Water Bottle $1 *Pork spare rib Tips: *Cash Only *Restroom available. *Outside temple street parking in the dirt or pull in and try your luck to find parking.