LIHU‘E — It has been quite some time since the last film production was done on the island, said Art Umezu of Music of Kaua‘i, a former county film commissioner.
“This production was scheduled to film in March, 2020, but was canceled due to the pandemic,” Umezu said. “Because of the overseas travel restrictions and the recent outbreak in Japan, the crew is Hawai‘i-based from O‘ahu.
“John Hisamoto — yes, he’s living on O‘ahu, now — has filmed countless Japanese productions on Kaua‘i since the early 1980s, and even got help from the late Tony Kunimura.”
Umezu said some Hisamoto credits include the introduction of Japan Airlines advertising to Western television, and countless amounts of advertising footage for Shiseido Cosmetics.
Arriving Thursday for a four-day tour of Kaua‘i sponsored by Canon, the crew’s assignment is to collect material for the “Sekai No Kaido Wo Yuku” series, translated to mean “Traveling the Roads of the World.” The series is targeted to air on TV Asahi, one of the bigger television networks in Japan.
When completed, the program will be broken down for airing Monday through Friday from 8:54 to 9 p.m., in segments running two minutes and five seconds.
“Most of the time, the crew will be on a roaming schedule,” Umezu said. “However, they do have fixed appointments like Friday morning at the Smith’s Boat Tour and the Fern Grotto, and the Kaua‘i Museum with Chucky Boy Chock.”
The roaming schedule yielded its share of bounty for Hisamoto and crew, who were able to secure interviews with Mayor Derek Kawakami and County Council Chair Arryl Kaneshiro, who were both awaiting the start of the Outstanding Older American drive-thru awards distributions at the Lihu‘e Civic Center.
Kaua‘i students and young talent also benefit from the production, as Umezu arranged for a visit by Kaua‘i High School student Kate Mie Nakamura who, along with schoolmate Ty Kajihara, recently was named a finalist in the PBS “Hiki No” video challenge. The winners of that competition will be named on May 27 when the finalists and their video will be aired starting at 7:30 p.m.
Ryland Balbin, recently featured with Umezu in the “Everybody Wears A Mask” production, was also invited to shadow the production team as they toured the roads of Kaua‘i to the Westside, South Shore and North Shore.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
Confused- will any of this filming be available for Kauai residents to view on TV? or only in Japan?