Byodo- In Temple
When arrived in Hawaii I added several things to my bucket list. After months of it being closed due to COVID I was finally able to visit The Byodo – In Temple and cross it off of my bucket list. I was pretty much stalking their website and when they finally opened back up around October I quickly made my way for a visit.
The Temple was taking COVID precautions very seriously which made me feel good about my visit. Each person had to have their temperatures taken before you entered and then you were given a sticker with the time and date on it. You were also required to wear a mask at all times and stay 6 feet apart from others even though the attraction is outdoors.
Finally we reach the line to pay and the fee was $5 per person, a little less if you had a Hawaii ID.
Now I had already saw pictures online but seeing in person was unreal…..breathtaking! It was beautiful and well worth the wait. The weather on that side of the island can be unpredictable at times but the it was perfect that day. It was sunny, not too hot and no rain showers.
Obviously the first thing I did was take a picture.
When we first entered we were directly to use the left entrance (another COVID precaution) and that’s also where the Sacred Bell is. It is believed that ringing the bell will bring peace and happiness and we could all use that some more peace and happiness, now more than ever.
After reading further about the bell I learned that the bell was brought over from Japan and it weighs over 14,000 pounds. Wow!
As we made our way further inside of the temple we were required to take off our shoes and be quiet before entering because this is a place of worship. Once Inside there was a huge Buddha statue and people were praying, meditating and some even made donations.
We walked through and admired just how beautiful it was, all while respecting the culture of course!
I have already mentioned how beautiful the temple was but honestly, the Koi fish were just as beautiful.
You were able to buy food from the gift shop to feed the fish as feeding them anything else was not allowed.
As we continued to move around the pond the views kept getting better and better! I mean this place is amazing!
After leaving I did some research and learned so much more about the Temple. The Temple in Hawaii is actually a replica and that the original Temple is in Japan. As I looked at the pictures of the one in Japan I couldn’t believe how similar they looked. All of the architecture was the same. Now I want to visit Japan to see the real thing.
I literally waited months to see this place and all in all it took us about 30 minutes or so to complete our tour and it was absolutely totally and completely worth the wait!
To learn more about the Temple you can click here.
