captains had learned to work with more practical missionaries, and a consortium including Hawaiian leaders built the handsome coral block and fieldstone Masters’ Reading Room, a civilized retreat for sailors onshore. Nearby is the Old Prison, which served as tempo- rary quarters for sailors who imbibed too much. And land belonging to Kamehameha III, with a retreat building, was leased and served as the Seamen’s Hospital. After the whaling captains gave way to sugar barons at the beginning of the twentieth century and Lahaina’s major landowner became the Pioneer Sugar Plantation, the
Pioneer Inn became Maui’s leading hotel. With all its raffish charm and island-style hospitality, it still survives today. But the most colorful sites on the historical trail memorialize the Asian sugar plantation laborers who arrived in the late nineteenth century. Of particular note are the Hongwanji Buddhist mission, the Chinese Wo Hing Temple, and above all—and well worth the long walk—the Lahaina Jodo Mission Cultural Park, the historical tour’s northern- most site on Pu‘unoa Point. The Jodo Mission was once a place of refuge and spiritual refreshment for Japanese laborers who followed the Jodo Shinshu tradition. The mission complex has an authentic Japanese copper-shingled temple and pagoda; a beautiful, weath- ered temple bell, and, towering over the promontory, the largest statue of the Buddha in the Jodo Shinshu lineage outside of Japan.
This massive statue of Buddha in the Lahaina Jodo Mission Cultural Park is a focal point for visitors who wish to explore the Asian history of Maui.
Just a short drive north of Lahaina on the Honoapi‘ilani Highway (Route 30) are the beaches and shops of the six-hundred-acre Ka‘anapali Resort, along with premier championship golf courses. The Kapalua Resort’s Plantation and Bay Courses, with their gently rolling terrain and dazzling views, have hosted the Hyundai Tourna-
T H E E L K S M A G A Z I N E 57
JOHN ELK/GETTY
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