Hometown
Tokyo, Japan
Voyage(s)
Moananuiākea Voyage – Leg 6: Vancouver to Seattle, Moananuiākea Voyage – Leg 7: Tacoma to San Francisco
Bio
Shoko is from Tokyo and says she was inspired as a child hearing the story of Hōkūleʻa voyaging and finding islands guided by the stars. Shoko says “It made the impossible possible, the past present and now connecting to the future.” It also nurtured a passion for the water. “I just love being on the ocean,” she says. Little did she know she would be in Hawaiʻi, end up contributing to the care of our canoes in dry dock and sail on a waʻa kaulua for the first time in 2021.
Shoko says Hōkūleʻa is a “dream come true.” She says what inspires her about the Moananuiākea voyage is that a canoe, so small on the vast ocean, “can carry so many wishes, thoughts and dreams of people across the world with different cultures and races, and that connects us as one.” Shoko looks forward to being “a liaison to connect the people and to spread awareness of the ocean and of cultures.”
When out at sea, Shoko craves the basic comforts of life at home - a soft bed and shower. But when at home, what Shoko misses most about being at sea is the “sound of water hitting the hull.”
Shoko says Hōkūleʻa is a “dream come true.” She says what inspires her about the Moananuiākea voyage is that a canoe, so small on the vast ocean, “can carry so many wishes, thoughts and dreams of people across the world with different cultures and races, and that connects us as one.” Shoko looks forward to being “a liaison to connect the people and to spread awareness of the ocean and of cultures.”
When out at sea, Shoko craves the basic comforts of life at home - a soft bed and shower. But when at home, what Shoko misses most about being at sea is the “sound of water hitting the hull.”