Mountain View Buddhist Temple

I came here along with my daughter for her high school religion assignment. The people we met were very friendly and welcoming. We met the resident minister who was gracious in taking time out of his busy schedule to talk to us. He gave us the background of the temple, what the various gestures meant as well as pointing out the major founders, etc. for Shin Buddhism. We had the opportunity to do Oshoko near the end of our visit!
I would be interested in attending service to get a better feel for the religion.

This review is for the Obon Festival rather than the actual Buddhist temple. My 7 y.o. son and I have gone to the Obon several times over the years, but he seemed to enjoy the carnival games more this year. I could barely tear him away from the archery gallery (he won multiple prizes). He had fun at the mini golf game (the man running the booth was great with the kids and added a few extra balls just when they thought the game was over, nice touch). We couldn’t seem to win a goldfish, but it was fun trying to throw balls in the lava-​lamp thingy. We didn’t try the Bingo, but lots of folks were playing and seemed to be having a good time.
We had chicken teriyaki, sushi, and manju. The prices were very reasonable. We even took extra food home. The only disappointment was the shave ice line. It was so long we gave up on waiting.
We bought a nifty cookbook with modern recipes from the congregation… the cookbook even has a cool built in stand.
I found a crocheted lap blanket and a crocheted scarf.
We weren’t in the mood to shop for plants, but it looked like there were quite a few choices.
Overall, folks were friendly here, although some of the friendliness was from perhaps too much beer in the young adult crowd.
It passed the kid test. 4 stars.

The Obon Festival and Bazaar was a lot of fun and within walking distance. All the great old carnival games were present — «win a gold fish to kill slowly at home» and «sit in a tent with sweaty BINGO strangers». Also all the carnival food delights were there, but with a Buddhist asian flair. If you also wanted to buy some plants those were for sale by the truck load. There was also a Great Hall of eating… not sure what was the attraction but the line was out the door and the Hall was packed!
Can’t wait until the next one … Goldie didn’t last very long.