Nippon Maru to Visit Hilo and Honolulu

Japanese training ship Nippon Maru approaches Honolulu Harbor with Foss Maritime tug Mikioi assisting. 10 January 2017.

The four-masted Japanese training ship, Nippon Maru, sailed from Yokohama, Japan for Hawai‘i on 9 December 2017.

According to the JMETS website, her schedule (subject to change) is as follows:

January 6 (Saturday) – Arrive in Hilo Harbor (Hawai‘i)
January 9 (Tuesday) – Depart for Honolulu Harbor (O‘ahu)
January 10 (Wednesday) – Arrive in Honolulu Harbor
January 15 (Monday) – Depart for Tokyo

The last time Nippon Maru visited Hilo Harbor was in August 2007.

The JMETS website also states that this voyage of Nippon Maru recognizes and commemorates the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in Hawai‘i.

Known as the Gannenmono* (First Year [of the Meiji Era] People), this group of men and women of various backgrounds was recruited to provide much-needed labor for sugar plantations in Hawai‘i. They sailed from Yokohama on board the British ship Scioto on 17 May 1868 and arrived in Honolulu on 19 June 1868.

*For more information about the Gannenmono and events related to the 150th anniversary, see the 150th Gannenmono Celebration website.