THE Spa Resort Hawaiians, famous for its team of hula girls, is back in
business eleven months after being struck by the March 11, 2011 earthquake
which severely damaged the facility.
On Wednesday, it fully re-opened with much fanfare to the tunes of Hawaiian
music and sweet swaying of the hula dancers.
More than 1,000 visitors watched the performance by 34 "hula girls" on the
expanded center stage of the Hawaiian-style spa and leisure complex, located in
Iwaki of the Fukushima Prefecture.
It renovated its key indoor dome facility, where the Hula Girls' stage and a
big swimming pool are located, after newly installing three pillars to
reinforce the facility and prevent the dome ceiling from falling during
earthquakes.
The complex partially opened in October, but restoration of its water park
facility had been delayed so the hula girls had been performing on a temporary
makeshift stage in the meantime.
The history of Spa Resort Hawaiians is long entwined with that of the nation's
energy policy.
When its predecessor, the Joban Hawaiian Center, was established in 1966, it
aimed to secure income and employment for former coal miners and their families
through the hot springs industry.
The Joban Music and Dance Institute was set up in 1965 to train hula dancers to
draw interest in the Joban Hawaiian Center. [Pictured here: A team of hula
dancers called the Hula Girls perform at the Spa Resort Hawaiiansin Iwaki,
Fukushima Prefecture on Feb 8, 2012.]
Around the summer of 1965, the inaugural hula girls troupe staged a tour across
the nation. Thanks to their efforts, the Joban Hawaiian Center and its hula
dancers became well known around the country. [Pictured here: A team of hula
dancers called the Hula Girls perform at the Spa Resort Hawaiiansin Iwaki,
Fukushima Prefecture on Feb 8, 2012.]
"Some people made fun of us, [calling hula] a 'naked dance.' But we practiced
very hard to make a living," said original troupe member Masako Honda, 64,
recounted her experience as dancer to Yomiuri Shimbun. [Pictured here: A team
of hula dancers called the Hula Girls perform at the Spa Resort Hawaiiansin
Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture on Feb 8, 2012.]
Many hula girls believe their mission is to make people smile and give them
energy, reported Yomiuri Shimbun.
[Pictured here: In a picture taken on
April 12, 2011 Ayumi Sudo (centre) and Japanese hula dancers perform in front
of shoppers buying vegetables from Iwaki city in Fukushima prefecture, 40km
south of the troubled nuclear power plant, during a "buy Fukushima products"
event in Tokyo.]
Hot spring at Spa Resort Hawaiians.
An aerial view of the main pool at the water park facility.
A generic picture of the main pool at the water park facility.
