Akatsuka Orchid Gardens

We have been shopping here for years, and ordinarily I would give 5 stars but under current circumstances they only get 3! They’ve closed off half the store for the dreaded orchid maze ($ 5.00 admission fee). What used to be free and enjoyable stroll viewing plants and gifts is now not even a stop over when we tour our friends around the island. We have personally purchased many orchids and gifts however we feel we should not pay to look and buy it does not seem right. Hopefully management will reconsider its approach. We also want to emphasize all the employees are fantastic and knowledgeable and this review does not reflect poorly on them just the recent addition of the «maze» cost.

$ 20K orchid?!?
The flowers were pretty but the warehouse was sparse and it was crazy that they charged $ 5 per person just to look at their orchid display (which they’ve deemed «The Orchid Maze»)… which included the infamous $ 20,000 orchid
This is a *store* and they’re charging the CUSTOMER to look at their displays & inventory?!
I’ve experienced better…

The orchids are beautiful. The staff is really knowledgeable and will help you find the perfect orchid for your need and living conditions. The assortment is really big and the prices are really reasonable. Can’t believe I never been there all the years growing up.

Nice place to come and check out their awesome verities of orchids but don’t buy them here. Too expensive! They are overly priced!!! Maybe if you are looking for something that is not always find from Costco or farmers market then yes it’s the right place to find that individuals rare ones.

An amazing variety of orchids & the quiz at the beginning is fun to match your personality to an orchid… downside is all the tour buses.

Came here with the family for an exclusive private 1^st birthday party for the owner’s daughter. Living all my life on the Big Island, it was my first time being here. They are a retailer and orchid nursery located in Volcano. They ship orchids all over the world.
It was to my amazement in how many orchid varieties there are. I was also surprised by how long it takes for an orchid to mature into a beautiful plant. I’m not a plant kinda guy neither do I have a green thumb, but the info and the things I learned are really amazing. You can also take a behind the scenes tour through their facility to find out how they grow and cultivate the hundreds of orchids they house. What I also found out is that their facility is self-​sustainable. They use the rain water by means of a reservoir to water and give life to all the plants. To be exact they use 1200 gallons of water a week.
The one thing I appreciate is they produce their own Poha berries or Cape-​gooseberries. So they supply Tropical Dreams, (an ice cream company which makes gourmet and hand-​made ice cream) in Hilo the poha berries to have it made exclusively for the Akatsuka nursery. After have gone through the tour, they let us sample the Poha Berry Ice cream and MAN ohhhhh MAN it was one of the best ice cream I have ever had in a while!!! Awesome!!!
If you’re ever heading towards Volcanoes National Park make sure to stop by. Get acquainted and educate yourself about orchids. Plus while you’re there, get some orchids for yourself!

Beautiful place to look at orchids. Extremely over priced (can find some of the same orchids at the local farmers markets for a third of the price), however, it’s a tourist shop so that’s understandable. I still walk around just to look, gorgeous orchids.

This is a great place to see amazing orchids of all kinds. It’s clean, well organized, and the people working there are very knowledgeable and friendly. The gift shop is very nice with a wide variety of interesting items for gifts. Their web site is
And it’s FREE! It’s inside a large well lit building with hundreds of beautiful blooming orchids of all colors, and shapes. Next time we visit the Big Island we’ll come back and see this again.

Akatsuka has an amazing variety of orchids (and a few other types of flowering plants) in a wide range of colors and scents. There are informative signs around, and the friendly, knowledgeable staff will tell you what’s around, how it grows, and — if you’re interested in trying your hand at orchids at home — what might work best in your circumstances. Most of the orchids are decently priced, and shipping is available. There’s no fee to wander the large, well-​stocked sales and exhibition area or to look into the greenhouse through windows; however, greenhouse tours are twice each on Monday and Wednesday and cost $ 35. [I wasn’t there during one of those periods so I don’t know if the actual tour is worth the cost.]

