Group photo in Okinawa

Group photo with Okinawa Hula Halau group and Hokule'a crew. The Hula Halau preformed for the Hokule'a after the arrival welcoming ceremony in Okinawa on the pier. Photo courtesy of Bob Nakasone.

Nainoa and sabani replica

Nainoa Thompson receives gift from Itoman city (Okinawa) at the departure ceremony.  The
gift is a replica of a trading sailing ship used during the period of the "Kingdom of the Ryukyus" before Okinawa became part of Japan. Photo courtesy of Bob Nakasone.

Okinawa departure ceremony

Departure ceremony rehearsal by the children of the Hula Halau in Okinawa.  It was raining that day so the ceremony was held inside a fish auction building at the pier. Photo courtesy of Bob Nakasone.

Hokule'a crew and kids

Young taiko drummers in Uto welcoming the Crew

A school band plays for the Hokule'a in Uto

Hokule'a open house in Uto

Hawaiian kanji letters being presented to students in Japan

For more information about the Nawahiokalani'opu'u School's Hawaiian in Kanji project, see Education Downloads in Education Resources, and also http://subarutelescope.org/staff/saeko/HokuleaSupport/.

Kanji letters presented to students in Uto

For more information about the Nawahiokalani'opu'u School's Hawaiian in Kanji project, see Education Downloads in Education Resources, and also http://subarutelescope.org/staff/saeko/HokuleaSupport/.

Students in Uto bid farewell to the Hokule'a

Nomozaki welcome

From http://tubameuo.exblog.jp/6828391

Hokule'a crew greeted by a local band in Nomozaki

From http://tubameuo.exblog.jp/6828391

Kana in Nomozaki

From http://tubameuo.exblog.jp/6828391

School visit in Nomozaki

From http://tubameuo.exblog.jp/6828391

Crewmember Kana greeted in Nagasaki

Nagasaki greeeting

Delivering Kanji Letters in Nagasaki

"The school children were presented with a letter from Hawaiian language immersion school Nawahiokalani’opu’u in Kea’au, Hawai’i. The letter was written in kanji and sent with crew members with a message of aloha to the mountains, the oceans, the people, and the ancestors of Japan. Nawahi has many students of Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Okinawan descent – of which kanji is a shared writing system between all. To honor their eastern connections, students are learning to write Hawaiian through kanji characters. Students and teachers were so excited to receive the letter from their distant relations in Hawai’i."

For more information about the Hawaiian in Kanji project, see Education Downloads in Education Resources, and also http://subarutelescope.org/staff/saeko/HokuleaSupport/.

Petition for Peace in Nagasaki

"We had an extra special visit of students from Nagasaki that have been busy gathering 10,000+ signatures encouraging world leaders to strive for peace and end the use of nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Also, to those same students, a letter from students of Nawahiokalani’opu’u was presented. This is a letter written in Hawaiian through kanji characters. They were overjoyed to receive and read though the letter. The ties of friendship between Hawai’I and Japan seem to be growing stronger every day."

Chad signs the Peace Petition

Chad and the author of the Peace Petition

Nagasaki welcome

Hokule'a crew with kids from Oshima, Yamaguchi prefecture

Photo courtesy of Ka'iulani Murphy. 

Students greet Hokule'a at Kanon Pier in Hiroshima

Photo courtesy of Kato Kosei.

Hiroshima: cheerleaders with Nainoa

Cheerleaders from a sister school of Moanalua High School in Honolulu talk with Nainoa at the dock in Hiroshima. Photo courtesy of Kato Kosei.

Nainoa speaking in Hiroshima

Chadd speaking in Hiroshima

Kana speaking in Hiroshima

Sky presenting a lei of cranes at the Hiroshima Peace Park

Hokule'a crewmember and Iolani sophomore, Sky Takemoto, presents a lei of cranes at the Hiroshima Peace Park.

"... we presented the paper cranes we had made at the beautiful Children’s Peace Memorial sculpture in the park, a tradition started by a young girl afflicted with leukemia caused by radiation who had steadfastly folded 1,001 cranes for peace in her hospital bed before she died." (Ferrar)

Hokule'a crew visits a utasebune in Hiroshima

Hokule'a crew on board the “Utsumimaru,” a traditional Japanese fishing sailboat called utasebune. Photo courtesy of N. Yagi.

Students at the Maritime Technology College (Oshima) helped clean the canoe

From weblog at http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/sweetpotatoyoshi/11857454.html

Students welcome Hokule'a in Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture

Photo courtesy of Takashi Ichikura.

Taku and kids

Taku with students studying navigation on Hokule'a in Uwajima.

 "Last night six high school students and their teacher slept on board Hokule'a. Under a full moon and a clear night sky, crew member Taku Araki gave them a lesson in basic navigation and Nainoa Thompson, assisted by Japanese speaking crew member Kyoko Ikeda, followed with a more in-depth lesson. The students and teacher stayed up for most of the night watching the stars move across the sky. In the morning, the teacher told Taku, Kyoko, and the students that he had taught astronomy for years but the stars were never more real to him than last night. He told the students, "Let's learn together." Taku and Kyoko said the students were in shock because in Japan teachers are usually placed high above the students as authorities and dispensers of knowledge, so for this teacher to place himself as a learner with the students was astonishing."

Crew visits Katase Junior High School in Fujisawa City, Yokohama

Attwood Makanani, Kyoko Ikeda, Chad Paishon, Pomai Bertelman, and Sam Monaghan gave lectures for students in Yokohama. Photo courtesy of Kato Kosei.

Chad Paishon and Katase students

Photo courtesy of Kato Kosei.

Attwood Makanani and Katase students

Photo courtesy of Kato Kosei.

Sam Monaghan and Katase students

Photo courtesy of Kato Kosei.