Deep in a lush valley along the 2,000-foot Koolau Range lies the Valley of the Temples. The resting place for many of Hawaii’s departed, Valley of the Temples’ hilly landscape is scattered with hundreds of freshly placed tropical flowers, like torch ginger and bird of paradise, to remember loved ones.
The main attraction in the Valley of the Temples is a Japanese temple called Byodo-in, which translates to the “Temple of Equality.” A scale replica of a temple in Uji Japan and made entirely without nails, Byodo-in was dedicated in 1968 as a centennial commemoration of the first Japanese immigrants in Hawaii. Famed Kyoto Landscaper Kiichi Toemon Sano planned the Japanese garden complex that houses Byodo-in with extreme attention to detail, from the gravel’s ripple-like design to the small bridges over the fishpond.
