Hawaiian Airlines has launched flights between Honolulu and Sendai, its fifth gateway in Japan.

Hawaiian operates the Honolulu-Sendai-Sapporo flights using Boeing 767-300ER aircraft that can seat up to 264 passengers.

Hawaiian’s Flight HA 441 departs Honolulu International Airport on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 12:55, crosses the international dateline, and arrives at Sendai International Airport at 16:30 the following day.

The return Flight 442 will then continue to Sapporo’s New Chitose Airport at 17:45 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, arriving at New Chitose at 19:00 before departing to Honolulu at 21:10, crossing the international dateline and arriving in Honolulu at 09:50 the same day.

“Our new non-stop service provides travellers throughout the entire region of Sendai with convenient access to our home, the Hawaiian Islands,” said Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian’s president.

“Hawai’i has deep connections with Japan, and we are very delighted to launch our fifth destination there as we continue to grow our network in Asia.”

Sendai is the largest city in the Tohoku region of northern Honshu, which has a population of more than nine million.

Sendai is known in Japan as “Mori no Miyako”, or Forest City, for its many green spaces in its city centre.

It is also known for its high quality rice and for its summer Tanabata Festival, which draws thousands of visitors from across Japan.