Honbushin International Center New Years Mochitsuki Festival

I almost dont want to write this review because this is a really great event and at the moment it is not super extremely crowded but I think it deserves MANY stars.My family hasn't pounded mochi in about 35 years and I wanted to have my daughter experience it. I wasn't really expecting much from this event. My friend invited us to go to it and I was hesitant but somewhat excited to go since it has been a while since I saw or pounded mochi.Met my sister and her family and decided that we would pound together. 10 dollars and about a 2 hour wait (eating ono food and looking at the open market) later we were pounding mochi. It was pretty amazing to have that many people able to pound mochi (100 families). And it went pretty smoothly too. There was about 5 usu going at the same time and it was a sight to see. From smashing the rice all the way to pounding and shaping the balls (haha), it was really amazing.I would say go early, before the 9am opening.But wait, like all YELP reviews I gotta talk about the food!Yaki Mochi - 2$ (yes, 2 dollars) - big piece of mochi and nori! WIN!Sweet Red Bean Mochi - 2$ - again, lots of sweet red azuki beans and huge mochi! WIN againOden - 5$ - 3 piece soft beef, egg, 3 daikon, konyakku, etc... oh man, this one was a super win.Chicken Yakitori - 2 for 5$ - my daughter inhaled them and loved it. Must have been good. There was also other food choices that I didn't try but all of the things we tried were GREAT! Bathrooms were plentiful and the parking on the grass was availiable. Pounding the mochi with my family really was a bonding experience. I loved it and it really brought me back to a simpler time of family, friends, and togetherness.LOTS and LOTS of props to the Honbushin Church for offeing this to the public. I will be coming back every year if at all possible. Hope to see you all there! Ok, wait, not ALL of you. haha! Happy NEW Year!

Who would have thought that this church was all the way nestled up in the hills of Mililani! Their annual New Years Mochitsuki festival had so much to do! They have family mochi pounding, a farmers market, cotton candy, home made fruit drinks fresh from their garden, and great music! although the selection of food is not very big, you don't need to have a big selection when everything tastes so great! The home made Oden was unlike any other oden i've eaten and it was probably my favorite one i've had. The Tonjiru (pork based soup with veggies) was full of flavor and this was my kids' personal favorite. The fresh mochi was super soft and came with a variety of flavors like Yaki (shoyu with nori), azuki, kinako (peanut powder), or peanut butter and honey. But the best thing about this event is the family mochi pounding! If you dont get here early though the spots can fill up quickly. But it was great to have my kids try pounding their own fresh mochi from scratch. They all had a lot of fun and we will definitely make this an annual tradition!

This small scale family festival is really an unknown gem here in Oahu. Honbushin International Center is up on a hill in Mililani (around Mililani Tech area) and it is situated on a beautiful, peaceful expansive piece of land. Each year they hold a New Years Mochitsuki Festival which is free to the public. I am partially of Japanese descent, though because my mom was adopted by a Puerto Rican family, we basically don't know much about Japanese traditions. I am grateful for the Mochitsuki Festival, which allows me to experience the authentic Japanese tradition of pounding mochi, especially with my three year old who is now taking such interest in her ethnic traditions and languages. At the Mochitsuki Festival, you and your family and friends can pound mochi and take it home for free. There is a donation box and the sign asks a humble $5, however they do not even ask or pressure you for a donation. It seems like the people of the Honbushin genuinely want to share and teach their special tradition. When you arrive, if you'd like to pound mochi, you stand in line to sign a waiver and then you receive a number. You can experience pounding mochi when your number is called. There are only a certain amount of time slots to pound the mochi, and if you'd like to get a spot, I suggest you go early, like when it opens. We arrived around 10:00 (it opens at 9:00) and we were number 74. I believe there were only 100 spots available. While you are waiting to pound mochi, you can sit on the lawn and watch the entertainment consisting of anything from Taiko drumming to hula dancing. And be sure to buy the fresh mochi, in a variety of styles, such as yaki mochi (friend with teriyaki and nori), kinako, curry, peanut butter and azuki beans. The mochi is warm, gooey and crispy coming fresh off of the grill, and at $1-$2 per serving, it's such a deal. Oden, Ozoni and Ramen are also sold there, as well as some other snack, but the warm and tasty broth is perfect comfort food especially since up in Mililani the air has a nice chill to it. Another wonderful aspect to this festival is the mini farmer's market. Honbushin grows their own fruits and vegetables right there on their property and you can purchase avocados, soursop, bananas, carrots, daikon, asian greens and more for very reasonable prices. These are uncertified organic produce that essentially is coming from their "(very large) backyard". This is a very small festival, and the experience you will have here can not compare to the large, commercialized festivals throughout the year in Hawaii. I can't explain it, but when you are there, you feel like you are amongst family and friends. If this is the kind of thing that you enjoy, then you MUST remember to check it out next year!