This is a review for the bon dance on Saturday, July 2, 2011…read more Parking wise there were 3 parking lots at stores nearby that people were authorized to park at. So get choke parking if you know where to park. Also be prepared for a slight walk. So my tip is to call ahead of time to ask where you are able to park. Food wise. The Curry Rice was super ono. When I first looked I was wondering where was the beef, but when I stirred it then you could see it had a lot of shredded meat. The sauce itself was light but full of flavor. So 5 stars in itself. Another winner was the Nishime and Rice. The nishime was nice and tender, while the sauce was light not overpowering the vegetables flavors. Music wise. Live music was provided by Iwakuni Odori Aikoki and Hawaii Eisa Shinnyukai.

[HANDICAP ACCESSIBILITY] If I have recommended this temple…read morefor their bon dance in the past because of the great handicap parking and you were affected by it this year I am deeply sorry. This year they took away the handicap parking and made all of the front stalls for the workers and volunteers to park including the marked handicap parking stall. The minister when asked if non handicaps would be parked in the handicap stall he stated yes. When asked what about people who come on their own since I have recommend to fellow disabled people that drive themselves the minister stated he had to ask the bon dance committee. No matter how unpopular this makes me within the Japanese community this is the truth. The main tenant of Buddhism is compassion. Think about that. [TO YELP] I posted this on the church page and not the event page because this review in the end is a comment/review about the Minister and those that run the temple.

Yelp 100 Challenge #60/100…read more This review is for the Bon Dance. I honestly have never been to this Bon Dance before so I was excited to check it out. Went there on Saturday around 6:00 pm. Parking was getting full at the school and I was lucky to find some street parking a little down the ways. After we parked the fam headed to the bon dance. Once there I saw a bunch of chairs and pews to sit on. We brought our chairs just in case too. Then I headed to the Shimazu shave ice stand. They had I believe all or most of their flavors that is usually at the store. It was $4.00 for a bowl and an add on like condensed milk, haupia, li hing, mochi, or azuki was $.75. Come to think of it I ordered mine with azuki beans and didn't get it with my order. Oh well. But the shave was great and refreshing and we got one later after we were taking a break from dancing. The line moved quickly and there was hardly a wait. Then there was andagi which was good as they had something called poto-gi andagi which was a portuguese sausage wrapped in the andagi batter for $1.00. It was a small sized sausage and tasted pretty good. Almost like a small version of a KC waffle dog. I did like the andagi which was very hot and fresh. It was $1.50 for either 3 original or cinnamon and sugar. I tried the cinnamon/sugar and it tasted good. I would get that again in the future. They had a system to order food. It was in rec sized area which was pretty big and there were seats and tables in there too. I walked up to look at the menu and someone was there to take my order. This is pretty organized. I had the beef curry rice and spam musubi. I then got an order slip and paid inside. Two ladies rang me up and pointed to an area to pickup my food and gave me an order number. I then got my order about 1 minute later. Did I say this was very organized. The beef curry was okay, but I didn't try the musubi so I can't comment on that. The Mrs. tried the nishime and said that the vegetables weren't washed good or something and it tasted nasty. I was bummed for her as I read someone had the nishime and liked it. The Bon Dance was great as it wasn't that crowded and I loved the live performances. They had a troupe of older obachan's singing and then a little girl with musical Japanese instruments in the background. Then midway in the Bon Dance the Okinawan drum troupe showed up and they were great as well with tons of energy as always. Overall this Bon Dance was great and I loved it. I will definitely be coming back to this one. Great job to the HIgashi Hongwanji Mission! See you again and Aloha!

