Japanese Land at Hueneme

Its country’s red and white flag flapping in the ocean breeze, the Japanese Aegis-class destroyer Kirishima made a relatively understated entry into port Monday.

The heavily armed ship from Yokosuka arrived before a mixed crowd that reflected the ship’s international roots.

On one end, orderly waves of Navy personnel in dress whites greeted the ship’s approximately 270 officers and crew.

On the other, a group of Taiko drummers, dressed in ceremonial purple outfits, played a precise, booming music that seemed appropriate for the warship’s entry to a foreign land.

The JDS Kirishima stopped here after a month of multinational military exercises off Hawaii. The 528-foot ship will be at the Port Hueneme Navy base until Wednesday on a stay that is part business but mostly goodwill, said Navy spokeswoman Barbara Burns.

“It’s truly a port visit for them,” she said.

The destroyer’s officers will tour Navy facilities and collect data on Aegis, a U.S.-designed weapons and tracking system that is the centerpiece of the Kirishima.

Sailors with shore leave will visit theme parks, among other places.

The trip was a homecoming for Rear Adm. Yoshihiro Sakaue, commander of Escort Flotilla One, who was aboard the Kirishima. Sakaue spent a year in California while learning combat systems, and he said he regularly visited the port to pick up fresh food.

“Port Hueneme was very important to my survival,” he said with a smile. “I feel like I’m coming back to my hometown.”

Completing Sakaue’s welcome was the group of drummers from the Oxnard Buddhist Church.

Musician Bruce Arikawa said he hoped the music and the mainly Japanese American drummers would set a welcoming tone for the foreign sailors.

“We want them to feel comfortable being here and to know that we’re here too,” he said. “That there are Japanese Americans here.”

The crew of the Kirishima seemed well prepared for the next two days of shore leave--with a handful of sailors lugging four cases of Japanese beer as they waited for buses to take them to a barbecue.

Lt. Toshi Koda was part of a skeleton crew at the ship Monday night. He said he looked forward to several parties today after a tour of port facilities.

Koda was clearly proud of his 3-year-old ship, pointing out radar devices and other arrays, vertical missile launchers and torpedo launchers. Most of the equipment was built according to U.S. specifications and tested at the Port Hueneme division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center.

“The Port of Hueneme is a very special place to our weapon systems personnel,” he said.

The Kirishima is one of four Aegis-class ships in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. It was built in Nagasaki and commissioned in March 1995.

Like its U.S. counterparts, the Japanese destroyer is designed for a range of duties, including escort and anti-submarine warfare, explained Cmdr. Paul K. Benfield, chief of staff at the Port Hueneme division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center.

“It’s primarily for the defense of Japan,” he said.