After spending Tuesday morning in the herb garden, we took the bullet train (shinkansen) to Hiroshima, which took only about an hour. The bathrooms on the train were very clean and high tech with touch screens to flush and put the seats down (I’m a bathroom connoisseur being 5 months pregnant).
After checking into our hotel, a group of us went to the 100-yen store, Daiso. I love shopping so I was in shopping heaven with the 8 stories of random Japanese stuff for only a dollar! Some highlights of purchases made by the group include driving gloves, ninja mask (see photo below), panty hose game, rice bowls, chopsticks, and fans.
For dinner that night the whole group ventured across the street from our hotel to the tex-mex vegetarian restaurant called Otis. We were greeted by Otis and his wife and were the only customers in the place. I never thought I would eat at a hippie Mexican restaurant being served by a man in his sixties wearing a beanie hat, vest, and adidas workout pants in Japan. I think 17 people was the most they have ever had in their restaurant, since we got one meal served every 5-10 minutes. My table also shared an order of chips and salsa, which came in true Japanese style with 10 whole chips and 2oz of salsa. Overall, our meals were surprisingly good and we had a great time.
Tour Blog
Susan Weingast Brown
July 6, 2010 6:00 PM
Hiroshima, Japan
I open the curtains in my room at the Aster Plaza Hotel in Hiroshima hoping to find a landmark to get my bearings. To my left is the Motoyasugawa River. I scan right looking for the old baseball stadium and I’m dumbstruck. Directly in front of the stadium pillars sits the
A-Bomb dome. I get chills. I get teary. I think about how horrible war is for everyone—EVERYONE. I walk down the hall and knock on Sharen and Andrea’s door. I make them open their curtains and look out the window into the distance. Andrea sees it first. Sharen needs to get her glasses, but she then locates the shell.
Humans are complex. We are capable of such incredible beauty—art that makes our hearts sing, music that is transcendent. We create advances that help us negotiate life—a plow pulled by oxen to till a field or an 8 gig flash drive that carries information. But we are also capable of such ugliness. We create calamities and destruction on a scale that is mind-boggling.
Looking at this shell of a dome one can’t help but be moved.
When I was in college during the final years of the Vietnam War I had a poster that said: “War is not healthy for children and other living things.” How true.
Japan Journal Days 9 & 10: Kobe Time 8:31 PM
Yesterday, July 6th, on our 9th day on the trip, we had the opportunity to visit the Kobe Nunokibi Herb Park. This was much more exciting than it sounds, because the park is located on the top of a mountain overlooking Kobe. In order to get to the park, we traveled up the mountain on the Shin-Kobe Ropeway. Fortunately for all involved, the ‘Ropeway’ is actually a cable car system using state of the art metal cables. The view from the cars was stunning, affording beautiful views not only of Kobe, but also of the mountainside scenery; the waterfall was a special treat. I believe Sharon ‘heard’ the view only – something about fear of heights!
Once atop the mountain, we found a gardener’s paradise – a veritable plethora of well tended plots growing any herb or small plant known to man. In addition to the lovely gardens on top of the mountain, there was a ‘scent museum’, several round greenhouses, a western baking museum and display, and a drinking fountain, recently converted into a spouting fountain.
The real treat of the experience, however, was the walkway from the mountaintop down to the next ‘Ropeway’ station. This is a wide, beautiful foot road constructed of colorful paving bricks. Along the road on either side are numerous gardens. Some with familiar herbs, lavender was a special theme of the park, others with sitting gardens, complete with benches shaded by grapevines. At any point along the walk, a quick glance up yielded a view of Kobe and the harbor – right out to Osaka Bay. After sampling the truly inventive ice cream flavors of Honey Suckle and Lavender [excellent by the way] most of the group returned via the ‘Ropeway’, while a group of 4 of us, hiked down the mountain for the great views and exercise.
The walking trail down eventually turned from macadam to a walking path that took one past glorious waterfalls, pools of emerald water, and gorges straight out of Middle Earth. We rejoined the group and boarded the famous bullet train – but I’ll let Julie tell that tale. I apologize for the number of photos, but it was such a visual experience that it is really necessary. Enjoy!
