Jul 04 Saturday
Do You Love Sushi?
“I Love Sushi,” a traveling exhibition sponsored by the internationally renowned Japan Foundation, opens on June 27 at the Hawaii Japanese Center in Hilo.
The world-traveling exhibit pays recognition to sushi’s immense popularity all over the world, dating back to its introduction to Japan over 1,000 years ago. “I Love Sushi” artfully tells the story of sushi’s key transformations over time and offers visitors a look into how sushi evolved from its ancient origins into a global culinary phenomenon.
The exhibition is produced by the prestigious Japan Foundation headquartered in Tokyo. The exhibit’s showing in Hawaii is coordinated by the Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu in coordination with the Hawaii Japanese Center. The visually stunning presentation includes ukiyo-e paintings, woodblock prints, video installations, and scale models of realistically depicted seafood, reproductions of sushi, and even a replica of a Japanese sushi restaurant.
“I Love Sushi” also touches on broader aspects of Japanese history and culture, as sushi has undergone many transformations as it adapted to the environment, climate, and lifestyle of Japan. Nigirizushi, for example, a small mound of rice topped with raw fish or other ingredients originated about 200 years ago in Edo (Tokyo). Hawaii itself is of course no stranger to its own multiethnic traditions involving raw fish and rice.
“I Love Sushi” opens Saturday, June 27 and closes Saturday, August 22 at the Hawaii Japanese Center (HJC), located at 751 Kanoelehua Avenue. HJC is open Wednesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Admission is free. For more information, email HJC at info@hawaiijapanesecenter.com or call (808) 934-9611.
Celebrate Independence Day in a truly historic setting at the Battleship Missouri Memorial. “Picnic on the Pier” returns for a special evening honoring America’s 250th birthday aboard the iconic USS Missouri. Guests can enjoy panoramic harbor views, live entertainment, and a festive community atmosphere on the pier beside America’s last battleship.
The event includes free limited tours of the Mighty Mo (valued at $29 for adults), and live entertainment.
BYOFD (Bring Your Own Food & Drink) to the event, limit one cooler per family. Grills, tables, tents, umbrellas, glassware and glass bottles are prohibited. Limited food and beverages are also available for purchase from the concession stand.
Pre-sale tickets can be purchased online and are $30 for adults ($40 day of) and $15 for keiki (children) ages 4-12 ($25 day of). Enjoy a Pier VIP Table which includes reserved seating for up to eight guests in a prime viewing area on the forward pier, event admission and a Mighty Mo gift bundle for $500. For a Fantail VIP Experience, up to eight guests can enjoy an evening aboard the ship’s Fantail, live entertainment and a catered buffet dinner for $1,200.
For those without base access, a complimentary shuttle will be available from the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center. Umbrellas and pets are not permitted.
Jul 05 Sunday
Spam can harps, rice bag drums, tin can gongs, and other musical instruments made from repurposed rubbish are on display at Hamilton Library Bridge Gallery now through mid-August. All instruments were custom built by Benjamin Fairfield, author of the illustrated children's book Kani Ka 'Opala: How can garbage sing? Fairfield (lecturer at UH and Hawai'i Pacific University) was featured last October on the Conversation as a climate-action-artist-in-residence with the State Commission on Climate Change in 2025. Come view, play, and listen to an assortment of rubbish instruments. A great way to celebrate Earth Day and aloha 'aina.
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