POIPU — Paradise Ukulele from Tokyo was between quarters on Tuesday when they met up with the group of ukulele and guitar players led by Ira Meyer at Po‘ipu Beach Park pavilion.
According to Citizen Volunteer Greg Askew, the group of 13 Japanese ukulele players in their 60s and 70s is led by Naoko Takashima and another teacher. The group travels to Hawaii each year, choosing a different island for each trip where they learn more about ukulele and hula.
Askew said he hooked up with the group after Takashima replied to the Ukulele Festival website. Amy Hammond, the Ukulele Festival coordinator, was unable to take care of the group and asked Askew if he could coordinate the Kauai segment of the group’s visit.
“They’re in between, now,” Askew said. “When the group got here, they were staying at the Waimea Plantation Cottages. Today, they’re moving to the Aston Islander on the Beach. But before they get there, we’re having kanikapila with Ira Meyer and the group in their 60s to 90s that meets at Poipu every week. The group also has lunch reservations at Keoki’s Paradise, and plan to visit the ‘fern cave’ before they reach Kapaa.”
The resulting kanikapila with the Poipu ukulele and guitar players attracted the attention of beachgoers who succumbed to the happy music and hula that was interrupted when park rangers asked the kupuna to move their cars out of the park and onto the roadway.
The disruption did little to dampen the new friendships and aloha that were stoked by the music and hula from the kanikapila that extended beyond the lunch reservation time.
A number combining “Hawaii Aloha” and “Aloha Oe” marked the end of the jam session, and the unpacking of a variety of fresh fruits from backyards for the Japanese to take with them. One of the Poipu group members even went out of his way to ask the Japanese to come back, next year.
A beachgoer waiting to use the pavilion watched and smiled silently, as he witnessed the magic of music break down barriers of language and country into a gathering of joy.
“The wait is worth it,” the beachgoer said, pulling his belongings together for the move into the vacated pavilion. “This is all worthwhile.”
