Hawaiian Popularity in Japan
Here in Hawaii it is easy to take Hawaiian things for granted. It is almost impossible to go through a day without seeing many Hawaiian dresses or shirts in the tourist areas, in the shopping malls, in the office, in the schools, and even at the beach. Even things like hula, Hawaiian foods, and Hawaiian music are so commonplace in Hawaii that most residents don't really spend much time thinking about it.
On a recent trip to Japan, I got to see first hand how popular these things are in that country. I had always heard that the Japanese love all things Hawaii. But until you see it, it is hard to appreciate it. It turns out that hula is hugely popular with Japanese women. There are over 300,000 hula clubs/schools in Japan, far more than in Hawaii, and probably the rest of the United States. One day at a mall in the city of Fukuoka, a delegation from Hawaii put on a hula and music show. I watched from the balcony and took a picture of a crowd that had gathered to learn hula from two instructors from Hawaii. What is not shown in the picture are the hundreds of people on the second and third floor balconies practicing hula as they follow the instructors on the ground floor.
I have to admit that I was impressed by the treatment we received everywhere we went in Japan. Another American sport that is very popular in Japan is baseball. The city of Hiroshima is home to the Hiroshima Carp baseball team, whose general manager is an American. The Carp have several American players, as do many of the teams in Japan's "Major League". Our hosts, the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry, got us prime seats in the 2nd and 3rd rows right behind home plate. In the middle of the fourth inning they turned the stadium cameras on us and showed us on the jumbo scoreboard. In this picture you can see two members of our group wearing the red Hiroshima Carp baseball caps, which look a lot like the Cincinnati Reds.
It was kinda cool to see people wearing Hawaiian shirts or being so into things like hula and Hawaiian music. It seems like most people have either been to Hawaii or want to go to Hawaii someday. I had interesting conversations with cab drivers, tour guides, business people, and even Japanese cops about Hawaii. Most Hawaii residents probably don't realize that so many people in a country so far away love the clothing, food, music, and culture that we sometimes take for granted. At the same time, the Japanese seemed flattered that I was just as interested in their culture, education system, and foods, especially sushi. It sure was a fun eye-opening trip.
