Home Trip Index Trip Itinerary Map of Japan
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Saturday, June 13: I'm packed and ready to leave for San Francisco tomorrow! More information will follow.
Sunday, June 14: Hello from California! Today I got here at around noon local time and went straight into meetings about Japan. I made a mistake with the time difference and wound up eating five meals without realizing it. Tomorrow, we leave for Tokyo. I have a meeting later this week with one of the top specialists in educational computing in Japan. We also will meet with ministers from the Japanese Diet, or Congress. What an exciting trip this will be!
Tuesday, June 16: Greetings from Japan! It's 7:30 p.m. and the sun just went down. I saw it rise almost 24 hours ago in San Francisco and we followed it across the Pacific Ocean. It never got dark. The flight was unbelievable. We saw three movies, had two complete dinners and a snack. I was so stiff when we landed that I could barely walk.
Tokyo is huge. Much bigger and more crowded that New York City. It is also very industrial. There are many factories and power stations running everywhere. The center is very sleek and modern. Tomorrow we will see the Emperor's castle and several temples. We also will meet some members of the government.
Wednesday, June 17: Today I had my first true experience with Japanese schools. I was walking behind some children on their way to school. I watched them join a larger flow of children which, in turn, joined a still larger flow until a torrent of perfectly dressed, quiet, orderly children poured into a beautiful school. I was surprised to see that all the children seemed to be coming from only one direction, and so I followed the river of people back to its source: a subway stop. There are no school buses in Tokyo. Children ride the subway to school and walk from the nearest stop, rain or shine. There is no adult supervision; children simply monitor themselves and each other. They were happy and full of laughter, but if I had closed my eyes, I would not have known that children were there because they were so quiet. I must have passed several hundred of them.
Today we also saw the Emperor's palace and a Shinto Shrine. I have lots of pictures. Tokyo Pictures
Thursday, June 18: Last night, I met the Minister of Education of Japan. I have been amazed ever since I arrived at how well the government of Japan has treated us. Top level government officials have taken a serious interest in our being here because they feel that teachers can help young people in the United States to understand Japanese culture and to form friendships between our nations. The project was the idea of the Prime Minister himself. What respect teachers are given here!
This morning, I woke up at 4:00 AM. and went to the largest fish market in Asia. They had everything from whale to octopus in a giant, open-air market near the water. After all the hustle, I wound up watching some monks chant in a Buddhist temple for an hour. What a contrast!
Today, we are in workshops all day on the history and economy of Japan., and then went to see Kabuki Theater and walked around Tokyo. The Kabuki at the National Theater was unbelievable. Kabuki is a theater art that combines music, dance and drama. It moves very slowly, and the costumes and music are exquisite. After the play I stayed and watched them take the set apart. It was gone within 10 minutes after the curtain closed. I have never seen such efficiency.
I also met two Senators from the National Diet, which is like Congress. We had a long, very candid discussion about the current situation in Japan. Everyone is optimistic here after Clinton offered to help their economy last night. We will see what happens. People Pictures
Friday, June 19: I just met the director of the National Center for Multimedia Education and I am starting to set up an exchange for the Bailey School! Next year we should be able to set up an exchange between our school and one in Japan.
Today the highlight was going to the National Noh Theater. I saw both Noh and Kyogen. Noh and Kyogen are Japanese type of dramatic stage play with music.
Noh is very serious and slowly done. It is gentle, wonderful. Kyogen is an older, simpler form which is usually a comedy. In each of these forms, the more intense the action becomes, the slower it moves. That is the reverse of most movies we see at home where speed is used to convey excitement. The play I saw tonight was about a Buddhist Priest and a Shinto Priest who get into a fight while trying to purify the same person.
Tomorrow I am taking a trip up Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan, and Sunday we go to Osaka on the Bullet Train. Mount Fuji is an inactive volcano.
And I'm hoping it will stay that way for me tomorrow.