Tim Jekel – History Teacher – Bible Baptist School – Shiremanstown, PA
So we had our first authentic Japanese modern cultural experience. Many of us headed to a Karaoke Bar and tested out our vocal abilities. Suffice to say there were many moments of enlightenment.
First, age doesn't necessary dictate the amount of musical knowledge a person possesses.
Second, it's socially acceptable to Air Guitar during the instrument portions of the song.A
Third, listening and dancing to certain songs doesn't mean you are ready to sing it in Karaoke and in addition to that, not all songs translate or transcribe well onto Karaoke machines.
Fourth, a room designed to fit 20 Japanese people equals 12 Americans.
Fifth, Karoke videos that play during the song have very little to do with the actual song.
Lastly, what happens in Karoke will be documented and videoed to be shared later!
Popular songs for Kaorke:
Living on a Prayer / Bon Jovi
Celebrate / Kaci and the Sunshine Band
Summer of 69
Madonna songs
Country songs, but only if at least one other person knows the song!
(Don't forget to bring your air guitar!)
So, as stated earlier we have the great occasion to celebrate the birthdays of two members of our group. It so happens that today we celebrate the birthday of the youngest member of our group. So it was fitting that we took a trip to the Asahi factory. For those who do not know of Asahi, it is a part of the Osaka Beverage company whose market share in soft drinks and beer has made it the fourth largest such company in the world.
After the trip to Mt. Koya we have all become closer and it has dawned upon me that close to a 1/3 of the trip has past us by, and there are so many great memories that we have formed, some of which have been captured by photos and some in our minds. I am, as many of our NCTA delegates know, a more visual person. So here are some photos of the festivities, and I will be sure to give the proper attention to the celebrations that are to occur tonight.
I know that many of the photos below are comical, but at the end we are all here to also enjoy Japan and not just see and learn, but rather to experience. Everyday we travel using the JR train network and try to pick up on the nuances and various cultural aspects of Japan. One such moment was seeing the cleanliness of the Asahi factory, seeing that every corner was immaculately clean. Observing the pursuit of perfection in their craft and pride in their work was very apparent.
Background: Asahi is the largest and most popular beverage company in Japan, having partnerships all over the world including Miller and Molsen's in the United States and Bass in Europe. They also are trying to strive for a 100% recyclable goal, which means that the blue uniform the tour guide is wearing in picture four is made from recycled plastic bottles (approximately 10 bottles). As well as using left over barley for cow feed and using other various items for other purposes. It was great to see how a Japanese business operates.
P.S. Happy 4th of July?? The days have all blurred together here and it is sad to say, but many of us have let the 4th pass us by =(
The Sacred:
This past weekend we experienced our first of two overnight excursion away from warm and humid Kobe, as we traveled to the cooler, but still oh so humid Mt. Koya. The three and a half hour trip involved three trains-including one very quick 4 minute transfer, a cable car (Pittsburghers think the Incline, but double the grade!) a bus, and of course walking! As we traveled beyond the coast, we caught glimpses of rural Japan. We saw small villages and larger valley towns among the terraced gardens and rice fields. Massive cypress trees covered the extremely steep mountains as we reached higher elevations.
Mt. Koya was founded by Kukai, who in search of Buddhist teachings, founded the Shingon school of Buddhism. Given permission by local followers of Shinto and the Imperial Court, he established a monastic center at Mt. Koya in 816 and lived and taught her until he entered eternal meditation in 835. This mountain attracts many religious pilgrims across denominations who want to visit Kukai's Mausoleum, the Okunion Cemetery, the Kongbuji Temple, and numerous Shinto and Buddhist shrines and temples.
During our stay at Mt. Koya we stayed at Rengejoin Temple, a Buddhist monastery, which has also served as an inn for pilgrims and other guests for the last 900 years. We arrived here around 3 pm, with time to explore the Zen inspired rock gardens and beautiful architecture. My roomie Kelly describes our rooms in her blog post that follows!
