Tribute to Ellison Onizuka for the 40th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger accident.

by Philbert Ono

In Japan, it’s unheard of to see any public schools, public parks, airports, or bridges named after any person. Only museums, shops, restaurants, companies, and buildings (especially on college campuses) are commonly named after someone.

Apparently, there’s no law against naming a bridge after a person because there’s Ellison Onizuka Bridge (エリソン・オニヅカ橋) way out in the rural city of Ukiha in Fukuoka Prefecture (福岡県うきは市), Japan.

Perhaps it’s the only bridge in Japan named after a person. And that person is not even a Japanese national. There’s an extraordinary man and story behind this extraordinary honor in Japan.

Contents

• Ellison Onizuka, Japanese-American astronaut from Hawaii
• Ellison Onizuka in Japan (Tokyo | Ukiha)
• Ellison Onizuka Bridge
• Ellison S. Onizuka profile (Plaque)
• Site of Onizuka ancestral home
• About Ukiha, Fukuoka Prefecture
• Honoring Hawaiʻi Japanese Americans with Fukuoka roots (Onizuka | Ariyoshi | Inouye)
• More Ellison Onizuka memorials

Ellison Onizuka, Japanese-American astronaut from Hawaiʻi

Ellison Onizuka was born and raised in Kona, on the volcanic Big Island of Hawaiʻi, as a sansei (third-generation) Japanese American. He was the first Asian astronaut, even years ahead of the first Japanese nationals who went into space in the 1990s.

Selected by NASA as one of only 35 astronaut candidates in January 1978 from among over 8,000 applicants, he was the only Asian. There were also three African Americans and six women. The Space Shuttle program intended to be inclusive, perfect for someone like Ellison. He received much media attention even in Japan for having Japanese blood.

After years of training, Ellison first flew into space aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on January 24, 1985 as a Mission Specialist on a classified military mission (STS-51-C). He returned to Hawaiʻi as a national hero even though he couldn’t talk much about the mission. He very much looked forward to his second Space Shuttle mission which was not classified, so he could freely share his experiences in outer space.

Unfortunately, his second Space Shuttle mission on the Challenger on January 28, 1986 ended as a national tragedy when the rocket exploded shortly after launch from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. He was one of the seven NASA astronauts who sadly perished in the shocking Space Shuttle Challenger accident. Just when Space Shuttle missions were becoming routine and we took it for granted that the reusable spaceship would launch and return safely each time, the unthinkable happened. He was only 39.

Even as the 40th anniversary of the tragedy approaches in January 2026, it’s still hard to get over the loss of such an affable man who embodied the best of Japanese, Hawaiian, American, and country boy values and virtues so becoming of Hawaiʻi’s sansei generation. He was the finest fruit (or more like a crown jewel) produced by Hawaiʻi’s issei and nisei generations’ hard work, patience, and perseverance.

Ellison’s paternal grandparents, Kichihei (鬼塚 吉平) and Wakano Onizuka (ワカノ), were farmers from Takami, Ukiha-machi (浮羽町高見), a rural town (now Ukiha city) in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is unknown exactly what compelled them to emigrate to Hawaiʻi in the 1890s.

They first arrived on Oʻahu and worked on sugar cane fields, but soon moved to the Big Island of Hawaiʻi where they settled in Kona to grow coffee on leased, undeveloped land which they later bought. They had seven children, including Ellison’s father Masamitsu (正光) who was the second son.

When Masamitsu was 29, he married Mitsue (光江) who was 19 and also a nisei. Her parents had immigrated from Hiroshima Prefecture and also grew coffee in Kona. It was an arranged marriage facilitated by a go-between who was a Japanese language school teacher.

Upon their marriage in March 1933, father Kichihei gave Masamitsu one acre of coffee farm land. The rest of the coffee farm would presumably be inherited by his older brother.

Masamitsu built a house and adjacent general store which became Onizuka Store. The store sold food, produce, candy, kitchenware, and daily necessities. Mitsue minded the store most of the time and later got help from her young children. Most customers were farm and ranch workers.

Masamitsu worked on the coffee farm and also operated a taxi cab, the only one in their village of Keopu in Kona. They were blessed with four children in a span of 14 years. Two daughters, Shirley and Norma, then Ellison as the third child and first son born in 1946. He was followed by younger brother Claude two years later.

Soon after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the two young daughters witnessed their father being taken into custody by FBI agents for questioning. Fortunately, Masamitsu managed to convince authorities that he wasn’t a Japanese spy or anything and was released by the next day.

Since his childhood in Kona, Ellison was taught to respect one’s ancestors, value the family, work hard, always do your utmost, and be humble.

He was well exposed to Japanese culture through his immigrant grandparents (until the late 1950s) and the local Japanese-American community. He attended a local Japanese Buddhist temple (Kona Hongwanji), enjoyed Japanese celebrations like New Year’s (except for the firecrackers which were not a Japanese tradition) and summer bon dances, learned to use chopsticks, loved Japanese food like sushi and even natto (prepared by his grandmother), and took Japanese language classes on weekends (the teacher didn’t come on weekdays). He never got good at Japanese, and could only speak a few Japanese words and phrases typical of his sansei generation.

Photos of him proudly expressing his Japanese heritage on his first Space Shuttle mission in 1985 caused a sensation in the Japanese American community and Japan. The first astronaut in space to use chopsticks for a meal (now a tradition among Japanese astronauts in space) and wear a kamikaze hachimaki headband. He certainly had the kamikaze spirit of not fearing death, which he considered to be an acceptable risk for the sake of looking at new worlds, from a higher plateau.

