After admiring the black figurative sculpture of Sun Yat-Sen — considered the father of modern China — we walked on River Street alongside the canal, passed by the rows of homeless and their buggies, then crossed a small white bridge and arrived at a Shinto temple.

Sugar Brown’s real name is Ken Kawashima, whose full-time job is professor at the University of Toronto. He’s a Japanese-American from Ohio, educated in New York and Chicago, but has made his home in Toronto for the last 10 years.

What drew me to the NAJC’s Tour of Hawaii was to learn about the Japanese-Hawaiian and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team’s history. I was not disappointed. It was the most informative tour that I have been on!