At 5:30 we met for meditation with the monks and a short service before being led to dinner in a large room. A very large and elaborately prepared vegetarian meal was served, to all the guests of the inn. The meal included three different types of tofu, two soups, a variety of vegetables and fresh fruit (none of which can be grown locally due to the elevation an climate) and of course rice and tea. During our meal, a lovely 90 year old Japanese women (who look about 50 years young) spoke about her experiences growing up on Mt. Koya, its history, and its religious significance. She left Mt. Koya as a teenager to continue her education in Tokyo, where she learned English. During World War II people scoffed at her for learning the “enemy” language. However, when the war ended, her skills as an English speaker put her in high demand as a translator. She discussed the difficulties of living in such remote region during the post-war years. Her husband was the head priest at Rengejoin and now her son serves in this position.
After dinner, some of us had planned a visit to the cemetery, but it was raining. experienced a traditional Japanese-style bath (see Kelly's blog) and retired to our rooms where we slept on futon, complete with buckwheat pillows and quilts! We arose at 5:30 am and met at 6 AM for the morning sutra, or chanting by the monks. During the service, we each went forward to kneel at a low alter and add ashes three times to a large brass pot which contained incense. This act signified an offering to Buddha or to ones ancestors. The head priest concluded the service with a message in Japanese and then an abbreviated version in English. Then we were led to breakfast at 7 AM.
Following breakfast we visited the Kongobuji Temple which services as the headquarters for Koyasan Shingon-shu Buddhism. It has fantastic architectural elements and some of Japan's finest painted sliding doors by Kano Tanyu, Kano Tansai, and Moriya Tadashi. The temple also houses the largest rock garden in Japan. Then we traveled about 2 miles on foot to the Okunion Cemetery, the largest in Japan, where Kukai's mausoleum is locate along with over 200,000 tombstones marking those who want to be buried near Kukai in order to receive salvation. When we arrived it has just finished raining so the cemetery had misty, eerie atmosphere as we walked the stone path leading to the mausoleum. Along the way we photographed a number of interesting tombstones, Buddhas, and Bodhisattva's. The huge cypress tress and the lush green foliage and moss that covers everything is simply indescribable. My photos do not do justice to the truly spiritual feel of this space.
After leaving the cemetery we broke into groups for lunch and shopping, meeting again to depart at 3:00 PM. On he cable car on the way back down the mountain, I had the pleasure of sitting with an elderly Japanese women who in broken English asked me if i was from Italy (My family and Agnese are smiling at this comment!). After telling her I was from the US and my purpose in Japan, we talked of the peacefulness, the clean air, and beauty of Mt. Koya. She shared some pineapple flavored candy with me and told me she was so glad to meet meet me. I expressed my gratitude and told her that her that it was a pleasure to visit a country that was so gracious and welcoming to all of us. It was a truly perfect way to reflect on the last two days!
Upon returning to the Hotel Monterey in Kobe around 6 pm, we broke into groups for dinner. Some of us went to a local grocery store, Ikari, to purchase items for what I will call a brief Fourth of July celebration a la America, in the hotel courtyard.
Did you know that Ron has lost his camera battery charger, twice?
Did you know that we all have more pictures of Jae than we do of ourselves or anyone else from the group?
The Profane
These past two days were certainly an adventure! We would not be complete in our blog without a discussion about Darla’s birthday. We wanted to make sure that people’s life events didn’t go unnoticed while on the trip so we went to our local corner store to pick up a few presents and a card. Let me stop here for a second to describe said corner store, Go-Go. It is a combination of convenient store, Spencer’s, Wal-Mart, and dollar store with a healthy dose of truck stop. Not to mention everything is packed into a small a space as possible, is pretty visually assaulting and it’s also on FOUR floors. I know what you are thinking! What could they possible sell there? Just imagine and they have it. So we purchased a card, these adorable little socks and elbow length fingerless gloves that every self respecting Japanese woman wears while riding their bicycle to avoid sun damage. Darla loved it all, but the card is worth mentioning. When we were shopping we were lucky to find a card amidst the chaos but we did – remember that we can’t read the card – it looks like squiggly lines. Brenda translated it for us when we gave Darla the gifts. Not so much a birthday card but “congratulations on the birth of your new baby!” Well, at least we got that right too! (Darla is newly pregnant!)
