Oahu has two lantern floating events every summer. The smaller of these events is the Haleiwa Lantern Floating and bon dance.
A Japanese buddhist tradition, lantern floating has grown in popularity here in Hawaii. The most well known of these events is the one held at Magic Island near Waikiki. Known as Lantern Floating Hawaii, the event is put on by the Shinyo-en, which is a buddhist denomination. And the event is even presided over by the head of Shinyo-en, her holiness Shinso Ito. And despite this, the event attracts literally tens of thousands of people of all religions, cultures, and walks of life.
Haleiwa Jodo Mission
Unlike the Lantern Floating Hawaii, the Haleiwa Lantern Floating is put on by the Haleiwa Jodo Mission. And the lantern floating is actually held at the temple as part of its annual obon festival.
This past weekend was the first time Mrs. Island Miler and I decided to check out the Haleiwa Lantern Floating. We figured it wouldn’t be too crowded and planned on arriving around 7:45pm, as the lantern floating began at 9pm. But boy were we wrong! Above is the bon dance portion of the event. There must have been hundreds, and perhaps thousands of people there! Parking was, not surprisingly, atrocious, and we ended up parking about a third of a mile away at the Ali’i Beach Park. So once we met up with my parents at the bon dance, we decided to head over to the beach.
By the time we got to the beach around 8pm, it was already packed too. However, we did manage to snag a spot fairly close to the water. That didn’t stop others from walking over our stuff or shoving us, though, which is unfortunate. Police officers even had to continually clear the pathway down to the water for the priests. But, thankfully, the priests came through right at 9pm, and after a short ceremony, the floating began.
We tried to hang around as long as we could, but Ali’i Beach Park closes at 10pm, so we left the ceremony around 9:45pm. By then, the crowds had thinned a little, but it was still a bit crazy. And by this time, people were setting off illegal ariel fireworks and sky lanterns (also illegal in Hawaii).
Haleiwa Lantern Floating
It was interesting to finally experience a lantern floating ceremony. That being said, the crowds were so heavy and even a bit rude. Add to that the distance we had to drive and the resulting traffic heading back to town, and I’m not sure I’d go to this one again. Yes, the Haleiwa Lantern Floating is less commercial and more natural, but it suffers from the same issues as Lantern Floating Hawaii. So perhaps just stick with the Waikiki event. At least there you could stay at the Ala Moana hotel and simply walk over.