Kyoto

It is hard to believe that today was our last full day in Japan.  It seems like only yesterday we were all getting to know each other in our respective delegations, waiting for the day to leave...and now it is over. 

We did have a full day here in Kyoto.  We started out with two cultural experiences - calligraphy and Kyogen Comic theater.  The kids had a lot of fun trying both activities. Surprisingly, the kids had a lot fun learning about Kyogen.  The learned proper stance, walking, and emoting over the top.  We also learned a song.  He tried to teach us how to eat a persimmon, but that stumped almost everyone, so we switched to eating an apple.  Lots of laughing and learning took place.  Our calligraphy teacher was a well-known calligrapher in Japan.  She taught the kids a few characters in different styles of writing and if there was something specific they wanted, she showed them how to draw it.

After lunch we headed to Nijo Castle and walked the grounds there and learned that it was the residency of the first Shogun.  It was built during the Edo period (circ 1603).  It is a World Heritage Site.  This was also the site of where the last Shogun resigned giving power back to the Emperor.

It was then off to the Golden Pavilion which is no longer a national treasure, but is a World Cultural Heritage Site as well.  The reason it is no longer a national treasure is because it actually burned to the ground and was rebuilt to the exact specifications of the original, but no longer the original.  By the time we hit this place, the temperature was quite hot and we found the shade of the garden inviting. 

We stopped at a quaint restaurant for dinner where the kids feasted on all sorts of foods from pot stickers to salad to some type of sausage, fried chicken, french fries (with a magic powder) and then a honey bread dessert.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal.

Back at the hotel, the kids are packing up to return tomorrow after our tea ceremony.  YEAH!!!

Please don't forget to pick us up:  Here are the schedules:

Denton/Plano :  UA #6389 arriving at DFW at 9:50 p.m.  I will activate the phone tree once we clear customs in San Fran.

Florida:  UA #727 arriving TPA at 12:30 a.m. Saturday.

Denver:  UA #318 arriving DEN at 7:53 p.m.

California:  UA #886 arriving 10:30 a.m., but it will take a bit to clear customs.  See you at the airport.

Minnesota:  UA #3714 arriving MSP 11:19 p.m.

Looking forward to be home, but will miss Japan.  See everyone tomorrow.

 

Bullet Train and Miyajima

Yesterday started out with a train ride on the JR Express to Kyoto which took about 1-1/2 hours.  Everyone was surprised at how smooth the train was.  Once in Kyoto was transferred trains and jumped on the Bullet Train to Hiroshima - which took another 1-1/2 hours.  The kids thought it was pretty cool - could hardly tell how fast we were going.  They even mastered getting on and off in a matter of seconds as the train conductor doesn't wait to leave the station - they leave precisely when they are supposed to. 

Once in Hiroshima, we made our way to Peace Memorial Park.  When walking through the park, we saw several monuments.  We saw the Peace Bell. 

We also saw the Children's Peace Memorial built in remembrance of Sadako, a 12-year-old girl who died 10 years after the Hiroshima bombing of leukemia due to radiation exposure.  While sick, she made over a thousand paper cranes hopefully her wish for a cure would come true.  After she passed away, school children around the world raised money to build this memorial in her honor and now is a place to leave paper cranes along with your wishes.  Our group left 3 chains of cranes that we had made the previous day. We walked past the eternal flame which will stay lit until all nuclear weapons cease to exist. 

Just down from there is Memorial Cenotaph which is much like our Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington. VA.  We then walked through the museum, watched a couple of videos and saw artifacts of the remains of the destruction.  It was a very moving experience.  We then headed to Hiroshima's "Ground Zero" which is the A-bomb Dome which was the building closest to the hypocenter of the bomb blast that remained at least partially standing. It was left how it was after the bombing in memory of the casualties. 

We also saw the Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students.  This monument was in honor of those students (ages approx 12-14) who were sent to factories and the like to work because the father's and older son's had been drafted and were away at war.  Unfortunately many of the young students were killed as they were closest to the bomb blast.  All in all it was a very emotional day with lots of questions and students committing to themselves to a more peaceful world. 