On to Koya-san! So my section of the blog is about the profane, the irreverent, the secular stuff. I know you want me to get to what you all want to know, but just wait a few sentences longer. When we arrived at the Renge join, a converted Buddhist temple built in the 14th century that has housed guest since 1522, I was blown away. I hope our photos and everyone’s personal stories do it justice. We left our shoes outside in a shoe cubby and there they stayed all night. Outside! None were stolen! (Although not unusual in Japan) We put on slippers and proceeded to our new rooms. But before we got there, oh my! Cedar floors, Zen rock gardens, azaleas in bloom, the sound of a nightingale! We were in traditional Japanese heaven! The doors to our rooms are shoji screens so they slid open to reveal a small foyer where another set of shoji screens reveals our room. We are doubling up so Amy Swartz, my Pittsburgh roomie and I decided to give it another whirl. We take off our slippers – only socks or bare feet on our tatami mats – and see the quaintest room ever. But where are the beds? And the bathroom? The monks lay out the beds for us while we are at dinner and we share bathrooms dormitory style at the end of the hall. Green tea and sweet bean paste treats are waiting for us so we sit and enjoy the moment. Hold everything! In the corner of our room sits the bane of all civilization! OK, not really but there is a TV with a VCR and tapes. Why? This is a place that appeals to foreign travelers and apparently said travelers can’t leave home without it. Too bad! And can you really watch TV with paper walls?
We then proceeded to meditation where we gathered in a Buddhist chapel and were given a brief tutorial on the proper way to mediate and the service began. For those of you that practice yoga, like me, you are used to meditating. Most of us do it for ten to fifteen minutes at a time. My yoga practice hasn’t taken me farther than that so forty-five minutes was tough. But meditation still has transformative powers and after a long travel day, I was renewed. Then it was on to dinner. Amy has that covered so on to the evening activities.
After dinner we changed into our yukata, a roomy cotton robe, and proceeded to the room where genders split and we bathed. We deposited our yukata and hand towels in a basket and entered the bathing room where we chose individual stations and sat on stools. Brenda instructed us to fill our bowls with water and dump them over our heads then use the provided shampoo, conditioner and body wash to scrub the grime of the day away. After we did that we walked the few steps to our giant hot tub and soaked and talked. After one of the other guests left we had the place to ourselves and the Ladies of the Swamp (more on that another time) enjoyed each other’s company. Although we would have wished for a real outdoor Japanese hot spring, the experience was wonderful. It was truly liberating and brought us closer together, literally!
I need to talk about one more thing in our two day extravaganza. After morning sutras, a visit to Kongobuji Temple and a trek in the mist through the coolest cemetery ever, it was time for lunch. We (Sharen, Susan, Katrina, Andrea, Amy and I) found a little place that we had to explore. The proprietors, she, an American that spent most of her life in Paris and he, a native Japanese, advertise that they also speak Italian. They were a truly beautiful artsy couple that you’d see in any major cosmopolitan city and we were glad they chose to open a place in Koya-san. This beautiful restaurant that is also a pottery and art gallery has just one lunch item and on this day it was vegetable curry. Just what we wanted! The food was wonderfully prepared and the company was even better. After an espresso and a slice of decadent chocolate cake we headed back to the temple where we met to travel back to Kobe. Thanks again to my new friends for a truly magical two days!
Did you know that Patrick is a stamp junkie and collected two on this journey so far and is in pursuit of all of them from the US national park system?
Did you also know that Lisa is now obsessed with pineapple Mentos?
Susan Brown
The Park School
We ventured 4 train stops to Okamoto today where we visited both the Motoni Elementary School and Motoyama Middle School. Since I spend my professional days shuffling between Lower and Upper School art and art history classes I’d like to focus on Motoni Elementary School.
