Private Big Island Circle Tour with Japanese-Speaking Guide

It was fantastic! My wife, our 1-year-11-month-old child, and I participated in this tour on our second day after arriving on the Big Island of Hawaii. Because of an impending eruption, they moved our meeting time up and picked us up at 10:45 AM in the hotel lobby. During the 40-minute drive, we received detailed explanations about the Big Island's vegetation, lava flows, formation, and history, which made the tour truly worthwhile. Our child became fussy along the way, so they took a 10-minute break for a restroom stop and let him play in an outdoor play area. (It was cold due to the high altitude.) Afterwards, we drove for another 40 minutes or so to Hilo, where we had lunch at a local restaurant. We ate loco moco and plates with meat and fish. Our picky eater son ate french fries. We went to see Rainbow Fall and the Banyan Tree. The Banyan Tree was huge and truly impressive. After that, we traveled for about 5 minutes and saw the King Kamehameha statue. We then traveled a little further and strolled around Hilo (about 20 minutes). We didn't have much time, but we bought candy and other things at a foreign-style candy store (we bought so much without looking at the prices that it came to about 10,000 yen, lol). We bought a children's t-shirt and a volcano magnet (both about 1,000 yen?). Next, we went to a cookie shop called Big Island Candys. There was a Japanese staff member inside who explained things and gave us samples. I bought chocolate-dipped cookies for work. My wife bought a lot of things, and the bill came to about 30,000 yen, which left me speechless. After shopping, we went to Volcanoes National Park. Unfortunately, the eruption was postponed, so we couldn't see it. We were moved to see the smoke coming out of the crater. After that, we saw lava tunnels and other craters. Around 5:30 PM, we went to a restaurant called "The Rim" with a view of the crater. We ordered beer, cocktails, steak, a children's meal, and a chicken cutlet plate. We also ordered red wine. Around 7:00 PM, the crater glowed red, creating a magical scene. Finally, we drove for about 1 hour and 20 minutes to a stargazing spot. Because we were above the clouds, there were no clouds and the view was beautiful. It was incredibly cold, but they had down jackets for both children and adults that they kindly lent us. We were then dropped off at the hotel, and that was the end of our trip. Overall, it was fantastic!

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