Konnichi-wa and Aloha!

The first Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival is coming to Waikīkī in 2022!

The Japan-Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival is a collaborative project between HIMELE and Japanese steel guitar planners to bring Japanese steel guitar players to Honolulu to showcase their talents. The Royal Hawaiian Center is providing the Royal Grove Stage and other support for this project.

The festival is a culmination of years of planning with Hawai‘i and Japanese planners, including Japanese steel guitarist Tadashi Arakawa who passed away earlier this year. The festival will be dedicated to him in his honor.

The 2022 festival will be integrated into the 2022 Waikīkī Steel Guitar Week that will be held July 11-16, 2022.