Byodo-In Temple, Hawaii, United States

5Maztec 5:00 PM Sep 11, 2021

A great experience
We arrived on a Friday midday about 11a. The parking lot was full so we were directed to park up the hill. Parking there was also limited there so we ended up having to walk about .5 mi to get to the entrance. So be prepared and wear comfortable shoes. I wore flip flops and had sore feet and wish I had worn tennis shoes instead. The location access for tourists is limited but you are able to enter the temple (shoes must be removed) and light incense and have a private moment alone to pray or whatever it is you'd like to do with respect. It is a small path open for tourist through the temple so you literally walk in about 8 ft then do your thing and then another 6 ft walk out another door. The bell ringing was unique, and very spiritual, with the exception of having about 40 people behind me in line staring and waiting their turn lol my family of 6 trekked up a small path to the meditation point and that was something! We were all able to sit in a circle and meditate for about 3 minutes undisturbed. It is difficult to fully grasp the spiritual connection with so many people at the site. Even with the new covid restrictions there were a lot of people and mask enforcement was slim to none. We are tourists ourselves but there were some groups who were just tacky and classless. Some with no respect for personal space, who rather than scoot to the side as they walk on a narrow path barrel straight through your group.. Those people were few and there were plenty who were respectful and pleasant so it outweighed the bad. A MUST DO if you have young kids - Spend the $2 and get the fish food!! I bought 5 bags for my 4 kids and it was not a disappointment!! When you throw a small amount into the pond the fish go crazy! They jump and flip to get it - it is such a sight! The same food can be given to the birds as it is just a plant based snack for them lol The birds will actually come up and eat it out of your hands! My 5 yr old daughter had 4 birds on her arm and a flock eating from her hand she was in absolute amazement!!! We saw turtles in the pond and a lizard decided to photo bomb us on bench near some vegetation! It is only $5 to get in and it was worth it. Not a whole lot to see but it is what you make of it. We spent 1.5 hrs there and we lingered quite a bit longer than most. May be difficult for those with strollers or wheel chairs as the terrain was rough in some areas and there were stone stairs to the meditation area. Bathrooms were available tho not very well kept. There's a fun photo booth and a small gift shop (think about the size of an 8x8 shed). Prices are high for most souvenirs but there is some really beautiful items and the proceeds are for a good cause. they do have bottled drinks like water and sodas. Overall a good experience, a definite must see. It sits at a memorial grounds with beautiful mountain back drop, your going to love it!

46Vedr0df9Kc 5:00 PM Oct 11, 2022

Cool place to visit
This was on the way in our travels and also on our possibly-to-do-list so we stopped by. It was pretty cool and we're glad we stopped with two younger kids. The place itself isn't very big, but it's big enough to let people prowl around for awhile looking at things. There's a giant buddha statue inside and a huge bell outside the kids can ring with a giant battering ram. Koi ponds, cool birds, etc.