KAILUA-KONA — Nine Kahakai Elementary School fifth-graders recently returned from a trip to Japan with stories, cultural appreciation, experiences and memories that will last a lifetime.
The trip this March marked the third year Linda Nagai, Japanese after school program director, has taken her students to Tokyo through an exchange program with Seisa Group, a private early education through post-graduate school. Nagai teaches her students language, culture, etiquette and designated places to prepare them for the immersion.
“Japanese culture is not the same as other cultures,” student Joseph Soderlund said Tuesday. “The way they do things is not what we’re accustomed to.”
“Japan is more different than the U.S.,” added classmate Sean Thornton. “It’s a lot cleaner. There’s no trash on the streets.”
Kahakai Elementary School Principal Jim Denight was heading a school in Saipan when Seisa founder Yasuo Miyazawa brought a group of students on a cultural exchange. A bond was formed and when Denight took the helm at Kahakai, he invited Miyazawa to bring students to the Kailua-Kona school. For the past 11 years, Kahakai has hosted Seisa students eager to learn about Hawaiian culture.
All of the students agreed that playing in the snow, building snowmen and having a snowball fight was one of the March trip’s highlights.
The students, under the direction of Kumu Kamuela Himalaya, also performed hula and chants for their hosts. Himalaya wrote an oli about their host school’s three guiding principles, understand each other, leave nobody out and make friends.
Fifth-grade teachers Barbra Kaimuloa-Bates and Geri Aoki-Davidson accompanied Nagai and Himalaya as chaperones on the trip. They toured Mount Fuji, DisneySea, Yasukini Shrine and the Cup of Noodles factory. Another highlight was the opportunity to see cherry blossoms on their peak day in Tokyo.
Kaimuloa-Bates said the trip afforded students a deeper appreciation of a culture and way of living differently from what they are used to.
“It opened their eyes to the awareness of environment, the pride in their schools, pride in the culture. It’s more than what we can read in a book. For them to actually see and learn it is empowering,” said Kaimuloa-Bates.
Approximately 40 students from Seisa will return the favor when Kahakai hosts them for their May Day program on April 27. Students from Japan will perform traditional songs and dance.
“They were treated so well by our hosts, I think they all felt very loved while we were there,” said Aoki-Davidson. “It was hard to leave.”