His devout Buddhist mother Mitsue strictly required her four children to pray every morning to their ancestors at the Buddhist altar in their living room before breakfast. She taught them Okagesama de or “I am what I am because of you.” That they exist in this world because of their ancestors. They must always be thankful and respectful toward their ancestors and elders, and be thankful for everything.

It’s no wonder why he felt compelled to visit his ancestral family grave when he finally visited Japan.

Ellison Onizuka in Japan

Ellison was super excited to hear that he was invited to visit Japan for his first time. He was to represent NASA to open The Great Space Shuttle Exhibition (大スペースシャトル展) in Nihonbashi, Tokyo on June 23, 1983. It was to exhibit the Space Shuttle Pathfinder, a full-scale mockup made of steel and wood originally used by NASA for shuttle testing purposes (test article).

Ellison had heard so much about Japan during childhood from his grandparents and longed to visit someday. The land of his ancestors which even his late father was unable to visit (died of a heart attack in February 1968). He was going to take the whole family, including his mother Mitsue who was bringing a photo of her late husband. Mitsue had actually visited Japan previously with her Buddhist church group.

When asked what he wanted to see in Japan, Ellison immediately replied, “my ancestral village.” He had great respect for his grandparents who immigrated, but didn’t know much about his Japanese ancestral roots.

A Professor Kuroda at Kyushu University assisted in the ancestral search by putting notices in local newspapers. On June 13, 1983, Fukuoka-based Nishi-Nippon Shimbun newspaper published a story about Ellison searching for relatives and ancestral graves.

There were multiple responses and one of them identified his ancestral hometown and ancestral family grave near the Minou mountains in Takami, Ukiha-machi Town (浮羽町高見) which is now part of the city of Ukiha in southeastern Fukuoka Prefecture. Fortunately, he found out this information in time for his trip to Japan.

Tokyo

Ellison and his mother Mitsue, wife Lorna, daughters Janelle and Darien first traveled to Tokyo where they got a big welcome.

At a press conference, Japanese reporters asked Ellison many questions like, “Why did you become an astronaut?” “What kind of training do you do?” “When will you fly into space?” “How’s the food in space?”

He answered each question. Regarding food in space, “The other day during training, we had broccoli and roast beef. For dessert, we had pineapple and pudding. Although we don’t have sashimi or sushi, we can eat warm food. We also have ketchup and mayonnaise, but no shoyu (soy sauce). The food is better than the Apollo missions.”

One reporter dared to ask what Ellison thought about using the Space Shuttle for military purposes.

He replied, “The Space Shuttle is not a military weapon. Even when the Department of Defense uses it, it’s mainly for reconnaissance and communications on the ground. The Space Shuttle is mainly for peaceful and scientific purposes. The development of space is basically to make peace, not war.”

One thing Ellison loved to do was speak to kids at schools to inspire and encourage them in life. Wherever he went, he always asked if there were any nearby schools.

In Tokyo, he visited Joto Elementary School (中央区立城東小学校) right in front of Tokyo Station (Yaesu). It was a small school with only 108 kids. Small because few people lived in that commercial area even though the daytime population was huge.

Wearing a coat and tie, Ellison and his family went to the school gym where the kids had gathered. A first grade girl greeted them. “We have been very excited since yesterday. To have an astronaut visiting our school is really like a dream!”

With his infectious smile, Ellison spoke: “The Space Shuttle is really fast. It can fly between Japan and America in 25 minutes.” The kids gasped in amazement.

He asked the kids, “Who wants to become an astronaut?” Over half the kids raised their hands, “Hai!”

With glee, he advised, “Study hard, stay healthy, and fly into space someday. I shall also work hard to travel into space.” The kids had twinkling stars in their eyes as they applauded.

On June 23, 1983 in Tokyo, Ellison, as the representative of NASA, gave a speech at the opening of the The Great Space Shuttle Exhibition. He talked about the role of developing outer space and NASA’s future plans. He ended his speech with “I am slated to fly on the Space Shuttle soon. I have Japanese blood in my veins. I am proud of it. With this pride, I shall fly into space.” He indeed became the first ethnic Japanese person to fly into space.

Organized by the Tokyo-based America-Japan Society, Inc., the exhibition was to mark NASA’s 25th anniversary of its founding. Besides a full-scale mockup of the orbiter, the Apollo Lunar Module, Command and Service Module, and moon rock were displayed.

It was so wise to have Ellison represent NASA in Japan. With his ethnic background and star power in Japan, he was the perfect choice to be the bridge between NASA and Japan.

After Tokyo, the exhibition traveled to Osaka (Namba City Bldg.) and Mie (Nagashima Spa Land) near Nagoya until it ended in May 1984.

Ancestral hometown Ukiha, Fukuoka

On June 24, 1983, the day after he opened the Space Shuttle exhibition in Tokyo, Ellison and his family flew to Fukuoka to visit Ukiha-machi Town for the first time. It was his 37th birthday and Space Shuttle Challenger happened to be orbiting Earth on its second space flight (STS-7) with Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.

With freshly planted rice paddies flooded all around, Ukiha-machi was green and a totally different and beautiful landscape from his native Kona dominated by black lava rock.

They paid a courtesy call to Ukiha-machi Town Hall and met with local officials and relatives. They were greeted by rural-style, heartfelt words on a sunny day with the rainy season taking a break.

They visited Ukiha Junior High School (浮羽中学校) where he gave an inspiring “work hard to make your dreams come true” speech.

Over 900 students gathered in the school gymnasium where Ellison went on stage to give a speech through an interpreter.

