My Hawaii

Colin Sewake Hawai‘i Herald Columnist The tradition of proudly receiving your diploma in a cap and gown to the tune of “Pomp and Circumstance” is pretty much a given at any high school or college graduation ceremony in the United States.  It was no different in the ’80s when I attended Leilehua High School in....

Colin Sewake Hawai‘i Herald Columnist ORION BEER’S HEISEI CAN By the time you read this, Japan will have said “Sayonara” to Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko and the Heisei Era and the country will be three days into the new Emperor Naruhito’s Reiwa Era. I was fortunate to get a few special edition Orion Beer....

MY HAWAII By Colin Sewake IN THE GUTTER Location: Nagahama, Yomitan; January 2019 No, I’m not referring to my bowling ball, but rather to my Nissan Serena minivan.I left home to pick up my son Yoshiaki (“Aki”) from Yomitan High School and then take him to his juku (cram school) in Okinawa-shi (Okinawa City). For....

MY HAWAII By Colin Sewake “Okinawa is such a beautiful place, not just the ocean and scenery and culture, but the people. I’ve been treated well and taken care of by many people here in what has become ‘My Hawai‘i.’” — Colin Sewake The passing of Malani Bilyeu, one of Kalapana’s original members, came as....

MY HAWAII By Colin Sewake On Saturday morning, Sept. 29, I woke up at about 5:30 to pretty strong winds outside. The lights in the kitchen and the digital clocks were flickering. I turned on my laptop and went online to check the Kadena Air Base Facebook page and learned that the U.S. military bases....

MY HAWAII By Colin Sewake I took a friend to the new Yuntanza Museum a week after it opened. The opening ceremony was held June 22 and the museum officially opened to the public the next day. General admission is ¥500 and only ¥200 for village residents. I had an annual passport made without any....

MY HAWAII By Colin Sewake “Okinawa is such a beautiful place, not just the ocean and scenery and culture, but the people. I’ve been treated well and taken care of by many people here in what has become ‘My Hawai‘i.’” — Colin Sewake LET’S DANCE! Last month, my good friend and fellow Okinawa-Hawaii Kyoukai member....

MY HAWAII BY Colin Sewake VISITING YOMITAN HANAUI Location: Takashiho, Yomitan; July 16, 2018 This morning, fellow Okinawa-Hawaii Kyou-kai member Masaji Matsuda asked if I could come over to Yomitan Hanaui’s Namihira studio, which, actually, is located in Takashiho. He wanted to introduce me to some ladies who weave traditional Okinawan textiles. Yomitan Hanaui’s main....

MY HAWAII BY Colin Sewake “Okinawa is such a beautiful place, not just the ocean and scenery and culture, but the people. I’ve been treated well and taken care of by many people here in what has become ‘My Hawai‘i.’” — Colin Sewake SPAM MUSUBI-PLUS Location: Domestic Terminal, Naha International Airport; July 2018 What’s known....

MY HAWAII BY Colin Sewake This past February, our family bid our dog Hana a “Happy Fourth Barkday!” With this year being the “Year of the Dog” according to the Chinese calendar, I thought I’d tell you about our family’s experiences with man’s best friend in Okinawa. Since moving to Yomitan, we’ve taken care of....