The lowdown on Motoni: It’s the second largest elementary school in the Kobe area and houses 1290 students grades 1-6. Each classroom has between 32-36 students and there are 55 teachers or senseis who work at the school. Students spend most of their days with their homeroom senseis who not only teach them Math, Japanese, Music (grades 1-3) and Social Studies, but follow them to special classrooms or venues to instruct them in Computer, Library, PE, and Science. All students have a separate studio art teacher and once they reach grades 4, 5 and 6, a separate music teacher as well. The school itself is large rectangular 4 story building with an inviting tiled “courtyard” as you walk in the front doors. There is a large playing field between the wings of the buildings, an extensive garden cared for by students and teachers and small log-house memorial to the victims of the devastating 1995 earthquake.
The Universal: regardless of the continent or hemisphere, kids are kids! Children welcomed us into their classroom. Many were friendly, some shy, others mischievous—all were curious as to why we were there. Some greeted us with a short English hello, while most were more comfortable with their familiar Japanese. We saw first graders with gapped toothed grins invite us into their classrooms as they started their day. We experienced 2nd graders getting directions to turn over their math sheets and begin their “mad minutes,” rushing to get the job done. We saw half the 6th grade delight in their large, group swimming lesson as their teachers put on music so they could practice their breaststrokes and kicks. We saw daily schedules written on blackboards, inviting classrooms, student-made signs and artwork and student writings up in the hallways.
The Specifics: School Culture, Academics and Teachers
School Culture: on the days that students have PE, they wear their gym uniforms for the day—and since their teachers are their PE instructors, they too are in gym clothes. Unlike our schools that have janitorial staffs, these elementary school kids are expected to clean their classrooms, hallways, and lavatories quite thoroughly. Outside each classroom is a rack of rags that is left to dry and ready to use for the next day’s cleaning. In the art room each child has his or her mini broom and dust pan to clean the room when class is over. Lunch is prepared in a large kitchen, but there are student helpers who pick up the food, deliver it to the classrooms and then return dishes, trays and recycled materials to the kitchen. These children wear masks over their noses and mouths and have special aprons to protect their clothing. To identify students, each child wears a plastic nametag that is color coded by grade. These tags follow the kids through their 6 years at Motoni.
Academics: the classroom environment appeared very orderly, with desks generally lined up and each student having workbooks for most subjects. Students were quiet and well behaved. In social studies a 6th grade class had their textbooks out as they delved into the changes in 16th century farming techniques. The teacher did most of the talking, while students took notes. When he asked a question the teacher called on a student who would then stand up, push in his or her chair and answer the question. 5th graders looked under the microscope at pollen and wrote and drew their findings in the science journals. In the art room 5th graders were creating wooden puzzles, which they were soon to cut apart with band saws. Because a number of us were art teachers the art sensei pulled out sketchbooks that had each student’s visual ideas.
Teachers: there is a communal space where each teacher has a desk and office space. Their desks are packed with papers, books and supplies, but generally not a computer. Each year teachers rotate to new grades and classrooms; one year a teacher might have a third grade class while the next year he or she might be moved into a 1st grade classroom. The rationale is to keep teachers fresh and interested. There are 2 short parent-teacher conferences each year that are about 10 minutes. There is also a home visit once a year, where the teacher spends about an hour at the student’s home. Some children have a special aide in the classroom to help with academics, but the school cannot supply each child who needs extra help with an aide. There are also teachers for special-needs kids, where students can spend some or most of their days.
This morning we assembled and headed to the train at 9:45. I appreciated the extra time in the morning to sort photos, clean my room, and rest. We took the train to Ashiya (in Kobe) and the plan was to take taxis from the train to the school. Since the area around Ashiya and Kobe is linear – the train gets you pretty close to everything. The southwestern region of Honshu Island, the main island of Japan [Nihon] is mountainous except for a flat strip along the coast. Thus, the entire coast is a mostly continuous city for 80 miles or more. The actual town divisions are based more on memory of the past than current reality.
