After flying in from Japan, the Fukuoka All-Star girls basketball team engaged in a week full of competition and cultural exchanges on multiple islands.
The Fukuoka All-Star girls basketball team visited multiple Hawai‘i high schools and engaged in various cultural activities. They also played against some of the state's best high school teams in goodwill games.
On their visit to Kalani High School, they toured the campus before partaking in a Polynesian dance class. They also flew to the Big Island, where they toured Country Samurai Coffee Farm in Kailua-Kona with the Konawaena girls basketball team. Owner Walter Kunitake, whose family are Japanese immigrants from Fukuoka, spoke to both teams.
In exhibition games, the Fukuoka All-Stars defeated ‘Iolani 68-53, topped Kamehameha 64-42 and ended its trip with a 64-41 win at Konawaena.
The Fukuoka team's trip was part of the Fukuoka-Hawaiʻi Sports Exchange, which will conclude next year with plans to expand to another sport.
By the end of the Fukuoka's trip, everyone involved viewed the week as a positive experience.
“We have learned what Japan and Hawaiʻi and Fukuoka and Hawaiʻi have in common," said Tomoaki Hashimoto, chief administrator of the Fukuoka Sports Policy Bureau. "Learning those similarities and differences between us is so important to learn from each other.”
Added Fuka Takagi, a member of the Fukuoka All-Star girls basketball team: “I don't get to have these kinds of experiences, but the people of Hawaiʻi are so kind and explain things in an easy-to-understand way that I was able to enjoy it.”
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