So I have to say I had one heck of a night here at the Bon Dance. It was my first one that I've…read moreattended since 2000, back when I was in college! Granted, this evening was not one of just fun and dancing, I only danced twice toward the end of the night because I was helping out with the food booth and the lines and taking food orders. Since obon is a celebration festival to honor our loved ones who have passed and is a time to gather in joy. There is a lantern processional and brief ceremony prior to the start of the dancing. The children get to participate in the lantern parade and some of them wear their obon kimonos and other cute outfits. They all looked great tonight. So all the kids get their lantern with their light and march around the corner from the park to the yagura (musician stand) and then continue to make a circle...Then the fun begins! I was amazed at the number of people that were already there at 5:30 when we showed up to get the food lines going. Wow. Food orders were non-stop for about 2 hours and I watched the andagi line grow longer and longer! (love the andagi Guy!) Chicken Hekka was a great sell and the Chicken curry ran out pretty quick it seemed...Hot dogs wasn't too far behind. I ate Kalua pork and cabbage and got a side order of the noodles. The lunch plate was plentiful, 2 scoops rice, mac salad and the main item. I liked the taste of the kahlua pork but there was a surplus of the juices in my tray...and I don't really care for soggy rice. However, the flavor was great! A little too much greens for my taste as well but the cabbage was cooked just right. The fried noodles were very tasty too and portion that was being given for $4 was quite generous. Of course, I had to try the shave ice...you can totally tell it's not Matsumotos...but, it was made with heart and caring. The ice was made a little in advance, to take care of a long line, but because it was made in advance, the ice had time to sit so it was a little more icy than shaved. The syrup was very tasty and I had a rainbow- strawberry, vanilla, banana- and you could distinctly taste all of the flavors. I was surprised at all the extra offerings- silent auction, country store, farmer's market, and many different vendors selling things from toys to jewelry to aromatherapy oils. It makes me happy to see how the bon dance has grown in terms of the crowds, the extras, and It looked as though everyone was having a blast! I heard people say that this is their favorite bon dance to attend and I hope that it continues to grow and people bring their friends and families back year after year. I'll be there again on Saturday...Where will you be? #Yelp 365 Challenge - 020/365

Good food, loud music, a craft fair and Da Andagi Guy?! Sounds like a good night!!!…read more When there's events in Mililani literally the whole town comes to support! This was no different. The lines were RIDICULOUSLY long!!! We waited over 30 minutes to get food and we didn't even try standing in the andagi line!! My family ordered 1 stir fried noodle plate, 2 curry plates, and 1 chicken hekka plate. The curry plate was the best! It had chicken curry with carrots and corn in it! The stir fried noodles I didn't care for because the noodles were really mushy :( The chicken hekka was good with lots of flavor. My brother's girlfriends parents were nice enough to get us andagi so we didn't have to stand in line and I was totally stoked that Da Andagi Guy was making the andagi! Omg hands down the best andagi everrr! I ate like a whole bag of the cinnamon one! Yum!!! Lastly, the dancing! I tried to join in on some of the dances and some were easy, some were hard! I loved that the kids/teens had their own upbeat versions of the traditional dances! Was super cute! Overall, I had a great time!

The Palisades Bon dance/festival is one of my favorites. I come every year for the great food and…read moregreat entertainment. Food: first, you'll need to buy scrip for the food. I think it's gotten a little more expensive over the years I've been coming, but that's ok because it's still worth it. My absolute favorite here is the oden. You can choose different pieces, like gobo fishcake, vegetable fishcake, tofu stuffed with mochi, daikon, egg, other fishcakes lol. I always get the mixed oden because literally every piece is delicious. They're all my favorite and the broth is delicious. I also really like the grilled corn with the butter and shoyu, the grilled mochi with shoyu and kinako and the shave ice. The shave ice is amazing. It's not as soft as waiolas, but in a good way. They also have fried noodles, andagi, musubi and yakitori, but I'm always too full to get anything else. The entertainment is provided by the young okinawans of Hawaii. These people are volunteers. They drum, whistle and lead the dances for a good 2 hours. They have a Shishimai (like a Chinese lion) dance, but don't give them money lol. This isn't a Chinese restaurant. Of course these people need breaks, and when they're on their break, yes, the electric slide is played. Big deal.

While this review mainly focuses on the bon dance event, I feel that how a temple runs their event…read moreis a direct reflection on the temple itself, the minister and the congregation. [HANDICAP PARKING] I like that Rissho's handicap parking is close by that I can sit in the car with the engine on so that I have a/c but it's far enough away I'm not bothering any body. [FOOD] Big plus that the food booths open early because considering how hot it is it's good to be able to get something cold to drink to stay hydrated. My favorite is the ODEN which I get every year!! To me when a temple takes the time to consider people that are either disabled or handicap it shows their compassion which is very important to Buddhist especially during Obon.

While this review may mainly focus on the bon dance event to me how a temple runs their event is a…read moredirect reflection of themselves. [HANDICAP] Know that there is no handicap parking at this bon dance so plan accordingly. [PARKING] There is street parking. DO NOT PARK AT THE POST OFFICE they will tow you, there was at least one car towed this year during the bon dance.

I don't know a lot about Buddhism or temples in general, but I must say, I'm quite impressed with…read morethe Aiea Soto Mission. My husband's family is pretty involved with the church (mostly his parents), and so I have attended a handful of ceremonies, bon dances, etc. The Reverend is young and is a good speaker. I have no idea what he says when he chants in Japanese, but when he speaks in English, he talks about things that I can relate to. He's very approachable and you just feel a sense of peace when you speak with him. Their bon dance is held every August. I look forward to it every year. They sell homemade goodies such as mochi, beef jerky, loaf cakes, spam musubis, trail mix, etc. They also sell chili plates, fried noodles, and ANDAGI. The best part is that you can dance it all off!

