When Hawaiian Airlines executive Dave Arakawa went to his first worldwide gathering of Okinawans, he was struck first by some of the very un-Okinawan names: Juan, Jose, Pierre.

"They were all people who looked just like me, but they came from all over the world — South America, Africa, Europe — and spoke every language you can imagine. It's a very profound experience," Arakawa recalls.

That, organizers say, is one of the great points and pleasures of the Worldwide Uchinanchu Conference, which will reconvene tomorrow to Sunday in Naha, Okinawa. Held every five years, the conference briefly brings home thousands of overseas Okinawans. This year, 1,000 Hawai'i residents are making the pilgrimage.

Growing up as a third-generation half-Okinawan, half-Japanese local in Hawai'i, Arakawa said he always knew there were special things about his Okinawan heritage, but he tended to push them to the back of his mind.

But when his aging father took the entire family to the last conference, Arakawa came face to face with his heritage.

"You don't get the full impact until you actually visit the culture," he said. "Okinawans are very outgoing and eager to help each other out."

He even discovered the kachashi music form, in which everybody drops whatever they're doing, even if it's in the middle of a business meeting, to dance when the beat starts up.

The group from Hawai'i includes many older Okinawans who have long wanted to return home or see it for the first time, middle-aged professionals who are inquisitive about their roots, and younger people, who may be accompanying their parents.

The conference includes lectures, symposiums, concerts and more. Arakawa says a highlight occurs when each village hosts a homecoming festival of sorts for all its native sons and daughters.

"My family is from the town of Nishihara, where the all-day celebration starts with a golf tournament and ends with everyone eating dinner together," said Arakawa. "They might not even speak the same language, but for one day they are all treated like they're at home."

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.