Since we arrived in Ashiya ahead of schedule, I thought it would be a good time to convert the rest of my dollars to Yen. There was a main bank in Akashi and so our leader, Hiroshi, said it would be a good place to do this. I had 20 minutes to work with – my experience at the airport said it should be a 30 second transaction. At the airport, it would have been, but this was Ashiya.
As Hiroshi later explained to me, the Japanese picked up a bad habit from the Chinese – bureaucracy. I had a woman teller who looked to be 19 years old. She must have counted my 9 $20 bills 20 times. I had to fill out an elaborate form – including a Japanese address. Let me ask you, if I am changing dollars, what is the chance that I HAVE a permanent Japanese address? Well, the whole experience took 25 minutes! [$7 per minute] It seems the fact that our teller was young meant she lived in mortal fear of making an error. She took my bills away to check for counterfeiting. She recounted the 9 bills. She check over the boxes I had filled out – face inches from the form tracing my writing with her fingertip – face locked in concentration.
At no point in this entire transaction did her perfect manners fail her – but my patience was on the verge of doing just that. I was causing a delay with the group! I hate being late – was I going to make the whole group late? Should I grab my 9 bills and just walk out? That would be rude, right? In the end, Hiroshi sent everyone else on ahead in the taxis and he and I arrive a bit late. What an experience!
We arrived at the school around 11:00. Konan High School is a private boys school perched on the mountainside overlooking Ashiya. Students come from around the entire area to attend this school. Most take the train and walk up the side of the mountain each day. This is impressive considering that most students arrive by 8:00 and stay until 7:00. The academic day ends at 3:00, but students who participate in clubs stay until 6:00 or 7:00. Also consider this school meets 220 days per year. [US schools are 180 days in case you have forgotten]. Thus, with travel included, a typical student at this school is away from home for 14 hours a day, and walks 3 miles up and down a mountainside each day.
During the course of the day, we got to meet a group of students who studied English. Their skills were mixed, probably not too different from a bunch of our students who have studied Spanish for 3 or 4 years. They set it up so we could speak with them one and one – and I found that I could make an easy connection by talking about baseball. They had never heard of Pennsylvania, but when I said that I lived between the Phillies and the Pirates, they smiled and nodded. Some were shaky on the Pirates, but all had heard of the Phillies!
After the meetings we got a tour of the building with short visits to classes in session. Class size varied from 44 to 14. 30’s and 40’s was most typical. We observed math, chemistry, biology, and English. After the tour we split into two groups to view an entire class. I went with the history group to observe a 10th grade world history class. The teacher, who had traveled to 193 countries!!! taught about European exploration and supplemented notes and films with slides he himself had taken on his journeys [over a period of 30 years.] I was amazed that he could afford this travel, until I discovered that teachers with 15 years experience at this school make upwards of $120,000. Suffice it to say I am looking into certain new possibilities!
There are at least two Americans and two Brits teaching at the school currently. After the school day, we had a chance to tour a few clubs and sports teams that were meeting. Most clubs were not meeting because tomorrow is a big exam day. Three groups, however, DID meet despite the academic demands. Of the three, two were exceptional. The first was the baseball team. Japanese High School Baseball is probably the most intense high school sport schedule I know of. Students practice 4 hours a day 364 days a year. You read that right. [some slacker teams don't meet on Sundays, though] Most of the practice was run sans coach. I witnessed student run workouts, batting practice, fungos, infield practice, etc… When I asked if the team would take a picture with me, I was overwhelmed by the response, as the attached picture illustrates.
Next stop was basketball practice. Basketball is not my thing, but Jae, Patrick, and Lisa took the opportunity to shoot some hoops for themselves. The practice itself looked pretty familiar with sprints, passing drills, layup drills and stretching exercises. The stretching looked interesting, so I included that picture too.
The final stop was the Konan Brass Ensemble. The short version is that I was blown away. They played two numbers for us once they got organized. They were professional grade, no doubt. Several of the performers were accomplished Jazz musicians already. If I had paid money to hear this group I would have been well satisfied. I gave the student leader [who played Saxophone] a Pennsylvania pin as a gift as a reward for such fine work. The second reason I was blown away is that the volume in that room blew the doors off.
