{"id":64877,"date":"2026-07-28T03:15:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T03:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/64877\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T03:15:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T03:15:26","slug":"kapi%ca%bbolani-cc-students-cook-up-connections-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/64877\/","title":{"rendered":"Kapi\u02bbolani CC students cook up connections in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"StudentsFor six Kapi\u02bbolani Community College culinary<\/a> students, the classroom extends far beyond the kitchen, across the Pacific to Japan. Through a vibrant, long-standing partnership with Nakamura Gakuen University (NGU), these aspiring chefs traded textbooks for hands-on immersion over two weeks in June, mastering international flavors while sharing the heart of Hawai\u02bbi with their peers abroad.<\/p>\n

\"food\"\u201cYou can read and recreate any recipe, but the dish will never taste the same,\u201d said Kapi\u02bbolani CC culinary student Ashley Mayo. \u201cIf you\u2019re able to immerse yourself completely within a new culture and learn their way of life and traditions, it creates a whole new level of understanding the whys and hows of their cuisine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sushi, wagashi<\/p>\n

Students experienced Japan\u2019s food culture through hands-on cooking classes, lectures and visits to culinary destinations throughout Fukuoka and Okinawa. They learned traditional techniques for sushi, wagashi (Japanese sweets) and Okinawan cuisine, toured fish markets and shoyu and fishcake producers, visited the Yame Tea Center and restaurants specializing in regional cuisine, and explored cultural landmarks.<\/p>\n

\"Students\u201cThrough this long-enduring partnership with Nakamura Gakuen University, our students are continuing Hawai\u02bbi\u2018s deep history of respectful and mutual learning with our Pacific neighbors and others around the globe,\u201d said Kapi\u02bbolani CC Chancellor Misaki Takabayashi. \u201cOften, it is by leaving Hawai\u02bbi that students come to better understand themselves, their home and the values they carry with them. We are deeply grateful for this partnership, which helps our students grow as culinary professionals and as thoughtful cultural ambassadors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pounding pa\u02bbi\u02bbai<\/p>\n

Established by Kapi\u02bbolani CC faculty Ron Takahashi, Lori Maehara and Damian Zukeran, alongside NGU\u2019s Fumiko Tsuruta, the partnership has flourished since 2018. Today, it includes annual reciprocal student abroad experiences, culinary demonstrations and student exchanges that enrich learning on both campuses.<\/p>\n

A key highlight is the Kapi\u02bbolani CC students\u2019 cooking demonstration to share local flavors. On the June trip, Culinary Arts Chair Grant Itomitsu prepared pa\u02bbi\u02bbai (taro paste) the traditional way, using a papa ku\u02bbi\u02bbai (poi pounding board) and p\u014dhaku ku\u02bbi\u02bbai (stone poi pounder), connecting students to Native Hawaiian traditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cLanguage barriers often pose difficulties when trying to share culture. However, food is universal,\u201d Mayo shared. \u201cThe opportunity to share our aloha and m\u0101lama (care) through food brings nothing but deep appreciation and pride representing our Hawai\u02bbi.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013By Lisa Yamamoto<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For six Kapi\u02bbolani Community College culinary students, the classroom extends far beyond the kitchen, across the Pacific to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64878,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[41962,41938,39201,32082,14020,41965,41945,41954,41952,27375,41942,251,41948,41950,3520,41943,41944,2165,10040,10039,10038,420,41946,41932,8,41953,41960,41929,41928,41930,41941,41963,41939,41936,41961,41937,33,41931,162,41947,41964,41956,41958,41955,41959,41940,41949,2393,41957,10037,41934,41966,41935,10036,41933,9320,41951],"class_list":["post-64877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-japan","tag-aloha","tag-ashley-mayo","tag-cooking-classes","tag-culinary","tag-culinary-arts","tag-culinary-arts-program","tag-culinary-students","tag-culinary-study-abroad-experiential-learning-program","tag-cultural-landmarks","tag-cultural-ties","tag-damian-zukeran","tag-education","tag-fish-markets","tag-fishcake-producers","tag-fukuoka","tag-fumiko-tsuruta","tag-grant-itomitsu","tag-hawaii","tag-hawaii-college","tag-hawaii-higher-education","tag-hawaii-university","tag-international","tag-international-flavors","tag-island-college","tag-japan","tag-japan-studies-program","tag-kalo","tag-kapiolani-cc","tag-kapiolani-community-college","tag-kcc","tag-lori-maehara","tag-malama","tag-misaki-takabayashi","tag-nakamura-gakuen-university","tag-native-hawaiian-traditions","tag-ngu","tag-nihon","tag-oahu-college","tag-okinawa","tag-okinawan-cuisine","tag-oli","tag-paiai","tag-papa-kuiai","tag-pastry-arts","tag-pohaku-kuiai","tag-ron-takahashi","tag-shoyu","tag-sushi","tag-taro-paste","tag-uh","tag-uh-community-college","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-uhcc","tag-university-of-hawaii","tag-university-of-hawaii-community-college","tag-wagashi","tag-yame-tea-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}