Saturday, June 20: Today I went part way up Mount Fuji! It the highest mountain in Japan and the view was spectacular, even though it was cloudy. Mount Fuji is considered a god in the Shinto religion here in Japan, and so it was an experience to be a part of the mountain for a short time. We also went sailing on a lake nearby Mount Fuji and visited some towns. It was a very active day and I have lots of pictures. Dinner tonight consisted of eel, shrimp, tuna eggs, squid and tuna meat. As near as I could tell, none of it had been cooked. It was very good. Fuji is so high above the rest of Japan that it is in the clouds and not visible from Tokyo all but 50 days of the year. I guess we took it as an omen that Fuji appeared to us today before we left. The trip was spectacular. We drove through miles of city and then miles of rice fields until the mountain loomed above us. It did not take long to reach the half way point where we stopped and enjoyed the view. Our next stop were some volcanic vents at the bottom of the mountain (remember it is an inactive volcano!). We ate eggs boiled in the vents. Each one is supposed to add 7 years to your life. I ate three and told them if it didn't work I was coming back for a refund. Next, we rode a cable car to a lake at the base of the mountain and took a boat across the water. There were Shinto shrines all around the lake. It was peaceful and beautiful and Mount Fuji appeared from the clouds just as we came to the center of the lake!!
The prime minister of Japan and the US envoy met here in our hotel. I missed seeing them because I was away, but the place has been covered with reporters for the entire day. They are meeting in part to discuss how the US will help the Japanese economy. Fuji Pictures
Sunday, June 21: Today, we woke up early and took the Bullet Train from Tokyo to Osaka. What a ride! The Bullet Train goes 160 miles per hour. I was amazed to see that between Tokyo and Osaka it was almost all city and town. There was almost no open countryside. That is because Japan somehow fits 125,000,000 people--half the number of the United States--into a space the size of California. We rode past Mount Fuji, over rice fields and tea farms, through Kyoto and finally into Osaka. We went sightseeing in the rain after our arrival. We went to the Osaka Castle, which has a long and dramatic history, and I also saw several Shinto Shrines. Osaka is about the size of Chicago. It is a modern, fast paced city with a lot to do. It is a cosmopolitan city with fantastic food and great theater. I started my time here by doing some laundry near my hotel. Well it is a start! Osaka Pictures
Monday, June 22: The city government has taken a wonderful interest in our project. We were greeted by the Major and his senior staff in true Japanese fashion: Our group sat on one side of a long table, while the mayor and his staff sat on the other. The mayor spoke, then one of our group spoke. We exchanged gifts, and the meeting came to an end. After that, we went and saw classes. What a beautiful school!! Finally, a few of us went to an ancient Shinto Shrine dedicated to the goddess of sea voyages. It was peaceful and beautiful. We wound up taking a trolley ride home.
Tuesday, June 23: Today we went to Tennoji Junior High School and Osaka Kyouiku University Department of Education. I've contacted several people interested in setting up a cultural exchange on this website when I return to the States and so I am getting excited about setting all this up.
The Tennoji Junior High School has a wonderful computer lab with a monitor displaying the teachers' computer next to each machine. The language lab was incredibly high tech. Each student has a TV monitor and a tape recorder to record the lesson. The teacher has a station which includes a computer, a VCR, a scanner and a compact disc player. Any of the video from those machines can be displayed on the students' desk monitor. I was very impressed.
Osaka Kyouiku University has a campus in the mountains outside of Osaka. They had a round table discussion set up for us with professors and students. It was very interesting.
We were also treated to a wonderful reception by the former Fulbright Recipients living in Osaka. Those are Japanese who came and studied in the US on a Fulbright grant from our government. What a day!!