Speaking of blowing the doors off, the entire school is 15 years old as the old one was destroyed by the Kobe earthquake of 1995.
This was a tremendous school experience that gave a good glimpse at some good things being done in Japanese Private Education.
Tim Jekel
Bible Bapitst School
High School History
Let me start by saying that our breakfast in the Hotel Monterey is outstanding.Starting the day with coffee as strong as espresso, a multitude of juices and tea is so nice The mix of both Eastern and Western fair; salad, rice, miso or bacon, French toast on mini baguette, I degrees.....
We started our day off with full bellies and a relaxed meet up at 9:45am in our hotel lobby. We then walked the five minutes to the train station- all of us are pros at attaining the ticket in the automated machine. Our trip cost us 210Yen by train. We then decided that we would not walk to the school (in order to stay fresh) and we paid 720Yen for a taxi (3 people). It worked out nicely since we soon discovered our taxi veering up hills and around the sharp corners. We did not know the location of the high school, I was happy (like the others were as well) that we did not walk. It would have taken us at least 30 minutes.
Konan Boy's High School is a private school in an affluent neighborhood in Kobe. 1200 students grades 7-12 attend this school in one of three academic tracks: Konan University feeder student, Students interested in applying to competitive colleges in the area, and students that want to go into Science & Technology (engineering),
We met with the Vice-Headmaster, Hiroshi Matsuda and the English teacher that coordinated the entire visit, Sawabu Junko. Ms. Junko's students came to us and we were separated into groups to allow for one on one conversations. This was extremely wonderful, as these students had a more intense involvement with the English language. In the first three months of school alone, they had already memorized 628 words. I met with 3 students. These students discussed their day as a student- getting up at 6 to be at school for 7am. Most students walked from the station (up the hills) and all ate breakfast of rice with raw fish and eggs at school. Then the students had classes. If they were not a Konan University tract student, they had one hour additional studies per day. The day ended around 3pm, where in which the students would then be involved in a number of after school activities. The students I met were involved in Judo and Science Lab activities.
We then went to see the students at their cafeteria, like all boys, hungry at lunch time.
We were able to eat with some staff of the school. Lunch was provided by the school cafeteria- fabulous food box that was like a taster menu of 14 or so items! After discussion over lunch, we broke into groups and took tours of the classrooms, and then Art and History class. I was in the art group and we observed a class of 44 students working on printing a self portrait. We then were treated to the school's Artist Alumni S. Haregowa. Our tour group was able to view paintings by the artist in the gallery as well as objects i the back storage area. All of us received artist postcards and note paper of the artists' work.
The school day was over and we headed out to meet with the Baseball team Basketball team and Jazz band. All of the students' determination was mind blowing. These kids were SERIOUSLY engrossed in their activity. Not once did they stop "for a drink, or because I am tired". Very cool. The students were amazing, and they were very friendly and polite to us!
Photo 1: Fancy carrot from our lunch box
Photo 2: Visiting an English class
Photo 3: Darla and some of the baseball players
Photo 4: Group shot with the Konan Jazz Ensamble
Picture 1 - Himeji Castle
Picture 2 - Himeji Gardens
Picture 3 - Akashi Fish Market
Picture 4 - Japanese Tea
Today after breakfast, we headed by train to Akashi to visit the fish market. Aside from the fish there there were also a great deal of other creatures including octopus, which is an Akashispecialty, eels, shrimp, squid, etc. After exploring this area we jumped back on the train and went to the city of Himeji. Himeji is known for its castle - Himeji Castle or The White Heron. This historic castle completed in the early 1600's was built primary as a defensive castle, however, was never used in that way. We saw a good portion of the castle, but due to renovations could not see the main keep. After touring of the castle was finished, the group went to the Himeji Gardens which are built close to the castle. Here everyone took a leisurely stroll around the gardens and some even were served tea in the traditional manner. After the gardens it was time to head back to Sannomiya Station (our train station) to go back to the hotel and get some dinner.
