Aloha filled the air at Moanalua High School when Japanese students from Kokutaiji High School visited our campus on October 15, 2025. Like last year, this special recurring event was arranged by Tateyama Sensei, the World Language Learning Center (WLLC) council, and MoHS Japanese Club officers. World language classes, clubs, and culture programs alike participated to ensure that Kokutaiji High School students had an educational experience here in Hawai’i.
Moanalua’s very own WLLC officers and members of the Japanese Club created signs, posters, and gifts for the visiting students in advance, and then spent the day touring Kokutaiji High schoolers around campus.
Even when there were linguistic obstacles present, the students from both schools were still able to relate with each other.
“The biggest challenge was the language barrier, but it was handled because of my partners being able to translate,” Senior Allen Kim expressed.
A Kokutaiji student, going by “Sora”, is glad that she was able to interact with English speaking students. She enjoyed that Hawaiian and Japanese culture shared a lot in common.
Upon their morning arrival, the Hawaiian Dance and Polynesian Dance Club began the “Welcome and Formal Ceremony” in the Performing Arts Center (PAC) by dancing to a variety of songs.
During lunch, Kokutaiji students returned the sentiment, by performing for Moanalua world language students in the gym. They wore red coats with their school’s logo on the back and carried narukos, wooden Japanese instruments that “clack” and make noise when shaken. After their performances, Moanalua students were invited to go down onto the gym floor, where the Kokutaiji students gifted them their red coats and narukos as a gesture of friendship.
“The afternoon dance was really meaningful because I got to see a really fun performance that they worked hard on,” Kim added.
Before the performances, a peace discussion was held in the Performing Arts Center. Students from Moanalua and Kokutaiji were able to discuss culture and World War II (specifically, the history of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima). A couple of Kokutaiji students sat on the stage, while Moanalua students took turns coming onstage as well. Moanalua would share their opinion and perspective, followed by our ‘sister school,’ Kokutaiji. The discussion was not a debate, rather a learning experience from both sides on how the war affected both Japan and Hawai’i.
“The peace discussion was a major change, it was the highlight for me,” exclaimed Moanalua’s Japanese Teacher, Sensei Tateyama. “[For] Years in the past they would just have an opening ceremony and eat lunch and some interaction with students, we wanted to do something that both schools can learn more about each other and peace (considering the atomic bombing)” Tateyama adds.
Sensei O’Neill, another Japanese language teacher at our school agrees, “I’m looking forward to the peace discussion in the upcoming years and seeing more interaction with the Kokutaiji students so we are able to learn to speak more of each other’s languages.”
After the discussion, students in the PAC were given post-it notes to write down their answers to the question, “What is the meaning of Peace?” When finished writing their answers to the question, the post-its were then taken to the main lobby where their answers would be added and displayed on a poster.
“I think the post-its were their (Kokutaiji) favorite part of the tour. Some students from Moanalua wanted to write it in Japanese so they asked students from Kokutaiji to translate it. Even though it was a quick exchange, I know they were glad to have something to take away after this event,” President of WLLC, Zeyda Bantolina (12) shared.
Kokutaiji students found many differences between back home in Japan versus Hawaii.
“Your school is very large,” Kokutaiji student who goes by “Nao” praised.
“The lunch is different, it’s not horrible,” Kokutaiji senior who goes by the name “Momo” commented.
“There are lots of sports here,” a senior “Yuri” observed.
“I enjoyed seeing the students enjoy the moment and all the interactions. I look forward to them making more connections next year,” O’neill says.
“Many students from Kokutaiji and I would love to see more exchanges. It made me even consider studying abroad,” Bantolina tells.
The visit brought joy to countless students and teachers, wishing for more exchange visits in the future. Not only is it a time to remember our history and how it has brought us here today, but also to build those new connections across oceans that can be forever cherished.