I am deeply moved by this beautiful hometown where my grandparents came from and by the truly kind and heartfelt welcome we have received from everyone.

Space Shuttle Challenger now in space will return to Earth tonight Japan time. Today is also my 37th birthday. It’s an incredibly special day for me.

I am fortunate to be scheduled to fly on Space Shuttle Challenger [later changed to Discovery] within this year [later postponed]. There are very many people who provide support for the Space Shuttle, from the liftoff to its return to Earth. Any error anywhere can affect the success of the space flight.

All the students then fell silent and gazed at Ellison.

The Space Shuttle will be used to put all kinds of satellites into space such as for communications and weather. In the future, solar panels to generate electricity and a space station will also be constructed. A larger spaceship will also likely be developed to travel to Mars and other planets.

The Space Shuttles already use many parts made in Japan. Japanese technologies are contributing a lot. It’s very possible for all of you to get involved in such work in the future.

So everyone study hard and contribute to this world. I believe that the development of space has significant meaning for humankind.

After his speech, he allowed time for questions. One boy raised his hand and asked through the microphone, “Don’t you feel afraid when lifting off into space and returning to Earth?”

Ellison grinned and seriously replied, “No, I’m never afraid. It’s true that the launch and re-entry come with danger. However, astronauts are people who pursue challenges in the face of danger. They undergo much training for this reason. That’s why I don’t feel afraid.”

The student body president gave Ellison words of appreciation: “We pray for the success of your missions in space. Thank you!”

Ellison smiled. The student band then played the Washington Post march. Ellison and his family got off the stage and headed for the exit as the students clapped. Then one student stuck out his hand and Ellison smiled and shook it.

Then all the students stuck out their hands and mobbed Ellison as he shook their hands left and right and even behind. Students who shook his hand shrieked while others begged for a handshake. It took a while for him to leave the building.

Even today, at least some of those Ukiha students, now middle-aged, still recall his visit (as comments on social media).

The Onizuka family grave was in Tashima, Ukiha-machi amid rice paddies. There were multiple gravestones for multiple Onizuka families. Ellison’s ancestral family gravestone was in the rear marked with the words, “Parents of Kichihei.” So the grave was for Ellison’s great grandparents and older generations.

Kichihei and Wakano once returned to Ukiha-machi in 1939. They might have had the gravestone engraved back then. Perhaps Ellison met old-timers who remembered his grandparents’ visit 44 years before.

Ellison and his family placed flowers at the gravestone and prayed amid lots of media and local attention. They even brought their ojuzu and Ellison helped younger daughter Darien to put on her ojuzu to pray. Mother Mitsue chanted Nembutsu prayers.

Ellison was filled with emotions. Being at the place where his family started, a place where his father yearned to visit, but never did. A filial great grandson paying his respects to his origins like his mother had instilled in him since childhood.

Ellison really enjoyed Japan, even eating natto fermented soybeans. He wanted to visit Japan again and learn more about his ancestral roots. Sadly, he never returned, except in people’s hearts and minds.

Ellison Onizuka Bridge in Ukiha

Although Ellison Onizuka Bridge is small, it has become an enduring and endearing local symbol for Japan-US-Hawaii friendship and the pursuit of dreams for local kids even today.

In May 1995, heavy rains caused Inobu River (井延川) in Ukiha-machi to overflow and destroy a small bridge called Tashima-hashi (田島橋) named after the local neighborhood. During discussions for rebuilding the bridge, there was a suggestion to name the new bridge after Ellison Onizuka.

The proposal was accepted and the construction of the Ellison Onizuka Bridge was completed in October 1996. The bridge is near Ellison Onizuka’s ancestral hometown of Takami, Ukiha. (Map here or click on street view above.)

It’s on Route 749 crossing over Inobu River (井延川) feeding into Chikugo River (筑後川), Kyushu’s longest river flowing from Aso, Kumamoto to the Ariake Sea in the west.

Dubbed as the “Bridge of Japan-America Friendship” (日本とアメリカの友情の架け橋) by Ukiha Junior High School students (うきは市立浮羽中学校), Ellison Onizuka Bridge is 16 meters long and 7 meters wide. There’s a pedestrian sidewalk only on one side. The bridge is outfitted with nameplates and color photo plaques on all four corners.

In Japan, it’s standard practice for bridges to have a nameplate on all four corners. The nameplates can indicate the bridge’s name, completion date (year and month), or the river’s name. The bridge’s entrance is considered to be the end closer to Nihonbashi Bridge in Tokyo which was the traditional starting point for all roads in Japan since the 17th century.

When you enter the bridge from Takami, the right-side corner where the sidewalk starts has the bridge’s nameplate in both Japanese (エリソン・オニヅカ橋) and English. Next to it is a white plaque with his photo and short bio in Japanese. This same plaque is also on the far right corner on the opposite end of the bridge as you exit.

If a bridge has a plaque, it usually explains the history and construction details of the bridge. So this plaque explaining someone’s profile is extremely rare or maybe one of a kind in Japan.

Here’s my English translation of this plaque:

Ellison S. Onizuka Profile (エリソン・S・オニヅカ 略歴 看板の英訳)

June 24, 1946: Born in Kona, Hawaiʻi.

1964: Enrolled at the University of Colorado to major in aerospace engineering and joins the Air Force ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps).

1970: Enters active service in the U.S. Air Force.

1978: Selected for NASA’s Space Shuttle astronaut program.

June 23, 1983: Visits Japan to represent NASA for the opening ceremony of the “Great Space Shuttle Exhibition,” an event marking NASA’s 25th anniversary of its founding.

