{"id":169796,"date":"2024-05-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=169796"},"modified":"2024-05-07T02:54:40","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T02:54:40","slug":"record-24000-visitors-attend-combined-half-marathon-hawaiian-fest-at-sagami-depot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=169796","title":{"rendered":"Record 24,000 visitors attend combined half marathon, Hawaiian Fest at Sagami Depot"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>

\n
\n
\n Local dancers perform a hula dance at the Hawaiian Festival April 28 on Sagami General Depot, Japan. The event drew more than 24,000 visitors, the largest crowd since the event began being hosted there in 2013.
\n (Photo Credit: Noriko Kudo, U.S. Army Garrison Japan Public Affairs)<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

SAGAMI GENERAL DEPOT, Japan \u2013 More than 24,000 people were here April 28 for a long-distance run and open-post Hawaiian Festival, the largest crowd since the installation began hosting the combined event in 2013.<\/p>\n

The 28th annual East Japan International Friendship Half Marathon preceded the Hawaiian Festival, with ideal weather and the start of Japan\u2019s \u201cGolden Week\u201d holiday likely contributing to the record-high attendance.<\/p>\n

During opening remarks, Col. Marcus Hunter, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Japan, welcomed runners, supporters and spectators, and other guests to the event.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \"Record
\n <\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n
\n The Zama Middle High School Junior Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps color guard presents the U.S. and Japan flags for both countries\u2019 national anthems before the start of the 28th annual East Japan International Friendship Half Marathon held April 28 on Sagami General Depot, Japan.
\n (Photo Credit: Noriko Kudo, U.S. Army Garrison Japan Public Affairs)<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThis is a great time to be able to share this base, and the military community has a lot of fun being able to share a fun event, music and great food with [our] Japanese neighbors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Hunter highlighted other recent Army-hosted events, including last month\u2019s Cherry Blossom Festival at Camp Zama and a youth event held at a shared athletic complex in Sagamihara City that helped bring the two communities together.<\/p>\n

\u201c[These events] really help the community understand how important our relationships are and the strength of our Japan-U.S. alliance,\u201d Hunter said. \u201cWe want to be good neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \"Record
\n <\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n
\n Runners take off at the start of the 28th annual East Japan International Friendship Half Marathon\u2019s parent-child category April 28 on Sagami General Depot, Japan. The event drew more than 24,000 visitors, the largest crowd since the event began being hosted there in 2013.
\n (Photo Credit: Noriko Kudo, U.S. Army Garrison Japan Public Affairs)<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The USAG Japan team and Camp Zama\u2019s Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation planned for months to provide a safe venue for the combined event, Hunter said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes a lot of work and a lot of behind-the-scenes [effort] so that everything goes smoothly,\u201d he said. \u201cI am very appreciative of everyone\u2019s hard work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wataru Sato, a junior at Oberlin University in Machida, Japan, was a second-year participant in the half marathon. He placed fourth in the run in his division last year and improved to take first place this year.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \"Record
\n <\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n
\n Runners compete in the 28th annual East Japan International Friendship Half Marathon April 28 on Sagami General Depot, Japan. The event drew more than 24,000 visitors, the largest crowd since the event began being hosted there in 2013.
\n (Photo Credit: Noriko Kudo, U.S. Army Garrison Japan Public Affairs)<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Sato usually trains with teammates by running outside the perimeter of Sagami Depot, so getting to run on the installation is a privilege and hopes to continue in the coming years, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a special occasion for me to be able to run on a U.S. installation,\u201d Sato said. \u201cI really enjoyed running with a variety of runners, and especially that I won this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adjacent to the running area, the Hawaiian Festival, which Camp Zama\u2019s Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation hosted, was simultaneously held for visitors.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \"Record
\n <\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n
\n The Guam National Guard\u2019s 721st Army Band performs at the Hawaiian Festival April 28 on Sagami General Depot, Japan. The event drew more than 24,000 visitors, the largest crowd since the event began being hosted there in 2013.
\n (Photo Credit: Noriko Kudo, U.S. Army Garrison Japan Public Affairs)<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The event included several cultural dance performances from different local groups, live music from the Guam National Guard\u2019s 721st Army Band, a variety of food and beverages, and children\u2019s activities throughout the day.<\/p>\n

Ayaka Nagai was a first-time visitor to the Hawaiian Festival and a U.S. military installation and said she didn\u2019t know what to expect. She said she was determined to attend after missing Camp Zama\u2019s Cherry Blossom Festival in April.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter I saw a lot of people picnicking and enjoying good food and good music in a wide-open space, I started enjoying myself,\u201d Nagai said. \u201cI can\u2019t wait for the next open-post event.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Local dancers perform a hula dance at the Hawaiian Festival April 28 on Sagami General Depot, Japan. The event drew more than 24,000 visitors, the largest crowd since the event began being hosted there in 2013. (Photo Credit: Noriko Kudo, U.S. Army Garrison Japan Public Affairs) VIEW ORIGINAL SAGAMI GENERAL DEPOT, Japan \u2013 More than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169798,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=169796"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169804,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169796\/revisions\/169804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/169798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=169796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=169796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=169796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}