NAWILIWILI — The first comments the cruise-ship captain made were about his familiarity with Kaua‘i because of the filming of “Jurassic Park,” said Kaui Tanaka, who along with George Costa, director of the county’s Office of Economic Development, and Art
NAWILIWILI — The first comments the cruise-ship captain made were about his familiarity with Kaua‘i because of the filming of “Jurassic Park,” said Kaui Tanaka, who along with George Costa, director of the county’s Office of Economic Development, and Art Umezu, Kaua‘i film commissioner, paid a courtesy visit to the Nippon Maru here late Thursday.
The Nippon Maru, paying a day visit to Kaua‘i, was on its first stop in the Hawaiian Islands before moving on for an overnight stay on O‘ahu as part of its 51-day, around-the-Pacific cruise.
“We are very honored that Kaua‘i is a destination on your voyage through the Hawaiian Islands,” Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said in a message to Capt. Hiroshi Murakami of the Nippon Maru, which was hand-delivered by Costa.
Robert Crowell, state Department of Transportation Harbors Division Nawiliwili harbormaster who accompanied the mayoral delegation, said everything was set up by Sue Kanoho, executive director of the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau, who was overjoyed to learn of the Mitsui O.S.K. Passenger Line cruise ship visiting the harbor.
The arrival of the ship rekindled memories of Japan-based ship visits when the Kaua‘i’s Japanese Americans would pause to extend their aloha to the visitors.
“We had several phone calls at the office asking if the Nippon Maru was going to land at Port Allen,” Crowell said. “But this is not the same Nippon Maru.”
The Nippon Maru that used to dock at Port Allen was a sailing training ship. Its arrival usually coincided with a Hanapepe bon dance and festivities in the ‘Ele‘ele and Hanapepe communities.
“We are proud of decades of interaction and exchange between Hawai‘i and Japan,” Carvalho said in his message.
“In 1881, King David Kalakaua traveled to Yokohama and met with Emperor Meiji and later King Kalakaua started Hawai‘i’s first study-abroad program. Voyaging has always been an integral part of our history, including the Japanese immigration to Hawai‘i during the height of the sugar industry,” Carvalho wrote.
After learning of this, Crowell admitted his lineal connection to one of the first participants of Kalakaua’s study-abroad program.
Bruce Swartz, port manager for Waldron Norton Lilly International, said they wanted the Japanese passengers to have as long a day as possible on the dawn-to-dusk stop.
“We arrived at the crack of dawn, coming into the harbor about 5:30 a.m., and we won’t be leaving until 6:30 p.m.,” Swartz said.
“The passengers and crew just love this island scenery and we wanted to make this day as long as possible for them. Some of the ship’s crew went out and purchased a bunch of heliconia and other tropical flowers to decorate the ship, and they also purchased some of the local produce to use in the dining room,” said Swartz.
Crowell said there was a lot of shopping done by the passengers as well, noting that two big buses, each with interpreters, met the ship on its arrival.
“Normally we only have the little shuttles, but with this boat, there were buses,” Crowell said.
As Murakami excused himself to prepare the 166-meter-long ship for departure, Tanaka extended an invitation to lunch with the mayor on the ship’s return.
• Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
