LAHAINA STATION (MAUI, HAWAII)

Once full of sadness, now full of joy

Photos by Yomiuri Shimbun Photographer Kanji Tada

By Katsuo Kokaji

Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

The delta-shaped roof of a small station building stood out against the blue sky. American tourists were sitting on benches relaxing. As the sound of a steam whistle came closer, everyone stood. Shortly afterward, a steam train chugged into the station, trailing a plume of white smoke.

Many years ago, sugarcane was Maui's main crop, and a small locomotive ran through the farms transporting both the farmers and their crop.

The train was brought back to life as a tourist attraction in 1969, and dubbed "the sugarcane train."

From the train, passengers could see the great mountains on the right while the gorgeous blue ocean stretched away to the left. A big bearded man kept walking up and down the carriages holding children aloft, asking them if they liked trains. The man was Terry Eoff, 54, the train's conductor and tour guide.

"I'm the first white guide on the train," said Eoff. Before him, native Hawaiians acted as guides, playing the ukulele and singing songs. Eoff did not sing but talked of the farms. "Tourists don't know about the real train that used to run here," he said.

The train's whistle can be heard at the Lahaina Jodo Buddhist temple, a favorite gathering spot for many Japanese-Americans that lies about one kilometer from the railroad. The whistle reminded Keiso Miyamoto, 82, of the old days.

About 200,000 Japanese came to Hawaii between 1868 and 1924 to work on sugarcane farms. Miyamoto was a second-generation immigrant and started working on a farm when he was still a child.

"My job was to get rid of weeds. I sweated like a dog, and it was really hard work. I rode the real train to get around the farms, but it wasn't something I enjoyed," Miyamoto recalled.

Gensho Hara, 69, the temple priest, sang "Horehore-bushi." First-generation immigrants used to work under the scorching sun for 12 hours a day brushing the sugarcane leaves. "Horehore-bushi," with its lyrics debating whether to return home, was the song of choice as the workers labored away.

The Jodo sect dispatched Hara to Maui, intending him to return to Japan after three years. When the temple burned down, he felt responsible and started rebuilding it. Though the idea of returning home lingers in his mind, he has now spent 42 years on the island.

The train, which made a round trip on the 9.5-kilometer railroad, returned to Lahaina Station. A crowd of Japanese tourists were delighted to see the lovely train on this heavenly island. The train, which used to carry those with tears in their eyes, was now filled with happy, smiling people.