Subaru Telescope

Sunset up at the telescope was awesome! It gets really cold though so make sure you wear warm layers.

Took a guided tour today. She was so great! She is fluent in English and Japanese and was very knowledgeable about everything we asked. The telescope was very impressive! We got to walk around it and see it up close. Anyone interested in some very advanced technology I highly recommend they schedule a tour here in advance of their trip. Also keep in mind the road to the top can close, so keep an eye out for the road status.

Amazing tour inside the building including views from below and above the telescope and also a walk around the catwalk.

According to Wiki: Subaru is the primary tool in the search for Planet Nine. Its large field of view, 75 times that of the Keck telescopes, and strong light-gathering power are suited for deep wide-field sky surveys. The search, split between a research group led by Batygin and Brown and another led by Sheppard and Trujillo, is expected to take up to five years.

It's the top of the world and a "beautiful"sight...

I reserved a guide from Subaru website. We drove two Subaru 4WD to the telescope. A Japanese guide showed us marvelous inside . It was another amazing experience in Hawaii. You should not miss this low cost but fantastic private trip.

Went to the Sabaru and Keck telescopes whilst on business at Hawaii. The views from there and the acclimatisation camp were something else - beautiful. Due to being up 14 000ft, you MUST take care. Oxygen has a relative low level (~40%) although the level of oxygen is actually very close to 100% but at this height the partial pressure is very low. You must drink water as your body reacts differently at this height, listen to everything the people at the telescope tell you and most importantly tell someone immediately if you feel weird, headachy or sick - if not you are most probably going to pass out (one of our party did!). Enjoy the wonderful telescopes, drink and keep warm!

I had a reservation in Nov 2018.... I am from Oahu but was bringing my family from florida to Mauna Kea. Subaru cancelled our tour last minute, didn't offer any help finding alternatives. We had to cancel our Big Island trip, pay fees to change last minute to Maui. Went to Haleakala instead. We again made reservations this Month April, but again had to cancel because they only had Japanese tours available. All of my emails ignored, never responded to. I was given a supposed direct number to someone in Hilo w/ Subaru who could help. Called for 3 days, no answer and voicemail full. Don't Center your trip on a Subaru Telescope tour, they will cancel at any time and become impossible to reach. FYI the views are remarkbale up here.

I didn't rate this place only because I came here to pick up my Son from work to eat out for lunch. So this review will be as short as short can be because there's nothing much to talk about this except that it was easy to find. Oh well, have a great day and keep on Yelping Oh darn, it won't let me post unless it's longer. Hmmmm, I used the app Waze to find my Sons Workplace and it was right on point. The landscaping is beautiful and simple. As I texted him that I was in front. There he was. Ready to go and so off we went. But before leaving he noticed that I had a sensor light on for my tire and told me where to drive and he went ahead and brought me to something like a mechanic shop on the premises to blow up my tire and guess what! The light went off lol and off we went. What? All I had to do was give it some stars and now it'll let me post my review. Au-we! Lol

Look - you won't be visiting this place unless you are a professional astronomer. But if that's you, and you do visit, it's about as nice of an astronomical facility that you'll find. Lots of parking - visitor parking is just outside the front door. Facilities are large, and very, very quiet. Remote (Subaru) observing capability, and lots and lots of outstanding support. Washrooms have a bidet - a nice "touch". 'Imiloa is a 2 min walk down the hill, with a great cafe and gift shop (7am - 4pm + dinner Thurs-Sun) and wonderful overall facility.