The Hawaii men’s basketball team on Wednesday announced a tour to Japan in August, the program’s latest move to increase its influence around the Pacific Rim.

Between Aug. 8 to 19, UH is to play a game apiece in Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima against professional opponents, with the possibility of a fourth game being worked on, coach Eran Ganot told Spectrum News.

NCAA teams are allowed to take a foreign tour once every four years. It has been five years since Ganot’s first such trip to Australia.

“We want to be a legit program and continue to be a presence,” Ganot said. “We should be doing a tour every four years. We did it in ’18 in Australia. The only reason we didn’t do it in ’22 … you don’t want to burn a year while there are still COVID restrictions, so we moved it one more year.”

Foreign tours are part of an ever-evolving arms race in college basketball. Stadium’s Jeff Goodman reported in mid-May that close to 80 teams — nearly a quarter of all Division I hoops programs — have one scheduled this summer.

“Gotta keep up,” Ganot said.

The ‘Bows are expected to have close to their full 2023-24 roster, about 15 players, on the trip. The team is granted 10 full practices leading up to the trip that they would not otherwise be allowed to conduct. UH can get a jump start on incorporating new players like Division I transfers Justin McKoy from North Carolina and Matthue Cotton from Yale.

Among the participants could be Akira Jacobs, a 6-foot-8 forward from Yokohama who has committed to play for UH next season as the program’s first recruit from Japan. Ganot cannot comment on him as he is a still-unsigned player.

Most of the team will be in place for the start of UH’s summer program June 26.

The trip is a six-figure expense for the program, Ganot confirmed. Cultural stops will include the Imperial Palace, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and a baseball game at the Tokyo Dome.

“(It’s about) the educational piece, and also being ambassadors from our state, our university, our program in an area that the relationship is very strong and we can continue to make stronger,” Ganot said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some. None of our current team or our coaches have ever been to Japan.”

Ganot said that unlike the Australia trip that involved a couple of big fundraising events, UH has been successful at setting money aside year by year. He thanked partners Hawaiian Airlines, JTB, Global Sports, UH administration and program boosters.

“It’s not easy. There’s a lot of time, sacrifice and fundraising that goes into putting these together,” Ganot said. “Especially when you want to do it first class. That was very important to us. It was very organized, very thorough. When you do these, you want to do it right.”

Specific pro opponents and other trip details will be announced at a later time.

Under ex-coach Gib Arnold, the Rainbow Warriors embarked on the “Warriors to Asia” tour in 2011. The two-week trip comprised a layover in South Korea, a multi-leg sweep through China, and a two-day stopover in Osaka, Japan, on the way home. There, UH played the Panasonic Trians of the Japan Basketball League, losing 94-70 on tired legs to cap the five-game trip.

As with that trip and the Australia jaunt in 2018, fans will be allowed to accompany the team. About a dozen went on Arnold’s tour of Asia and 30 decided to go to Australia.

UH has taken an increasing number of foreign tours across its sports. In the last few weeks, the UH women's soccer team went to Italy and the UH women's volleyball team went to Brazil.

A price point was not officially announced but it is expected to cost several thousand per person to go. Those interested can conctact Alex Yano at the UH basketball office at 808-956-6501 or email alexyano@hawaii.edu.

Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.