Super friendly staff, very informative! My mom and I popped in here just to browse around and the variety and amount of orchids was vast. It was great seeing all the different types. There is even one that smells like root beer, how cool is that?! Great place to stop into if you love flowers. Did I mention free admission?

Really unique place: we bought the most amazing orchid we’ve ever seen, shipped it to the mainland, and it didn’t lose any of its amazing blossoms (which is not guaranteed, but we were pleasantly surprised). It arrived home before we did, too. So make sure someone is there to get it. Great gift.
It’s a fun place to walk through even if you’re only mildly interested in plants. Some amazing specimens, many unique scents, and beautiful flowers. Free to visit, too!
A nice stop before Volcanoes Park or eating at the great Lodge nearby:

I never knew there were so many different types of Orchids

So cool! Even though I was really just along for the ride, since my partner is the gardener, Akatsuka Orchid Gardens was wonderful. The staff is so helpful and they have a HUGE selection of the most beautiful orchids I’ve ever seen.
After getting the orchids home to Kona they looked so good in our house and garden. I’m looking forward to buying orchids over the years from Akatsuka! I’m not a gardener, but I still loved looking and smelling all the beautiful orchids and other plants. We will be back!

Even if you are not into flowers you will probably be amazed by this place! Great variety and they breed some local varieties too. So fun and beautiful to look at. Prices may seem steep, but I find them reasonable for what you get. I would love to take the tour sometime too.

Wow.
If you like orchids… then this spot is heaven for you. Rows and rows and rows of colorful and sweet smelling orchids… even ones that smell like chocolate!
My fam loves this stuff so we bought some really dope-​looking ones. Trust me, you wont leave here empty-​handed.
Mahalo.

Akatsuka garden has beautiful orchids!!! They put a lot of love & care in2 these precious flowers. We love orchids & we decided 2 make this place one of the main destinations. Orchids come out so nice in pictures! I wished I knew how 2 take care of them. Nice place 2 stop off b4 u go 2 your next destination…

Akatsuka knows orchids, even the cashiers. The cashier gave us a crash course in orchid care and I learned a lot. I mean, we have orchids all over outside, and they do well enough, but now they’ll do better. They said that if we had any questions, we could call or email and they also sent us home with some information sheets about the specific type of orchids I bought.
This is a regular tour bus stop, but the space is big enough that it doesn’t feel claustrophobic. A wide variety of orchids have been in bloom everytime I’ve been here and it’s always beautiful. In addition, there’s colorful bromeliads, a tropical plant display and they also sell potting moss, pots and fertilizer.
Bonus: take a peek into the greenhouse and see where the orchids are grown from seed. Last time I was there, there was a display showing the growth cycle of catteleyas from seed to fruit.
Bonus 2: There’s a little orchid here that smells like CHOCOLATE! There are signs; check it out.
Bonus 3: Clean bathrooms.

Spur of the moment decision to visit.
Glad we did!
We had already seen some beautiful orchids at other spots, but these took my breath away.
I’ll only post two of the many pics I took because I’d like to encourage more people to visit and add pics of their own.
They’re available for purchase and can be shipped home.
If you’re an orchid enthusiast, I’d recommend a visit.
I would have loved to purchase some, but I’m a plant-​killer and these lovely orchids should not be left in my care.
So, I just have to content myself with being a lookee-​loo.
After going through the gift shop, there’s a bowl on the counter where the ladies can pick an orchid to pin in their hair. Part of Hawaiian tradition!
I happily picked out a lovely purple bloom along with a piece of fern and pinned them on my left side.
Notes: No admission fee!
Akatsuka is located right off the main road going from the National Volcano Park going towards to Hilo.

This review and pictures courtesy of guest Unilocal reviewer Maritza R. (aka. the wife)
«ooohhhhh. pretty flowers!»
her words. not mine.
seriously.

What a lovely place! It is hard to believe that you can come here and see so many beautiful orchids for free. They also have a nice selection of colorful anthuriums. The clerks were very helpful with orchid questions. I didn’t get anything, but I did pick up a brochure. They have great deals for shipping flower arrangements to the mainland.