Hawaii's Share Your Table

The treats are the edible manifestations of a Japanese Buddhist tradition that has evolved over more than a century in Hawaii. Bon dances celebrate the season of the dead, when the spirits of ancestors come home to visit. Translation: The more, the merrier, and many temples use closely guarded recipes, farm-fresh produce and theme foods to draw the crowds.

Offerings range from the barbecue sticks and shave ice found at virtually every bon dance, to specialty items like Koganji Temple’s teriyaki-grilled corn, a Japanese festival staple replicated at the Manoa temple by Japan-born Bishop Jikyu Rose; and Shingon Mission’s make-your-own poke bowl. Many other Oahu temples also sell yakisoba stir-fried noodles, dinner plates with teriyaki meats, rice and pickled vegetables, and andagi donuts.

Neighbor island dances feature their own specialties. On Kauai it’s the flying saucer, a hamburger patty sandwiched between two slices of white bread, the whole thing freshly grilled. On Maui it’s the ubiquitous chow fun Chinese stir-fry of noodles and veggies, and Big Island temples feature home-made nishime simmered vegetables.

Taken in totality, the foods showcase the evolution of the islands. The earliest bon dance snacks were musubi, or rice balls wrapped in nori, served with simple pickles. Travel Oahu’s bon dance circuit today and you’ll find not only Japanese foods, but Korean kalbi, Chinese spare ribs, Okinawan andagi, and local-style chili dogs, teriyaki hamburgers and Spam musubi.

There is dancing, by the way, with live Japanese festival music and taiko drumming. Dozens, sometimes hundreds, of dancers circle the central yagura music towers, twirling and stepping in synchronicity under strings of paper lanterns. Like the food, bon dancers today reflect the entire rainbow of cultural groups in Hawaii.