Nippon Maru departs today

Courtesy photo From left, First Officer Atsushi Osaka, Chief Engineer Naoaki Adachi and Capt. Shinjiro Abe of the Nippon Maru visit the mayor’s office on Monday.
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The Japanese training sailing ship Nippon Maru will depart at 10 a.m. today from Hilo.

The tall-masted ship, with its 150 cadets, will do a courtesy sail-by at about 10:30 a.m. inside the Hilo Bay breakwater, near the canoe sheds. This is the public’s best place to view the ship because access to Hilo Harbor is limited.

During the departure, the cadets will climb the ship’s masts to bid aloha to Hilo.

This is the first time since 2005 the ship visited Hilo. The ship and her crew were here to help commemorate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first immigrants from Japan.