June 24, 1983: Visits his ancestral grave in Ukiha-machi Town with his family and gives a speech at Ukiha Junior High School (37th birthday).

January 24, 1985: Serves as a Mission Specialist (science) on Space Shuttle Discovery 51-C.

January 28, 1986: Serves as a Mission Specialist on Space Shuttle Challenger 51-L, which exploded 73 seconds after launch due to a malfunction in the Solid Rocket Booster.

July 1991: To memorialize Ellison’s achievements, a museum called the Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center was built in Kona, Hawaiʻi.

Note that the Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center at Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport closed in March 2016 due to airport renovation plans for a new gateway on the museum site. Alternate sites for building a new museum were ruled out due to the operating cost, so some of the exhibits were moved to the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i in Honolulu in 2017.

The photo of Ellison on the plaque was taken when he was in astronaut training school at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma on August 23, 1978. Looks like he’s sitting in the pilot’s seat in a Northrop T-38 Talon supersonic jet trainer used to train astronauts.

The right corner also has a signboard introducing the bridge. It describes how the bridge was rebuilt and renamed after Ellison. It was written and made by Ukiha Junior High School students on January 28, 2016 (30th anniversary of the shuttle tragedy).

Here’s my English translation of this signboard:

Ellison Onizuka Bridge: Bridge of Japan-America Friendship (日本とアメリカの友情のかけ橋「エリソン・オニヅカ橋」看板の英訳)

There was a bridge here named “Tashima Bridge.” However, in May 1995, a major flood on Inobu River washed away the bridge.

With regard to rebuilding the bridge, there was a suggestion to rename the new bridge after Ellison Onizuka who had a connection to Ukiha. The suggestion came from the Ellison Onizuka Legacy Committee as a project to pass on Ellison’s story to future generations. This Committee consisted mainly of Ukiha Town (now city) Junior Chamber of Commerce and Ukiha Musui-juku members.

The Ukiha-machi deputy town mayor reached an agreement with the Kurume Civil Engineering Office to build the current Ellison Onizuka Bridge at a total construction cost of ¥70 million. It was completed in October 1996.

On January 28, 1996, the 10th anniversary of Ellison’s death, a memorial service was held in Ukiha-machi Town. Then on February 18, 1996, his wife Lorna Reiko Yoshida gave a memorial speech in Ukiha.

It was the first public bridge in Japan to be named after a person. Something that is still very rare today.

We believe this bridge embodies the following:
“Bridge of Japan-America friendship,” “Bridge connecting people,” and “Bridge to our children’s future.”

It would be wonderful if the people crossing this bridge become kindhearted and think that this is where they can gaze at their future or have a dream.

<<Quote by Ellison when he saw Earth from space>>
There are no lines nor borders between nations.
Yet, I felt deep sadness at the reality of national borders being created, discrimination brewing, and conflicts erupting. Earth seems to be on the verge of destruction.
There are no national or state boundaries, we only exist as a single humankind.

January 28, 2016
Produced by Ukiha Junior High School students in 2015–2016

At the bottom of the signboard is the official NASA portrait of the seven Challenger crew members (STS-51L).

McAuliffe was a payload specialist, representing the Teacher in Space Project.

The left corner and far left corner of the bridge have the same photo plaque of Ellison in a blue NASA jumpsuit posed with a model of the Space Shuttle. It includes the phrase, “Have a dream” in Japanese (夢を持とう).

This portrait was taken at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas in January 1978 when he was selected for the Space Shuttle astronaut program. He’s age 32 in this photo.

The left corner of the bridge has a nameplate indicating the bridge’s construction date (Oct. 1996, 平成8年10月竣工), while the far right corner’s nameplate has the name of the river (Inobu River 井延川).

The bridge is a testament to how beloved and admired Ellison was even in Japan. The pride of Hawaiʻi, the Japanese American community, and his ancestral hometown of Ukiha.

*Ellison Onizuka Bridge is a 20-minute walk from Chikugo-Ōishi Station or a short taxi ride from Ukiha Station.

Site of Onizuka ancestral home

Near Ellison Onizuka Bridge is the site of the Onizuka ancestral home in Takami, Ukiha-machi (map). It’s now an empty lot and niche tourist attraction with signboards and cherry blossom trees. There are graves nearby, but they are not the Onizuka graves. The immediate area is still mostly farm land.

On January 28, 2016 (30th anniversary of the Challenger tragedy), students at Ukiha Junior High School wrote and produced a few large signboards for the Onizuka ancestral home site and bridge.

The signboard above stands in front of the ancestral home site.

Here’s my English translation:

Site of Ellison S. Onizuka Ancestral Home (エリソン・S・鬼塚氏先祖の生家跡 看板の英訳)

Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka’s grandfather, Onizuka Kichihei and grandmother Wakano were from Ukiha-machi Town.

On January 28, 1986 at 11:38 a.m. (local time), Space Shuttle Challenger launched from Kennedy Space Center in America and was engulfed in flames 73 seconds later.
One of the seven astronauts who died was Hawaiʻi-born, Japanese American sansei Ellison S. Onizuka (39) who was on his second space flight. His paternal grandparents were from Takami, Ukiha-machi. On June 24, 1983, Ellison and his mother, wife, and two daughters visited his ancestral family grave in Ukiha-machi.

He also visited Ukiha Junior High School where he gave an inspiring speech to students saying, “Everyone, have a dream. Work hard to attain your dream. Your dream can certainly come true.”
He worked hard and became the first ethnic Japanese to fly into space. He also had a deep reverence toward his parents and ancestors.

His letter to his mother before flying on Space Shuttle Challenger is also reproduced in the sidebar.

