The University of Hawaii men’s basketball team will travel to Japan for a goodwill tour this summer.

The trip, which will be Aug. 8-19, features exhibition games against professional teams in Tokyo, Hiroshima and Kyoto, as well as visits to the Imperial Palace, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and a Tokyo Giants baseball game.

“On the court, it gives you a little bit of a head start, I would think, heading into the fall and the season,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “Off the court, because this is bigger than basketball for our student-athletes and for our staff, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You’re visiting a terrific country. There are opportunities to bond by traveling together, and the educational experience. Then there’s the synergy between Hawaii and Japan. We represent Hawaii when we go there, not just our program but the state, and we’ll take pride in doing that.”

During the summer, the NCAA permits Division I teams up to eight hours each week for players to meet with their coaches, four of which may be spent doing basketball-related workouts. A team going on an international tour is allowed an additional 10 full practices ahead of the trip.

“You get to start implementing stuff earlier, integrating your new student-athletes earlier,” Ganot said.

Division I teams are allowed an international tour once every four years. The ’Bows traveled to Australia in 2018. The ’Bows decided to delay the Japan trip until this year because there still were COVID restrictions in 2022.

Although the trip had been in the works for several months, it fits newly hired Athletic Director Craig Angelos’ vision of expanding UH’s marketing and recruiting reach to Japan. Akira Jacobs, who has dual American and Japanese citizenship, recently accepted a scholarship offer and is joining the ’Bows next month.

Fans interested in joining the tour or helping sponsor the trip may contact Alex Yano at (808) 956-6501 or alexyano@hawaii.edu.