Today, we started our trek back to Kyoto via Miyajima.  This World Heritage Cultural Site is a sacred island housing a Shinto Shrine and the Tori Gate that looks like it is floating on the water.  It is also the home to some very aggressive, hungry deer that like to eat paper maps, clothes and backpacks.  They certainly afraid of us at all.  We took a good look around the shrine and surrounding area and then headed back to our coach for the ride to Kyoto.  This coach trip took a little over 5 hours and the kids all wished they were back on the bullet train.  To pass the time away on the coach - the front of the coach challenged the back of the coach to a Christmas Song Sing-off.  It ended up being pretty silly, but there were some good laughs and complete silliness.  In case you are wondering, the front of the bus won!! 

We arrived at our final hotel and walked to dinner for an Italian meal that everyone was happy for.  After dinner, we came back and everyone is now safely tucked in bed to be fully rested for our full day in Kyoto tomorrow.

Hiroshima

A very moving day here in Hiroshima. In honor of this, it didn't seem fitting to write a blog on all the wonderful things we were doing today.  That said, here is a letter from Mother Teresa to the Hiroshima Peace Committee:

"Let us love one another as God loves each of us - so that the terrible evil that had brought so much suffering to Hiroshima may never happen again.  Let us Remember, Works of love and prayer are works of Peace.  God Bless You."  Mother Teresa 23-11-1984

Everyone is doing well.  We will resume regular blogs tomorrow. 

Out and About in Komatsu Day

After breakfast we hit the road and went straight to the Mayor's office where we received a warm welcome from the Mayor, Shinji Wada.  He talked to the students about Komatsu and the culture here.  He also talked about how he also believes in the People to People mission of Peace through Understanding and how in Japan they call it "heart to heart, hand to hand, mouth to mouth, and eye to eye."  He talked about how important cultural exchanges are to global relationships and making the world a smaller place.  Miss Kathi and Miss Lauren (Denver) gave thank you speeches to Mayor Wada in Japanese.  We all hoped they appreciated the sentiment and the gesture trying to speak their language, even through we may have messed up a few words here and there.  We took several pictures with the Mayor for the local newspaper (which we should get a copy of before we leave).  Then it was off to Marunouchi Jr. High School.

The students were greeted warmly once again by some of the local students who explained about how their school was run.  Our students were surprised to hear that most Japanese students for to school from 8 a.m. to 6 or 7 p.m.  Once we finished our orientation, we made wishes for Tanabata (the Star Festival) and had them hung with the rest of the students of the school.  Then we broke into groups and visited different classrooms and interacted with the students.  Again, the our students were surprised at how the Japanese students continued with their studies until their teacher told them it was okay to talk with us.  After visiting the classroom, we were led into the gymnasium where the entire student body was waiting for us and made us feel like celebrities.  We were ushered onto the stage and they sang Edelweiss and the school song for us and then we had a question and answer period.  At the end of the assembly, one of the Japanese students presented Kennedy with gifts for our delegation and Kennedy gave a thank you speech, again in Japanese.  Once all of this was done, we were able to enjoy lunch with the students as they would if they attended that school.  After lunch, we said our goodbyes and made our way to the kabuki museum.

At the museum, we split into 4 groups and had 4 different experiences.  We learned 2 traditional kabuki dances, we made paper cranes to leave at the Peace Memorial tomorrow in Hiroshima, had our faces painted with Kabuki paint and learned to play traditional Japanese instruments, and tried Japanese tea with sweets.  The students had a the best experience with the Japanese traditional dancing - it was quiet the show!

Once we got back to the hotel the students received letters from the students at the high school, so we had them take pictures with their letter so the Japanese students could who they wrote the letters to. 

The talent show was tonight and the students had a variety acts for everyone to watch.  The delegate who got the most vote by her peers was Jaelin, for her rendition of a love song.

Off to Hiroshima in the morning, the students are really excited about the train tomorrow!  Hopefully videos tomorrow of speeches.  Internet no cooperating this evening for uploading them. 

   

Miss Meredith's Birthday

Happy Birthday to Miss Meredith!!!!

Her host family celebrated her special day and we had another "party" with dinner.  I hope that even though she was away from family, she felt like she had a family with all of us.

Komatsu Home Visits

After breakfast this morning we headed into Komatsu and the Komatsu International Association to meet our host families who we would be spending the day with.  Some of the students were quite nervous, but everyone came back saying what a great time they had.  That being sad, a picture speaks 1000 words.  Here are all the pics that the students shared with us.