You don't have to be an orchid aficionado to appreciate the immense beauty of more than 500 unique types of blooming orchids on display at Akatsuka Orchid Gardens on the Big Island.
Orchid expert Moriyasu Akatsuka's passion for the luxurious flower sparked a desire in him to create a place where residents and visitors of the Big Island could explore a 13,000-square-foot facility filled with dendrobiums, oncidiums, phalaenopsis, miltonia, odontoglossums, and other orchid varieties, according to the company's website.
The company started as a wholesale cymbidium nursery in 1974, but Akatsuka, owner and operator of Akatsuka Orchid Gardens, eventually took the company in a different direction.
"We transitioned to a retail storefront back in the early 1980s as tourism began to increase to the Big Island," Akatsuka told the Big Island Times. "Due to our location being close to the Volcano National Park, we were able to showcase our orchids to our visitors."
The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated businesses in Hawaii, and the Akatsuka Orchid Gardens retail store has not been left unscathed by the public health crisis.
"We had to close the retail operations back in March 2020 due to a sudden stop in tourism," Akatsuka told the Big Island Times. "We reopened our showroom back in June 2020 with limited hours two days a week."
With the help of Paycheck Protection Program coronavirus pandemic relief funding, the Akatsuka Orchid Gardens retail store remains operational.
"We were very fortunate that we were able to continue our orchid growing operations and continue to ship to our retail and wholesale customers in the U.S. mainland and Hawaii," Akatsuka told the Big Island Times.
Hawaii agriculture certified, Akatsuka Orchid Gardens specializes in Cattleya orchids including the "Volcano Queen" variety which originates from their facility, but they also offer a wide range of tropical plants including: anthuriums, bromeliads and tillandsias.
For orchid enthusiasts that are unable to visit their retail space, orchids and all other tropical plants can be purchased seven days a week on the company's website.