On September 1, 2022, the Aloha Festival event was held at the Hiroshima Station South Exit Underground Event Plaza Yale Yale to commemorate the friendship with the City of Honolulu, Hawaii.
　Before World War II, many immigrants from Hiroshima came to Hawaii. The Pacific War began at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, and the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima at the end of the war. Therefore, the friendship between the two cities has great significance. Hiroshima has had a sister city affiliation with Honolulu since 1959, and in 2001, the city established Honolulu Day to celebrate this sister city affiliation and holds commemorative events every year.
　This year, to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the friendship city affiliation between Hiroshima Prefecture and the State of Hawaii, a delegation of about 60 people from Hawaii came to Hiroshima, and we held a grand Aloha Festival with about 300 citizens in attendance, including Governor Ige (David Yutaka Ige) and Hawaii State senators. Visitors also enjoyed the display and sale of Hawaiian goods, sweets, and ribbon leis, as well as a panel display explaining the connection between Hawaii and Hiroshima.
　The commemorative event began with "Kahiko", a classical hula dance often performed in ceremonies, followed by greetings from the Executive Committee Chairman, the Governor of the State of Hawaii, the Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, the Mayor of Hiroshima, as well as the Mayor of Honolulu via video.
　In addition, there was a video presentation by the Hawaii Tourism Authority, which allowed the participants to learn about the Hawaii's wonderful nature, as well as environmental concerns. The video also helped participants to understand the unique culture of the indigenous people, and the cultural similarities between Hawaii and Japan through beautiful visual images.
　Next, Hiroshima Messengers Kazue Mitoda and Yumiko Tatsuzaki gave a presentation about Hawaii, sharing stories of their family's immigration to Hawaii and their trips there as hula instructors, which were well received by the audience.
　In the commemorative concert, a hula group from Hiroshima first gave a spectacular performance to the live music of a Hawaiian band, and then told the guests from Hawaii that the citizens of Hiroshima have always had an affinity with the State of Hawaii and the City of Honolulu. The main concert featured world-renowned ukulele players Jake Shimabukuro and Herb Ohta Jr. and the entire venue was filled with the peaceful and beautiful sounds of their music. Governor Ige even made an impromptu appearance on stage with his own ukulele and performed beautifully, making it a memorable Hawaiian night.