Have Aloha Will Travel EP112: Bon Dance Culture in Hawaiʻi

This week, Kevin sits down with Nate Gyotoku, president and executive director of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i, to talk about bon dances in Hawaiʻi.

Obon season has arrived in Hawaiʻi.

Throughout the Islands’ summer months, bon dances occur on almost every weekend at different buddhist temples around the state. Featuring great local food stalls, traditional obon songs and energetic dancing around the yagura—a large wooden tower where taiko drummers perform—Hawaiʻi bon dances are a favorite annual event to attend amongst locals and visitors.

READ MORE: Your Guide to Hawaiʻi’s 2023 Bon Dance Season

However, there’s so much more to obon than dancing and eating—although those are important aspects too. And on this episode of the Have Aloha Will Travel podcast, Nate Gyotoku, president and executive director of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i, explains to Kevin the cultural and historical significance behind obon.

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