Where were the Japanese exchange students who usually flock to the Grand Hyatt Resort and Spa during the bon dance hosted by the Poipu resort, and not conflicting with the Kauai Buddhist Council calendar of bon dances?
Towa Kinjo, Momoe Konda, and Isari Hino, exchange students from Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan, were there with their teacher/advisor. The trio of students was following the lead of Hui Alu, the Kauai Okinawa club, president Jonathan Wong, in the crowded dance ring that was set up on the front lawn of the resort.
“The students’ visas were denied,” said Cheryl Shintani, a longtime coordinator of Japanese exchange students. “Even this group, they’re supposed to have four students, but one visa was denied. This is all we have for this year.”
Kaleo Carvalho of the Mayor’s office and the Employees Council quickly responded, noting that these three students will be joined by three other students — Marina Ebata, Rino Ebina, and Mizuka Kikuta — high school students from the Iwaki Kauai Tomodachi Aloha Project inaugural tour, when the Employee Council hosts a bon dance at the Moikeha Building on Thursday, starting at 5:30 p.m.
“Their chaperone, Mr Tomohiko Akatsu of the Iwaki City Urban Exchange Section, Sports, Culture and Tourism Dept., is very talented,” Carvalho said. “He’s a magician.”
The Grand Hyatt Kauai general manager, Michael Murphy, was hopeful this year’s bon dance would hit the 900-people mark following last year’s bon dance that attracted more than 700 people, including the resort’s owner, Mr. Toichi Takenaka, and Mrs. Reiko Takenaka.
“We’re so lucky that they are here,” said Christy Castillo, an avid horse enthusiast and rodeo fan. “They were dancing behind me, last year, and they loved being at the bon dance. They even told the hotel to make sure their trip to Kauai coincides with when the hotel holds its bon dance.”
Others that could not attend included the Waimea High School football team, which worked the Flying Saucer tent as a fundraiser for the Menehune football program. They were scheduled for a preseason football game against Waialua High School at the Hanapepe Stadium, and in their stead, turned over the Flying Saucer responsibility to the Waimea High School Cheer Squad.
Other bon dance food offerings and some more exotic Oriental treats, as well as activity booths, games, and even a country store, were handled by the resort volunteers. Proceeds benefit a newly-established scholarship program that, last year, presented more than a dozen scholarships.
“This is the last bon dance for this year,” said a bon dance fan. “There’s one on Thursday, but that’s mostly for the county employees’ families.”
Source: The Garden Island
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