The Tenrikyo Bazaar is a one-day annual fundraiser in Nuuanu. 2026 was the 54th annual event! It's open to the public, there's tons of great local food (like huli chicken, andagi, yakisoba, shave ice, and more!), games for kids, used goods sale, and live entertainment. Come early and come hungry ^_^
This past Sunday was the 54th annual Tenrikyo Bazaar! We're lucky to have many neat festivals in Hawaii. Most are family friendly, good for little kids and big families and groups. Also fun to go solo, there is much to see, do, and...EAT.
Thank you to Steph for telling me about this Bazaar! Many tasty festival, fairs, and bon dances take place in the evening but I was looking for a morning or afternoon event to take my son.
Tenrikyo Bazaar started at 8am! We arrived at 9am and the parking lot was already full. After circling for 15 minutes, we drove to Maʻemaʻe Elementary School and parked there. They were running free shuttles between nearby schools (Maʻemaʻe Elementary School and Kawananakoa Middle School) and the Bazaar. Easy and plenty parking! We only had to wait a couple minutes for the shuttle bus, no stress at all.
Next year if I don't arrive to the Bazaar at opening time, I'll drive straight to the elementary school and park there.
First thing to do: get scrip! $1 = 1 scrip. No cash accepted at any of the food and game booths, so you'll definitely needs scrip.
I was most excited for andagi (Okinawan doughnuts) but the line was crazy long. Lucky for us, Steph and her family got there early and got extra andagi for us!! Saved us a good hour of waiting in line. Thank you, Steph!!
It was warm and wonderful with that crunchy crust. I love the cakey interior and the light sweetness. So good. It was my son's first time eating andagi and now he wants to try all the different kinds of doughnuts in the world haha.
This is the area where all they were frying up some good andagi!
Next up was the fresh mochi! Which also had a bananas long line. I think andagi and mochi were the two most popular food items. Steph to the rescue again because she saved us extra mochi! Freshly pounded mochi, stuffed with red bean filling.
You could watch the mochi pounding at 9am, 9:45am, and 10:30am. I missed taking a photo but it was neat to see! The mochi pounding times were written on the food price list (bottom of the post), definitely a priority for next year visit.
We played a few of the kiddie games and won tasty prizes. So many of the big kids were playing kendama ^_^
We also got these super good garlic chicken wings. Good thing I had plenty of wet wipes in my purse ahaha.
Here's the chicken wing table/booth area.
And we also had an andagi hot dog! Haven't had these in ages! It is like a corn dog but the batter is andagi batter. So ono.
The was barely a line for the andagi hot dog. I think that's because everyone assumed you had to wait in the regular (very long) andagi line. But you don't! It two separate lines. So if there's no time for regular andagi you can at least try the andagi hot dog.
I also got a whole and super juicy huli huli chicken.
Took this home for dinner. Great with rice and a side of stir fried lettuce!
There were many other dishes I wanted to try like the somen, ohagi, stamina ramen (this looked REAL good), oden set, yasai-ten gobo (braised gobo), the stew bowl, imoten (tempura fried sweet potato)...
...and yakisoba. Man that looks tasty! Line was too long though. There was also an Italian soda both with many local flavors.
Some dishes sold out early (the "sold out" whiteboard was helpful) and others had long lines. I loved all the cheerful energy of the festival, it makes me happy to be home in Hawaii. We will be back for more next year ^_^
Tenrikyo Bazaar: Tips
- Go early! Things sell out and the food lines get longs. The event was from 8am-1pm this year. I arrived at 9am, but wish I got there at 8am!
- If you want to watch the live mochi pounding, look for the times printed on the flyer with the price list. This year was 9am, 9:45am, and 10:30am.
- Bring wet wipes, so you can eat all the tasty tings like garlic chicken wings.
- Bring an extra bag (or two), so you can carry home all the extra food you'll want to buy!
Tenrikyo Bazaar: Info
- Tenrikyo Bazaar is an annual one-day fundraiser event that is open to the public. This past August 30, 2026 was the 54th annual Bazaar!
- The event takes place at the Tenri Cultural Center (2236 Nuuanu Ave, Honolulu, HI 96817).
- Admission is free. You just need to purchase scrip ($1 = 1 scrip) in order to buy food, play games, etc.
- Free parking on site. There's also free parking at Maʻemaʻe Elementary School and Kawananakoa Middle School. There is a free shuttle bus that runs between the two schools and the Tenri Cultural Center.
Mahalo for Reading!