Sayonara & Mahalo, ‘Nippon Maru’

The Big Island of Hawai‘i Gannenmono Committee bid aloha to the Japanese training sailing ship Nippon Maru this morning, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, at Hilo Harbor.

“Nippon Maru” in Hilo Bay.

On Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018, the cadets conducted a beach cleanup and also helped tend to some damaged gravestones at Alae Cemetery.

Cadets clean a grave at Alae Cemetery.

The captain and chief officers of the Japanese training vessel Nippon Maru visited the mayor’s office on Monday, Jan. 8.

(L–R) “Nippon Maru” First Officer Atsushi Osaka, Chief Engineer Naoaki Adachi and Captain Shinjiro Abe. Courtesy photo.

Big Island residents lined the shores of Coconut Island and Hilo Bay on Tuesday, Jan. 9, to catch a glimpse of the four-masted sailing ship leaving the island.

The Nippon Maru was built by Sumitomo Heavy Industries in Uraga, Kanagawa, and was launched on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 1984, with its commissioning occurring on Sunday, Sept. 16, 1984.

Cadets man the masts of the “Nippon Maru.”

The last time the ship visited Hilo was in 2005.