Air and land travel, lodging all courtesy of sister island Whoever said there’s no such thing as a free lunch obviously hasn’t hung around Kaua’i County Mayor Maryanne Kusaka much. A Kusaka-led delegation promoting Kaua’i is in Japan as the
Air and land travel, lodging all courtesy of sister island
Whoever said there’s no such thing as a free lunch obviously hasn’t hung around Kaua’i County Mayor Maryanne Kusaka much.
A Kusaka-led delegation promoting Kaua’i is in Japan as the recipient of 10 round-trip airfare tickets, lodging and ground transportation from a kumu hula and various governmental officials in Oshima, Kauai’s sister island.
The Oshima Aloha Festa, Yamaguchi Kirara Expo and Kaleinani Fete Kyushu are among the stops for Kusaka, Art Umezu, Robbie and Pua Kaholokula, Kara Chow from Kaua’i High School’s Academy of Travel and Tourism, teenage artist Alana Ignacio, and other musicians and dancers.
A second wave of Kauaians, including county finance director Wallace Rezentes Jr., will leave for Japan Wednesday. Most of the travelers are expected to return next Monday.
The county Board of Ethics gave its blessing to Kusaka to accept the free travel from kumu hula Kazuko “Kaleinani” Hayakawa, the mayors of various Oshima island governmental entities, and organizers of the Japan Expo Yamaguchi 2001 Committee.
The County Council also approved Kusaka’s acceptance of the donation earlier this month.
Kusaka and a portion of the delegation left last week, in time to attend the first Kaleinani Fete in Kumamoto, Kyushu, a few hundred miles from South Korea.
This isn’t Kusaka’s last trip to Japan before her final term as mayor ends late next year. She and Gini Kapali, director of the county Office of Economic Development, will journey to Yokohama at the end of September for the annual Japan Hawai’i Economic Council meeting.
During her current trip, Kusaka will visit or has already visited with mayors of Kumamoto, Kuka, Towa, Tachibana and Oshima, governors of Yamaguchi and Kyushu, and other dignitaries.
Kaua’i and Oshima have had a sister-island relationship since 1963. For the past 15 years they have sent a delegation to Kaua’i for the annual Japanese Cultural Festival. Oshima is also home to Agenosho High School, which has sent a large group of students to Kaua’i the past three years.
The Oshima Aloha Festa was established specifically to support sister-city relations. Oshima also has for three years been the home of Nagaura Green Stay, a multi-sports recreational facility and visitor center replicating many of Kauai’s historic and scenic sites.
Yamaguchi Karara Expo 2001 is produced by Yamaguchi’s prefectural government to commemorate the new millennium. Running from the middle of this month through the end of September, the exhibition is expected to host 2.5 million people.
Kumu Kaleinani has taken 100 to 150 hula students from Japan to Kaua’i each of the last five years.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