Another signboard at the Onizuka ancestral home site explains the cherry blossom trees planted by Ellison’s family members.

Here’s my English translation:

Memorial planting of “Cherry blossoms for hopes and dreams” (「思いをつなぐ桜」記念植樹 看板の英訳)

On February 18, 1996, Ellison S. Onitsuka’s wife Lorna Reiko Yoshida and her daughters were invited to Japan by the Ukiha-machi Junior Chamber of Commerce, Ukiha Musui-juku, and Ukiha Town (now city) to give a speech.

She made a passionate plea: “I want to encourage everyone to pursue your hopes and dreams as much as you can. It is most important to get involved in society. The adults around you are there to help you make use of your potential. Highly experienced people are there to help you realize your dreams.”
She then planted this memorial cherry blossom tree on the left at Ellison Onizuka’s ancestral home site.

The two cherry trees on the left of her tree were planted as a memorial by Ellison’s brother and sister who visited in 2000.

These three cherry trees have been cared for by Ukiha Musui-juku (うきは夢酔塾) and the Ukiha Junior Chamber of Commerce.

The cherry tree planted by Lorna bloomed only slightly in 1997. Her tree and the second cherry tree both stopped growing and never flowered again. In 2008, Tanaka Kazunari, chairman of the Tanushimaru-machi Garden Plant Sales Association (田主丸町植木販売協会) (in Kurume), assessed that reviving the trees was nearly impossible and sent two young Somei-Yoshino sakura trees to Ukiha Musui-juku for planting.

The newly planted cherry trees began to bloom large cherry blossoms from the following year.

To repay this kind gift, Musui-juku members continue to actively care for the trees by weeding and preventing plant diseases.
The memorial cherry blossoms bloom beautifully every year. We hope that those who see these flowers will dream about their own future and leap into new worlds with hopes and aspirations.

These memorial cherry trees shall continue to watch over the children nurturing a thick trunk of big dreams and pursuing the many branches of challenges in various worlds to make their dreams a reality like the blooming cherry blossoms.

January 28, 2016

2015-2016 year Ukiha Junior High School students

Ellison Onizuka is still being remembered by students and people in Ukiha even after all these years.

Memorial services for Ellison are held on occasion at the ancestral home site. On January 28, 1996, on the 10th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, a memorial service for Ellison was held in Ukiha-machi. One was also held on January 28, 2016. Perhaps another one will be held on January 28, 2026, the 40th anniversary of the Challenger accident.

His mother Mitsue passed away at home in 1990 at age 76. She refused to be admitted to any nursing home and kept working at Onizuka Store until she died. The store was then closed after 57 years in business.

Ocean salvage operations for seven months recovered about 45 percent of the destroyed Challenger. The remains of the shuttle have been in long-term storage in two silos in an abandoned Minuteman missile complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station since January 1987.

Space Shuttle Discovery went on to fly the most spaceflights of all the five operational Space Shuttles with a total 39 missions. It was retired after its last flight in March 2011 after over 27 years of service. It was the first Space Shuttle to be retired, soon followed by the two remaining shuttles Atlantis and Endeavour (built to replace Challenger) a few months later.

The Space Shuttle program thereby came to an end. A variety of spaceships have since been used to supply the International Space Station including the Russian Soyuz and SpaceX.

Discovery is now on display at Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. Atlantis is at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, and Endeavour will reopen at California Science Center’s new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center in Los Angeles.

Also, Kennedy Space Center opened the “Forever Remembered” tribute exhibition in 2015 for both the Challenger and Columbia displaying a few pieces of the shuttle wreckage and personal effects of the fallen crews.

About Ukiha, Fukuoka Prefecture

Ukiha (うきは市) is a rural city (pop. 26,000) in southeastern Fukuoka Prefecture next to the city of Yame in the south. It consists of former villages and towns (including Ukiha-machi) which merged to form the current city in March 2005.

The main industry is fruit farming including grapes, strawberries, pears, persimmons, and peaches. Ukiha is also known for Ukiha Inari Shrine with many red torii gates, Yoshii Shirakabe traditional townscape, Tsuzura terraced rice paddies, and Chikugogawa Onsen hot spring along Chikugo River (筑後川), Kyushu’s longest river (143 km) flowing east to west from Aso, Kumamoto to the Ariake Sea.

Michi-no-Eki Ukiha or Roadside Station Ukiha (道の駅うきは) is like a local farmer’s market, especially for seasonal fruits. A bronze plaque honoring Ellison Onizuka is displayed here too.

Ukiha’s main tourist area is near JR Chikugo-Yoshii Station. During the Edo Period (1600–1868), Chikugo-Yoshii was a shukuba lodging town on the old Bungo Kaido Road (豊後街道) connecting Hita Domain (Oita Prefecture) and Kurume Castle.

Agriculture flourished in the Yoshii where wealthy local merchants built lavish homes and storehouses with shirakabe white walls, especially during the 1910s-20s.

From the mid-1980s, these traditional merchant homes were renovated by the local government and local residents to become a tourist attraction. In 1996, the Japanese government designated the Yoshii Shirakabe neighborhood of traditional buildings as a Traditional Townscape Preservation District (伝統的建造物群保存地区).

The Ukiha Tourist Information Center is also in a traditional whitewall storehouse in Yoshii. They have maps, pamphlets, gift shop, and rental bicycles. Ask about fruit picking, lodging, etc. Open 9:00 am–5:00 pm, closed Mon. and year-end and New Year’s period. Website: https://ukihalove.jp/information/travelguide-eng/

Getting to Ukiha: From JR Hakata Station, take the Kyushu Shinkansen or JR Kagoshima Main Line (kaisoku) to Kurume Station where you transfer to the JR Kyudai Line to reach one of three JR stations in Ukiha: JR Chikugo-Yoshii Station (main station), JR Ukiha Station, or JR Chikugo-Ōishi Station (closest to Ellison Onizuka Bridge, 20-min. walk).