Wednesday, June 24: Today we went to visit Osaka Municipal Elementary School. It was very different from the middle and high schools we have been to. The children were very excited to see us and were running everywhere. They all eat in class with their teacher. I ate with a group of 4th graders. Our lunch consisted of a vegetable-and-beef stew, milk, pumpkin, and a package of dried fish. The fish were the most interesting. They came in a plastic package, just like potato chips. They were whole little fish--heads, tails and all. At the bottom of the package were a few parts that had broken off. So I closed my eyes and ... They were surprisingly good! At the end of the day, the children sang to us as we walked through the hallway on our way to the bus. It was a very moving goodbye and we were all touched by their reception. I think all of us were impressed over the last few days with the respect teachers are given in this country. We have been treated so well by everyone who has come in contact with us. All of us are feeling overwhelmed and grateful.
Later we went to see Bunraku at the National Theater here in Osaka. Bunraku is a puppet theater where one singer does all the voices and it takes three people to operate one puppet. You can see all of this on stage. They do not try to hide the puppeteers the way that they do in other forms of theater. Bunraku was invented here in Osaka and is another of the 5 classical forms of Japanese theater. Then later we went to an aquarium and to the largest ferris wheel in the world. It is almost 400 feet high.
Thursday, June 25: We went to see several different industries in the Osaka area today. The part of the trip that stands out the most was a factory that makes parts for machines that manufacture computer chips. The workers had to wear special suits and work in a super-clean room. We also saw the Osaka World Trade Center. This city has a strong international focus. It is a center for global trade, which the Trade Center here is a major part of, and they hope to host the 2008 Olympic Games. We also saw an industry that specializes in Japanese style furniture.
Friday, June 26: we saw a Ikeda Elementary School. A National Model Elementary School attached to Osaka Kyouiku University. It was incredible. They were doing a play jointly with a school in England using distance learning technology. What an idea!! We also visited many classrooms and had lunch with students and their teachers. I went to a 6th grade room. They serve the food to each other and their teacher. We exchanged gifts and had a wonderful day.
Saturday , June 27: I stayed with a Japanese family who took care of me for two days. The Motomochi family live in the suburbs of Osaka. We went to Kyoto, the ancient capitol of Japan and saw several temples and gardens. We even went to a Zen rock garden which is a type of garden with only rocks. There are no plants. You are supposed to contemplate the rocks and meditate. I enjoyed it very much. Gardening is a Japanese art form. Each rock and plant in a Japanese garden is exactly placed to bring forth a place of serenity meant for quiet mediation or thought. I have many pictures and wonderful memories of my time with these kind people who volunteered to take me into their home for two days.
Kyoto Pictures Garden Pictures
Sunday, June 28: Today I finished my stay with the Motomochi family by visiting some Japanese gardens near their home. After that I rejoined my group in Osaka and traveled to a rural area in the mountains outside of Kobe City. We stayed in a ryokan, which is a traditional Japanese inn. They have hot spring baths and we slept on beds put out on a floor made of straw mats. We had many traditional Japanese foods and spent a lot of time in the hot springs. We even got to eat raw fish and drink tea as we sat on cushions on the floor. Ryokan Pictures
Monday, June 29: Today we rode cable cars across several mountains and visited Kobe City for the afternoon. Finally, we took the bullet train back to Tokyo to rejoin the rest of the groups of teachers who went to other cities. We got to ride on the fastest of all the bullet trains. It looked like a space craft and went almost as fast. The ride was so smooth but we all felt something akin to jet lag when we got off. Now we are back in Tokyo for a few days of meetings. Transportation Pictures
Wednesday, July 1: We spent yesterday and today in meetings discussing our impressions of Japan and sharing resources. We were all impressed by the moving receptions we received by students in the schools, our different city governments and our host families. We all feel that although the program lasted less than three weeks we had a very in depth look at Japanese culture and traditions. All of us have made contacts for cultural exchange during the next school year. Tomorrow we fly home. Our trip begins at 5:00 p.m. and it will take 17 hours to get home. I fly through San Francisco with the entire delegation, then we split up and go to our final destinations. We have all made many good friends and are sad to split up but happy to be getting home to our families. Sayonara Japan.
