Hilo offers an unusual mix: you can walk lush botanical gardens, stand inside a lava tube, see a Japanese garden on a lagoon, and be 45 minutes from active volcanic activity. Downtown Hilo preserves one of Hawaii's best collections of early 20th century wooden storefronts, several now housing independent shops and cafes. The Pacific Tsunami Museum tells the story of the two tsunamis that devastated this waterfront — 1946 and 1960 — with unflinching honesty. The Lyman Museum covers Hawaiian natural history from lava flows to celestial navigation. For the outdoors, Rainbow Falls is minutes from town, Akaka Falls is a short drive north, and Banyan Drive — lined with enormous banyans planted by celebrities in the 1930s — makes for an excellent evening walk.