The JR Kyudai Main Line runs between JR Kurume Station and JR Oita Station. Note that trains in Ukiha run only once an hour or less. Check the train schedule in advance and plan accordingly.

More about Ukiha: https://photoguide.jp/log/2025/11/ukiha-fukuoka/

Fukuoka Prefecture (4,986 sq. km) is almost half the size of the Big Island of Hawaiʻi in land area, or slightly larger than the total land area of Oʻahu, Maui, and Kauaʻi. So it’s quite large. Kyushu island is about the same size as Taiwan.

More about Fukuoka Prefecture: https://photoguide.jp/log/2025/11/about-fukuoka-prefecture/

Honoring Hawaiʻi Japanese Americans with Fukuoka roots

In 2020, the Honolulu-based Hawaii Fukuoka Kenjin Kai and Hawaii Global Education Foundation implemented an ancestral hometown project to honor three prominent Japanese Americans from Hawaiʻi who had ancestral roots in Fukuoka Prefecture.

They were astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka (roots in Ukiha), former Hawaiʻi Governor George R. Ariyoshi (roots in Buzen), and the late U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye (roots in Yame). The project was funded by the Hawaiʻi State Legislature in 2019.

In May 2020, a bronze plaque was made to honor Ellison and another one for Ariyoshi, and a bronze bust for Inouye. The two plaques and bronze bust were donated to their respective Fukuoka ancestral hometowns.

There were plans for family members of Onizuka, Ariyoshi, and Inouye to visit Fukuoka Prefecture in 2020 to dedicate the plaques and bronze bust in their respective hometowns. However, the trip had to be postponed due to COVID-19.

Finally in October 2022, a Hawaiʻi delegation of 15 family members visited the three ancestral hometowns in Fukuoka Prefecture to dedicate the plaques and bronze bust. They were received by the respective local mayor.

Honoring Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka

Ellison’s bronze plaque has a brief profile in Japanese, a Japanese gist of his famous quote below it, and a short text I translated into English below:

Ellison S. Onizuka fervently urged, “Have a dream everyone! Work hard to attain your dream. Your dream will surely come true. Pursuing your dream makes the world better.”
He made a very strong impression on the people of Ukiha.
In 1996, Ellison Onizuka Bridge was completed as a “Bridge of Japan-America friendship,” “Bridge connecting people,” and “Bridge to our children’s future.”
In the same year, a memorial service [10th anniversary] was held for Ellison and memorial speech was given [by wife Lorna]. Through later speeches and events, Ellison S. Onizuka’s firm convictions are being passed on to younger generations.

Ellison’s younger brother Claude Onizuka visited Ukiha (his second time) on this trip to Fukuoka Prefecture and met with the mayor of Ukiha and relatives.

The bronze plaque for Ellison Onizuka is displayed at Roadside Station Ukiha (Michi-no-eki Ukiha 道の駅うきは), a local farmer’s market selling local produce, especially seasonal fruits. It also has a restaurant and fast food eatery. The plaque is in the information room and rest space next to the restrooms on the left end of the complex.

Roadside Station Ukiha is on a hilltop with sweeping views of Ukiha and farm land on the Tsukushi Plain, Kyushu’s largest plain. Well worth a visit. Open 9:00 am–6:00 pm. Closed on the second Tuesday of the month. Short taxi ride from JR Ukiha Station. (Map here.)

If you want to see both the Ellison Onizuka Bridge and Roadside Station Ukiha, I recommend getting off at JR Ukiha Station, then take a taxi to the bridge. Have the taxi wait for you at the bridge so you can take pictures. Then take the taxi to Roadside Station Ukiha to see the plaque and go shopping or have lunch or coffee. Tell the taxi driver what time to return to pick you up. Then go back to the train station.

If you want a taxi, call in advance and reserve a taxi. Taxis might not be at train stations in Ukiha. The train station may also have a taxi phone number.
Hikari taxi: 0943-75-3181
Ukiha Kotsu: 0943-75-3161

If you want to walk it, get off at JR Chikugo Oishi Station, walk to the bridge (25 min.), then walk to the Roadside Station (45 min.). Walk back to Chikugo Oishi Station (35 min.). If you feel tired, the Roadside Station should call a taxi for you.

Note that trains in Ukiha run only once an hour or less (JR Kyudai Main Line). Check the train schedule in advance and plan accordingly.

Honoring former Hawaii State Governor George R. Ariyoshi

Former Governor George Ariyoshi was the first Japanese/Asian-American (nisei) U.S. state governor during 1974 to 1986. He and U.S. Senator Dan Inouye were two of the many prominent figures representing the heyday of Japanese Americans in Hawaiʻi during the 1970s-80s.

Ariyoshi’s father immigrated from Mikekado, Buzen (豊前市 三毛門) to Hawaiʻi in 1919. As Hawaiʻi governor, Ariyoshi and the Fukuoka Prefectural Governor signed an agreement in September 1981 for Hawaiʻi and Fukuoka Prefecture to become Sister States.

Fukuoka became Hawaiʻi’s first sister state. Okinawa, Hiroshima, Ehime, Hokkaido, and Yamaguchi Prefectures also later became Hawaiʻi’s sister states. Fukuoka actually brought the fifth highest number of Japanese immigrants to Hawaiʻi up until 1924.

