Pearl Harbor Tour Co. Caters To Japanese Tourists

Above, the USS Missouri from the USS Arizona Memorial. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Marketplace.org has an interesting article on a tour company who specializes in providing tours of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii to Japanese tourists.

They wrote:

The bus tour leaves in the early hours of the morning, and by 6:30 a.m., this group of Japanese visitors are on their way to the most popular tourist attraction in the state: Pearl Harbor. 

“Of course Pearl Harbor is important for history for both countries," said Kozo Fukuyama, a Japanese tour guide. "That’s why they come.” 

Fukuyama is with Island Makana Tours, a tour operator that caters to Japanese visitors in Hawaii. Every morning, these tours bring about two dozen guests to the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument. Although entrance to the park is free, this guided tour costs $150 a person.  It includes a trip to the USS Battleship Missouri Memorial, the Pacific Aviation Museum and finally a boat ride out to the USS Arizona Memorial.

The article notes that reactions to Pearl Harbor affects generations of Japanese visitors differently.

Fukuyama said some Japanese tourists, especially from an older generation, have an emotional response. Others barely know the history.

To read more, go here.