Sorry Haleiwa Jodo but it is what it is. Let me start by saying that this review of their bon dance…read moreon Friday, June 15, 2018. This is not to be mean or spiteful but to give a heads up to handicap people like me so that they can plan ahead. The other part is so that the people behind the event are aware of it. [HANDICAP ACCESSIBILITY] Be aware there is no handicap parking. There is no designated handicap drop off or pick up area. Even if you are dropped off at the top of the lane be prepared for a walk in handicap or disabled terms. Also know that the restrooms are not ADA and quite narrow. [FOOD] It seemed very unorganized this year. When asked when the food booth would open was told when the food comes out. So I stood there and people started to line up after me. Another gentleman later asked if the maki sushi and cone sushi was ready, he was told yes but they are waiting for the services to end (this was around 6:45pm and the bon dance started at 7:00pm). It wasn't til after this that they started to light the grills, it was even a longer wait for them to cook the food. I know a lady behind me was saying how come the hotdogs weren't at least ready. So I ended up buying my sushi, asking if I could move over and wait so that when the burger and hot dog came out (people made a 2nd line behind me) I didn't have to wait in the back of the line again (this has happened at other bon dances), got my hot dog and burger but gave up on the saimin because it wasn't ready. Someone joked that it seemed like have to wait 3 times in line to get food. Other than that the burger was good. [TO YELP] While this review may mainly focus on the bon dance event to me how a temple runs their event is a direct reflection of themselves.

There are many many o-bon events and bon dances throughout the island of Oahu. My last count was…read more34, yes, 34 of them! O-bon events and bon dances are usually from late June until early September. To my knowledge, there are only two sites that host the lantern floating festival. Magic Island and Haliewa Jodo Mission. The lantern floating event at Haliewa Jodo Mission is usually the last Saturday of July and usually after the last bon dance around 9 PM. Check local listing for annual changes in date and time. The music stops and you'll hear the priest chiming their bells and walking toward the shorelines. A larger red lantern starts the event and eventually everyone slowly place their lanterns in the water with their loved ones names written on the lantern. Year after year there has been a nice cool breeze that helps push the lanterns out to sea. You'll notice the current will take the lanterns to the left and then slowly disappears. It's a beautiful event, the food is alright with not many choices and shaved ice is usually only one flavor, straweberry. A large amount of politicians comes out to wins some votes. Abercrombie was out and about this year. The energy of the bon dancers are incredible, even when they have the non-traditional electric slide dance. Parking is tough, get there early or park near the harbor

This review is for the annual Friday-Saturday bon dance, rather than the dormitory rentals…read more What's better than Christmas? Christmas in July! Okay, that's not better than Christmas, but July is definitely bon dance season, to which the Shinshu Kyokai Mission eagerly partakes. The Shinshu bon dance is very similar to other dances across the state, with the music both live and recorded, Yagura, food, opening prayer, so on and so forth. However, they like to put on a few cute touches of their own, including having a small quilt shop with a raffle for designed yukatas, along with lanterns printed with the mission's name. Food this year includes the usual bon dance hotdog, chili, teri burger, spam musubi, saimin, bbq stick, but also includes mini bentos with a choice of shoyu pork, shoyu chicken, or bbq meat, as well as a Oyaka Donburi. In addition to the mission's hot food, the andagi and fried noodle fundraiser folks were selling $5 fried noodle plates, andagi and andagi dogs, which are hotdogs drenched in andagi batter and fried corndog style. The Kona Ice Truck also made an appearance to cool dancers down. Dance starts at 7 pm to 10:30 pm, with hot food starting at around 6 pm. Friday has a martial arts show. Free parking at Central Union on their lawn, with accessible bathrooms in the temple. The temple provides a large number of fold out chairs.

This is a review of the food at their bon dance that they host every year. The Chicken Hekka,…read moreHamburger Curry, and Chili is from the "backdoor kitchen", just look for the line lining up at the door to the kitchen. I stood in line about an hour before it was open and there were already people there before me. The CHICKEN HEKKA sold out about an hour after they opened and this was on Friday when it's usually less crowded. The Fried Noodles and Nachos are two of our favorite items to get from the food booth in the front of the temple. I always check to see if Dwight is there making the FRIED NOODLES and if he is then it's a must have item for me.