Valley of the Temples

Last week we went on a fun, family adventure to a place called Valley of the Temples.  It's on the rain forest/jungle side of the island so it's always exciting to explore over there since our side is so different.  We had passed this place the first time we drove up to North Shore and driven around it a little bit and decided that we needed to come back.  It's a magical, reverent place that feels like you've stepped back in time and stepped into Japan because the main place there is a beautiful Buddhist temple (Byodo-in) tucked in a little valley in a bamboo thicket.  Here is a description from their website:

The Byodo-In Temple is located at the foot of the Ko'olau Mountains in Valley of the Temples Memorial Park. It was established on June 7, 1968, to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. The Byodo-In Temple in O'ahu is a smaller-scale replica of the over 950-year-old Byodo-in Temple, a United Nations World Heritage Site in Uji, Japan.
http://www.byodo-in.com/

Pretty amazing place and very nostalgic of our visits to Buddhist temples in Japan too so we loved it.

Here are some of my favorite pictures that we took...

The girls thought that ringing this huge bell on the way in was really great.

Inside Byodo-in

Hana & I liked this moss covered frog statue :)

The cool bamboo thicket

Aya assumed that a panda must be near by because there was bamboo!

Lots of neat wildlife here. I loved these cute turtles, sunning themselves on the rocks in the middle of the temple pond

Aya is gathering bamboo pieces to feed the panda that she was still sure would appear.

I love the mist on the mountains on this side of the island!

 This weekend we've really enjoyed watching General Conference yesterday and today. (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2013/04?lang=eng) So many wonderful messages!  Our Father in Heaven truly does live and loves each of us and will help us through all our trials and to become who He wants us to be if we turn to Him.  So good to know and be reminded of when we live in such a crazy world sometimes.

I was quite homesick today for the first time in awhile.  Love and miss you all!