You cannot understand Hilo without knowing its history as a two-time tsunami survivor (1946 and 1960). This museum encompasses only a few rooms, but they're brimming with riveting information that reveals island life in the 1900s. Allow enough time to experience the multimedia exhibits, including chilling computer simulations and heart-wrenching first-person accounts. The newest section covers the Japanese tsunami of 2011, which damaged Kona.
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Pacific Tsunami Museum
Top choice in Hilo
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
24.67 MILES
Kilauea volcano lies at the center of activity in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The unassuming bump on Mauna Loa's southeast flank would be easily…
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Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
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1.18 MILES
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The island's best ‘tourist waterfall’ is found at this outstanding, family-friendly park. Walk the paved path counterclockwise, on a loop that traverses…
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When 'Little Kilauea' burst open in a fiery inferno in November 1959, it filled the crater with a roiling lake of molten rock fed by a 1900ft fountain…
Nearby Hilo attractions
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Built in 1910, this iconic blue building housed Koehnen's Interiors, a classy home furnishings store, from 1929 until 2012. Three generations of Koehnens…
2. Mokupapapa Discovery Center
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Geared for kids, this center aims to educate the public about pristine Hawaiian ecosystems. Even adults might not know that the Hawaiian archipelago…
3. East Hawai‘i Cultural Center/HMOCA
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Centrally located, this mini park should be Hilo's 'town square,' but it is mostly green space bypassed by cars and pedestrians. It does come to life on…
0.16 MILES
Designed by architect Henry Whitfield, this stately building (1919) is typical of Hilo’s early 20th-century government buildings. The former courthouse…
0.22 MILES
See the current swirling around a large rock in the upstream Wailuku River? Legend has it that the demigod Maui paddled his canoe with such speed across…
0.29 MILES
How strong was Kamehameha the Great? According to legend, anyone with enough strength to budge the 3.5-ton Naha Store would also have the strength to…
8. Lyman Museum & Mission House
0.38 MILES
Although small in scale, this museum is a good primer on Hawaii's natural and cultural history. Downstairs, geologic exhibits include fascinating examples…