Liliuokalani Gardens, on the edge of Hilo Bay, is one of Hawaii's most peaceful public spaces and the largest formal Japanese garden outside Japan. Built in the early 1900s to honour the island's immigrant Japanese workers, the 30-acre park is laid out with stone lanterns, arched bridges, koi ponds, pagodas, and carefully pruned trees overlooking the bay and Coconut Island beyond. It's free to enter and open at all hours.
The gardens are at their most photogenic in the early morning, when the light comes off the water and there's almost no one else around. The bayside location means the gardens catch the trade winds, making them cool even in summer. Just north is Banyan Drive, a short road lined with enormous banyan trees planted by visiting celebrities in the 1930s — each one marked with a plaque. The walk between the gardens and the banyans takes about an hour.