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!

[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!

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] There is handicap parking available on a first come, first serve basis. So do come early or be prepared to be dropped off. [PARKING] Other lots available nearby, suggest calling the temple the week leading up to the Bon Dance to ask where parking is available.

I am a member of the community this temple is at. I used to feel more welcomed here, but recently…read morethey made it clear the neighbors aren't welcome.

Diverse free programs (Buddhist and non-Buddhist, donation-base throughout the week for the…read morecommunity.

The Center is quiet, calming, and has nice views of the city. Vegetarian lunch available every…read moreSunday starting at around 11:45 until around 1:45. The Center has a Meetup group, "Bodhi Tree Meditation Sangha" where you can learn about weekly meditation events.

The Koganji Temple Bon Dance is a massive two day event held annually on Koganji Temple's 1.7 acre…read moreManoa property. The dance itself is held in the center of the property with food tents setup around the perimeter and the bake sale indoors in one of the nearby buildings. This event and location are huge. Kind of amazing that such a big property can hide so well in Manoa, must be the hiding in those Manoa rains. Koganji has so many food options! Hamburgers, corn, kimono dogs (andagi corndogs), kimono puppies, andagi in multiple forms, fried yakisoba, beef katsu donburi, spam musubi, the list of food goes on and on and on in addition to a large bake sale selling everything from cookies to jam. Sales are script base and prices are somewhat higher than other bon dances. My sister and I shared the fried yakisoba noodle, a hamburger, andagi, and katsu beef donburi. The noodles weren't anything special, but the burger was perfectly cooked with a crispy piece of fresh lettuce, which is a nice change for a bon dance burger. The andagi was crispy and tasty, but one wasn't exactly andagi shaped, but that's okay. (You should see some of the shapes that come out of Punahou's carnival malasada booth, aka NSFW, so these are excused). The Katsu beef donburi was surprisingly good. I went for it because I've never seen it at bon dance and to be honest, I'm getting bored with bon dance food. The fried and battered beef was tender and tasty, with pickled cabbage, corn and a seemingly vegetarian Japanese version of a Gau Gee. We spent about $20 with bottled water. Unlike other bon dances, lots of chairs and benches are provided, both indoors in the bake sale area and surrounding the bon dance itself. Unfortunately, many of them are wet, because, well it's Manoa. Suck it up buttercup, if you wanted dry, you would have gone to the Waialua Hongwanji Bon Dance. The number of dancers seemed fewer than other dances, but that might be due to the limited dancing area. I do enjoy how the lanterns are all sorts of colors, giving the dance an almost carnival like feel. Parking is a mess as there's virtually no parking on site, forcing people to brave the cold and unforgiving mean streets of Manoa for parking. Oh wait, I'm talking about Manoa, so replace all of those adjectives with "wet." Lots of people end up parking at the public Manoa Park and making the short walk over. My sister and I were amazed there were so many people with such bad parking. Maybe it's just lots of Manoa residents walking from home? Bring cash and a jacket/umbrella as its Manoa and it rains.

WOW i've driven up…read moreand down oahu have many a time, and have never ever seen a japanese temple, so when is saw that there was an obon festival in manoa on oahu ave, i was a bit skeptical. then i saw the commercial on kiku - stunning... but was it just a picture of an obon elsewhere in japan? we met a sales person at pier one that day who was telling us that she really wanted to go to the obon festival in manoa tonight because they have the most beautiful lanterns there...really? now i'm really interested. so we drive down oahu avenue, and if not for the policemen standing on the street, and the pedestrians walking in, you would never now the temple was here because all you see from the street is a sign, and driveway. but as you walk down the driveway, you begin to see the most beautifully glowing lanterns down below you. what a surreal setting. a beautiful temple nestled in the slopey hill and the obon set up below. the gardens and ponds were beautiful. we totally want to go back to check it out in the daylight. so reminiscent of something you'd see in kyoto. if the beautiful lanterns aren't enough to persuade you to go, here's a few more: 1) teriyaki corn, freshly grilled on the hibachi 2) andagi 3) curry croquettes all, extremely delicous! it is extremely crowded, or at least it feels that way because the space is small, you do have to wait a while in lines to get your food, and the parking situation is bad, but it was totally worth it, and we're coming back next year. hey, you can always take uncle frank's limo (aka the bus) -the #5 bus stops right in front.

My review is based on the history and architecture of the church and not on attending a service. I…read moream fascinated by architecture and Hawaii offers unique examples of missionary architecture that you just don't see anywhere else in the U.S. So while most visitors go to the beach, I'm most likely poking my nose in old buildings. Central Union Church captured my imagination. The church was built in 1922, but its history dates back much further. Seamen's Bethel was established in 1833 to minister to sailors stopping in Honolulu. This small group grew organically and through a merger, building larger structures until construction of the current structure began in 1922 and completed in 1924. Ralph Adams Cram of Boston was the architect of the structure that is considered by some as the most beautiful church. The Colonial Revival stone block structure is impressive. The local volcanic stone is from the, now closed, Mo'il'ili Quarry. The interior maintains elaborate cornice detail and stained glass windows. I could feel the history when I walked into the massive sanctuary. The building and spire were renovated in the 1980's through local donation. A smaller chapel was added in 1949 with similar architecture. A dedicated parking lot is located west of the sanctuary. This magnificent church is worth a visit if you are interested in historical architecture.

My own church since childhood, they focus on service. Beautiful people, welcoming all, the Senior…read moreMinister is, IMNSHO, literally a saint. Gorgeous music, friendly congregation. I love my church. Come worship with us and celebrate the love that never faileth.

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.

New year...new location…read more.. Ever since I can remember we've come to the temple to start our new year with humble and the calm of visiting the temple along with the fireworks that's been the tradition here in Hawai'i though this year I did have different plans as I took the kindness of Yelp friends of Suri S and Steve S to view the fireworks along with dinner and a lovely evening planned. With that going the morning after since I had the day off I decided not to slack off and still visit the temple for blessing only to see that there wasn't the priest as many flocked over and gave their donations and dropped off the old omamori ring the bell and made their prayers on their own was something that I didn't expect. Parking is the biggest issues here is the reason that I don't usually come here as there is a drop off area and you park at Farrington but since we did have a disable parking I was able to bring mom and do a quick glance around which was really nice. There were two area to do your prayers while the nearby building held the other various options to have a sip of sake, various omamori with description for each amulet and what it represents is a great detail for those that needs further representation was quite impressive. Mom enjoyed herself and was delighted of this location as it has restrooms as well as we start 2025 with a positive vibe and at peace for the visit. Thank you!

I just love the energy and smiles as locals and visitors from afar flock to this Shinto shrine…read more 2023 ushered in the Year of the Water Rabbit and people come during the pre-sale period starting the day after Christmas to get the best selections of Shinto good luck charms (omamori). 2024 brings us the Year of the Wood Dragon and all of the auspicious opportunities that this year brings!