Kaua'i is known as the "the garden island" for its lush landscape and diverse, seemingly perfect climate. However, as any green thumb knows. It takes the dedication and love of a gardener for a garden to flourish. Likewise, it is the people of Kaua'i who tend to the land that make this island produce its bountiful gifts. People like Lynn Muramoto, life-long resident and founder of Lawai International Center, who observed, "This is a place for all people, a sacred place." while looking out onto the landscape of the center with the love a mother looking at her child. This sentiment of inclusiveness and careful tending to the land is the common characteristic of many sacred places on Kaua'i and the people who care for them. And it is perhaps because of this symbiotic relationship that the land produces these revered places.

Upon entering the Lawai International Center, just off the busy Kaumuali'i Highway on the Westside of Kauai, a warm breeze drifts through the green open valley and a sense of calm takes over. Founder Lynn Muramoto hands you a walking stick and you begin exploring the 88 Buddhist shrines build into the hillside by Japanese immigrants in 1904. The site once a Hawaiian heiau focused on healing, has long been a sanctuary for many people over the years. The shrines, replicas of 88 built in Shikoku, Japan, were weathered and overgrown over time, until 1990 when Muramoto visited the sanctuary and then quit her job as a teacher to restore the area. She founded the non-profit project which is a volunteer-driven, non denominational place for peace and healing. Visit to the center are on the second and last Sunday of every month from 10am to 3pm. Visit www.lawaicenter.org for more information.