Governor Ariyoshi’s bronze plaque includes a short bio translated as follows:

Ariyoshi’s father is from Mikekado, Buzen.
First elected to public office in 1954, then got elected to the Hawaii State Senate and as Lieutenant Governor. In 1974, he became the Governor of Hawaii, the first Asian-American governor. His 13-year term is the longest ever.
After his term as governor, he remained active as a bridge between Hawaii and Fukuoka Prefecture. Under the Clinton administration, he was a member of the advisory board of the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership.
In 1985, he was honored with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (1st class) and Silver Cup from the Japanese government.

The bottom text reads, This bronze plaque is a gift from the State of Hawaii to commemorate the friendship between Hawaii and Fukuoka Prefecture.

The plaque’s background image shows the Takasu-oryosho stone torii (高須御旅所) on the shore near his ancestral hometown of Mikekado. It’s the festival rest place (otabisho) belonging to Kasuga Shrine (春日神社) located inland in Buzen. The plaque also has the official seal of the State of Hawaii, official emblem of Buzen, and official emblem of Fukuoka Prefecture.

Governor Ariyoshi’s bronze plaque in Buzen was dedicated by his wife Jean and son Ryozo who were in the Hawaiʻi delegation to Fukuoka in October 2022. Due to his advanced age (b. 1926), Governor Ariyoshi did not join the Hawaiʻi delegation, but he appeared for a video chat during the delegation’s meeting in Buzen.

At age 89, he had previously visited Buzen in May 2015 for the city’s 60th anniversary celebration and was warmly welcomed. The city made him an Honorary Citizen of Buzen for promoting ties between Buzen and Hawaii. He also addressed the city council with a speech in Japanese (video here).

George Ariyoshi’s bronze plaque is displayed at Buzen City Hall, a short taxi ride or 20-min. walk from JR Unoshima Station.

Buzen (豊前市) is a rural, coastal city (pop. 22,394) facing the Seto Inland Sea. Its main industries are fishing (mantis shrimp, crab, and oysters), manufacturing (auto parts, paper, electronics), and rice.

The JR Nippo Main Line starting from JR Kokura Station up north runs to Buzen stopping at JR Unoshima Station (宇島駅) and Mikekado Station near Ariyoshi’s ancestral home.

Honoring the late U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye

The late Hawaiʻi U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye’s ancestral hometown was the former Yokoyama Village, now part of Joyo-machi in the city of Yame (八女市上陽町) in southern Fukuoka Prefecture. His paternal grandparents and father immigrated from Yokoyama. He knew about Yokoyama and visited ancestral graves there in 1960.

Instead of accepting a plaque, the city of Yame opted to make a bronze bust of Inouye and received a monetary donation from the State of Hawaii through the offices of Hawaii Fukuoka Kenjin Kai and Hawaii Global Education Foundation.

Inouye’s bronze bust was unveiled on March 18, 2021 at a riverside park called Hotaru-to-Ishibashi-no-Sato Koen (ホタルと石橋の里公園) in Yame.

Due to COVID-19, Inouye family members from Hawaiʻi could not attend the unveiling, but nearby Japanese relatives (松崎 保元) attended along with the Yame mayor and U.S. Consul General from Fukuoka.

The bust is amid dogwood (given by the U.S. in 2015 as a symbol of Japan-US friendship) and cherry blossom trees. The park and Hoshino River are known for fireflies in late May to early June. (Map here.)

Inouye’s son Ken and his wife and daughter together with the Hawaiʻi delegation visited Yame on October 25, 2022 to see the bronze bust. Ken and family also visited Yokoyama (Joyo-machi) for the first time and met with relatives and visited the ancestral grave.

Two years later in September 2024, Ken and his family returned to Yame to see the new Daniel Inouye Museum (ダニエル イノウエ ミュージアム) that opened on April 25, 2024 in the same park as the bronze bust.

The museum exhibits the late senator’s personal effects such as an Aloha shirt, stationery and letters, and the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun medal received from the Japanese government. There’s also Cafe Mahalo (hamburgers with Hakata wagyu beef), Ohana Mart gift shop, a rental studio, and rental bicycles. The museum also holds Hawaiian events such as the Aloha Monarch Hawaiian Festival with hula dancers.

The museum is quite far from the closest train station. From JR Hainuzuka Station (羽犬塚駅) on the JR Kagoshima Main Line, it’s a 40-min. drive. Also check Google Maps for local buses.

Open 10:00 am–5:00 pm, closed on Wednesdays and the year-end and New Year’s period. As of this writing, the museum has no English. Map here. English info here.

The museum replaces an old, local museum in the same building which was completely renovated.

Yame (八女 pop. 57,491) is a rural city next to Ukiha and famous for growing Yame-cha tea (八女茶) to produce premium matcha. Fruits are also a major crop.

Yame is also a center of traditional Japanese crafts including Yame-washi paper (over 400-year history), chochin paper lanterns, stone lanterns, and even Buddhist altars which requires a variety of skilled artisans. The best place to see these crafts is the Yame Traditional Crafts Center and Museum (Yame Dento Kogei-kan 八女伝統工芸館).

Yame’s main train station is JR Hainuzuka Station where taxis are usually available. From JR Hakata Station to Hainuzuka Station, it takes about an hour via JR Kagoshima Main Line.
Yame Tourist Info: https://en.yame.travel

More about Yame: https://photoguide.jp/log/2025/11/yame-fukuoka/

In August 2022, Joyo Hokuzei Gakuen elementary/junior high school (上陽北汭学園) in Joyomachi agreed to be sister schools with Washington Middle School in Honolulu, Daniel Inouye’s junior high school.