This was our first day in Japan and there was a lot to take in. One thing that stuck out to me was the layers and use of spaces. Unlike the US, each building is used to its maximum potential. There could be a grocery store on one floor, a restaurant on the next and living on another. Almost all buildings are multi-level and space is a huge commodity. This can be seen not only in the bigger cities, but in all the places in between the cities as well. Space seems to be carefully planned. It doesn't seem as through yards or lawns are something most people have in Japan. Extra space is used for cars, garden or even rice patties. Bottom line: Japan uses all of the spaces it has to maximum potential.
So, after an exhaustive trip, where our group traveled from Dulles Airport to Osaka Japan, we all made it safely to our hotel last evening. The airline we took, ANA (All Nippon Airline) wasn't bad, and thanks to their great individualized entertainment center I survived the 14+ hour flight, I even got an exit row seat, though it was the middle seat. We arrived in Tokyo than took another plane after a hour layover. We than had a change of plans in Osaka, instead of taking two trains our fearless leader thought that perhaps taking a bus would be better, and it was.
While some of us needed time to decompress and acclimate to the new timezone and surroundings others hit the area running eating out and evening taking in some World Cup as Japan played Paraguay. Many of the places weren't showing the game, mainly because they weren't equipped with TV's, but the places that were had so many people there was no room to join in the festivities. So now after we have had our first good nights, we are going to go to a Fish Market and see some sights.
Last thing, the exchange rate is 86 yens to the dollar, I feel poor already.
Hello! I am Hiroshi Nara, one of the three leaders for this tour. I am a professor in the Department of the East Asian Languages and Literatures at the University of Pittsburgh, where I have now worked since 1987.
During academic year 2007-2008, I lived in Kobe, Japan and took care of a group of foreign students at Konan University, so I am somewhat familiar with the task at hand. I look forward to going back to the familiar part of Japan with a new group of travelers.
Greetings to all blog-readers. I am Patrick Hughes, and I suppose I can be considered the “middle management” of the Study Tour. I wouldn’t consider myself an expert enough to be ranked as a leader like Brenda and Hiroshi, but I will be assisting them with the day-to-day details of the trip (my ‘day job’ at Pitt is as Brenda’s assistant). When I am not working for Brenda and NCTA I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Religious Studies at Pitt with a focus on late 18th and early 19th century Anglo-American unbelief, irreligion and freethought. I am currently working on my dissertation, the title of which is “Antidotes to Deism: A Reception History of Thomas Paine’s ‘The Age of Reason’.”
This will be my first trip to Asia, and even though I have done a good bit of globe-trotting already, I am quite looking forward to this Japan trip. I have been to Brazil, Morocco, Colombia, Mexico, Canada (yes, it does count as a foreign country), and all over Europe (I even lived in Ireland and Spain). I am a Pittsburgh native and have a 5-year old daughter who has asked me to send her post-cards every day while I am away.
I hope to learn lots about Japan not just from my own experiences on the ground, but also from all of my fellow teacher-travelers.
Greetings, everyone. Welcome to the 2010 NCTA Study Tour to Japan. I'm Brenda G. Jordan, one of the faculty leaders and Director of the University of Pittsburgh coordinating site for the NCTA (one of 7 national coordinating sites). I'm also a Japanese art historian, with special interest in nineteenth century painting and prints.
I enjoy hiking, gardening and bird watching, and doing mildly crazy things like pose for pictures like the one enclosed (I'm the good looking one on the left). I have a tall, moustached husband (the funny looking one on the right) who speaks Spanish, and passes for Mexican or Chinese in Japan, but really is from Nagano (the Japan Alps). We have a 12-going-on-13 year old daughter, Erika, who is furious that we are leaving her behind this summer. Nevertheless, Erika has instructed me to take all of you to her favorite eating places in Kobe. What with all we have planned for our group, this is sure to be an adventure. Anyone ready for robots, merry-go-round sushi, and gigantic Buddhas?
Yours,
Brenda (aka the Captain)