In such ways, the Fukuoka-Hawaiʻi Sister State connection remains strong and very active on many fronts besides education. They include health initiatives, fisheries, and culinary activities. This mutual friendship and exchanges are being passed on to younger generations in both the prefecture and state.

Also, Fukuoka Prefecture and the cities of Yame, Buzen, and Ukiha also gave donations for the Maui wildfire relief totaling over ¥2,300,000. So big mahalo to Fukuoka!

More Ellison Onizuka memorials

Miraikan (未来館) is the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo’s Odaiba waterfront area. Lots of space-related exhibits including a replica of the International Space Station’s crew quarters (autographed by many astronauts).

Opened in 2001 with Mohri Mamoru as the first museum director (until 2021). Mohri was the first Japanese to fly into space aboard a Space Shuttle (Endeavour) in September 1992 (STS-47) and the second Japanese to fly into space. He flew again on the Endeavour in February 2000 (STS-99).

Miraikan’s Oval Bridge walkway has a glass wall decorated with small head shots of all the astronauts and cosmonauts who flew into space for each year. A few of them signed their autographs.

This is another spot in Japan where we can see Ellison Onizuka. He appears under 1985 and 1986.

In the U.S. and Hawaiʻi, there are many facilities named after Ellison. His celebrity peaked after his first Space Shuttle mission, only to become a posthumous legend after his second one.

If he were still alive today, he would be embarrassed or annoyed by all the accolades and memorials dedicated to him. He claimed that he was just a “man,” not a hero. A most humble man he was.

Kona International Airport was named after Ellison Onizuka in January 2017. A few months later, Honolulu International Airport was named after Daniel K. Inouye.

Hawaiʻi now has two major civilian airports named after a person. Both are Japanese Americans who both happen to have ancestral roots in Fukuoka Prefecture in neighboring hometowns even.

No offense to Onizuka and Inouye supporters, but I personally prefer airports not to be named after any person. Emphasis should be on the place name to indicate the airport’s location. Longer names are harder to remember and take up more signage space.

In Los Angeles, Little Tokyo’s Weller Court shopping complex has the Space Shuttle Challenger Monument and Ellison Onizuka plaque on Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Street. It’s a 1/10 scale model, standing 27 feet high.

Dedicated on October 19, 1990 and later refurbished in March 2011. It’s painted in the same color as the original rocket boosters.

The black granite base of the Space Shuttle Challenger Monument has these three bronze bilingual (English and Japanese) plaques dedicated to Ellison S. Onizuka, the Challenger crew, and the U.S. Space Program. The rear plaque (not shown) lists monument donors.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex also opened the “Forever Remembered” tribute exhibition in 2015 for both the Challenger and Columbia displaying a few pieces of the shuttle wreckage and personal effects of the fallen crews.

Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i (JCCH) in Moiliili, Honolulu has the Ellison Onizuka Remembrance exhibit in the JCCH Historical Gallery. Moved here on June 24, 2017 from the Ellison Onizuka Space Center that closed in 2016 at Kona International Airport.

My only consolation is that at least he lived long enough to experience space travel. His longtime dream came true after all that studying and training.

Sadly, there was another Space Shuttle tragedy when Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-107) broke up during re-entry on February 1, 2003, killing all seven crew including Kalpana Chawla, the first woman of India descent to fly into space. There haven’t been astronaut fatalities in space since then. Lessons learned, progress made.

What really resonated with me was Ellison’s pride and interest in his Japanese heritage. To make the effort to find out and visit his ancestral hometown even in his 30s. It was very touching to see him and his family make the visit to Ukiha and pray to his ancestors. He had done a huge favor for his family and descendants by building a bridge to his ancestors in Japan.

For the sansei back then, it was usually easier to find out your Japanese ancestral roots when you’re in touch with immigrant grandparents. Even so, when you’re young, you don’t usually think or care about such things and don’t ask about it until it’s too late (elders already passed). Ellison and his siblings (and parents) apparently never asked or found out exactly why their grandparents immigrated.

Researching family history gets harder with each passing generation when older generations pass away and old family documents, letters, or photos might get thrown out. I’m afraid many of the younger nikkei Japanese descendants are losing their ancestral connection or have given up searching for their ancestral roots.

In any case, all nikkei descendants should visit Japan at least once even if you don’t know where your ancestral roots are. See where familiar Japanese customs, traditions, and food come from. Ancestral worship, visiting family graves, and bon dances are still common in Japan even though fewer families these days have a Buddhist altar at home. Shoes which you can easily take off and put on is also advisable when you want to enter a home or Japanese-style building.

And with a proper introduction, people in Japan can be very nice. Visit Japan.

Every generation has the obligation to free men’s minds for a look at new worlds…
to look out from a higher plateau than the last generation. – Ellison S. Onizuka

Major References

• Ellison S. Onizuka – A Remembrance, The Onizuka Memorial Committee, written by Dennis M. Ogawa and Glen Grant, 1986
• 「夢に向かって飛べ　宇宙飛行士エリソン・オニヅカ物語」毛利 恒之、1989
• NASA
• Ellison Onizuka Memorial Committee 
• Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i, Honolulu
• Wikipedia (English and Japanese)
• Oral History Interview with Shirley Onizuka Matsuoka, by Nancy Piianaia, 2000
• All other links to websites cited in the above text.

Other Fukuoka blog posts:

• About Fukuoka Prefecture
• Food and drink from Fukuoka (Kojimachi NADAMAN Fukuoka Bettei)
• Ukiha, Fukuoka
• Yame, Fukuoka
• Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine