Home Again

It was a long trip home but I am finally back. Although I am not feeling well, due to the bad cold, headache and jet lag, I am very happy about the experience I was able to have. Japan is a fantastic country. Not only is it beautiful, clean and inviting, the people are so friendly and hospitable I felt like a honored guest my entire stay. I learned so much; it will be hard to summarize everything when asked about my trip. I look forward to working on my follow-on plan and sharing the information I learned with my friends, family, school and community. Thank you JFMF and the Japanese government for the fantastic opportunity and adventure I will never forget!

Final Presentations

Today it was our turn to perform. Each small group was required to make a presentation about their host city visit. We were second to get on stage. It was both fun and interesting to hear about how each group spent their time. We were able to see thing that were common to all groups and things that differed depending on where in the country they were located. We had a lot of laughs and enjoyed the creativity of the presentations.


The evening ended with a Sayonara dinner and we reflected on the events of the trip and said our good byes. We also had a special martial arts performance. Being Halloween, many headed out for the last night in Tokyo. I had come down with a bad cold this morning so I decided to head to my room to pack, have a cup of hot green tea and take a hot bath. Tomorrow would be a very, very long travel day. (24 hours of travel time!)

Kindergarten Visit

Today we got to attend our second special seminar. I had chosen to see a kindergarten so I boarded the bus again and headed out early. The school was a Protestant school located in a church. The children were so sweet and had made us all kinds of origami gifts. We spoke with the director of the school and learned of its history. The classes were very small and we enjoyed watching the students learn. I was surprised how even the little ones were so tidy and responsible. When they changed into their PE uniforms, they carefully placed their blazers and uniforms on the floor and folded them. The small pile of clothes was folded into a perfect neat bundle.

The afternoon gave us a chance to participate in a Q&A on Japanese Education and Society. It was good to be able to ask some of the questions that we didn’t have answers to and share comments.

Once the meeting was over we headed out for the last time on the town. Off to Asakusa, (the place we went the first day) for some last minute shopping and then off to check out an area covered with bookstores that we had heard about.

Hiking and then back on the Road

The sound of the river is roaring as I write today and the scenery is priceless. Most of the night I laid awake listening to the sound of the water rushing and anxiously awaiting to go and explore. It was so worth it! The hike was gorgeous. We wandered down along the river and up the mountain, only to come back down and go up the other side. There we followed a number of steep stairs, which let to an old shrine. On the way back we stopped to talk to an elderly gentleman who was in his yard and took a picture. Within a few minutes, he went in his home and came out with a beautiful bag of tangerines for us as a gift. The hospitality here is unbelievable! Everyone is so kind, polite and generous.


By 10:30 we were boarding the bus and headed back to Tokyo. We took a short detour to have lunch on the Tokyo Bay and enjoyed walking on the beach. Once back at the hotel, we saw all the other groups that were arriving back and enjoyed hearing how their week went. We unpacked and headed out to explore the city again. This time we went to “Electric City”, the area where all the newest “high tech” gadgets are found. We ended up eating ice cream at “@homecafe”. The waitresses were dressed as a popular animated character and we were told that the job was one desired by “all” young girls. Many envied them and it was hard to understand why. The space was so tiny and we sat at a counter facing the window. The menu consists of small deserts that looked like a brownie baked in an easy bake oven surrounded by some whip cream. When the desert was served you were asked to make the shape of a heart with your hands, repeat some Japanese words after the waitress and then she gave you the “magical super powers”. We couldn’t understand anything but instead just laughed along. I thought the place was a dive and couldn’t understand why it was so cool. Then we got the bill for our tiny deserts and it came out to about 65 dollars! It turns out we ended up paying about $10 for a cover charge!!! Unbelievable! We were given a silver members card as we left and found out we are now official members and can enter free next time! ☺

Yuzunosato Shosenkaku: Ryokan

After finishing our home stay we boarded the bus for a 2-hour bus ride to our ryokan (traditional Japanese inn). Driving through many narrow, winding streets and cutting through the mountains by tunnels we arrived. It was amazing; little stone paths led to each person’s room and were surrounded by gardens and ponds. Our room was set overlooking the river and as we opened all the screens you could see nothing but stars and hear the river roaring by. I couldn’t wait until morning to see the landscape. We met for dinner in a tatami room and had a wonderful meal. It was the first time we hung out as a whole group for the evening and we had a lot of laughs and sake. Soon people started to leave for their hot baths and head to bed. The ryokan is known for the yuzu (a delicious smelling citrus fruit) that was used in the bath, to make juice, wine, spices, marmalades and many other products. Trees bearing yuki and persimmons covered the grounds. A small group of us arranged to meet at 6:30 the next morning to hike the mountains before breakfast.

Home Stay

Home stay
Once again we packed our suitcases so that everything except our weekend bag could be sent back to Tokyo. Today was the day that many of us felt both anxious and excited about. We were off to meet our host family and spent the night with them. As we arrived in the meeting room, all of the families were seated on one side of the room and check us out as we walked in. They must have had photos of us because as we walked in, they seemed to recognize us. After a formal introduction each of us was matched with our family. I was staying with the Kondo family, a 35 year old couple and a 6-year-old son. We both were excited to finally meet and head out. The father spoke some English so we were able to communicate somewhat with the help of our dictionaries. The weather forecast today warned us of a typhoon in the evening and we were already witnessing the heavy rains.

I headed back to their apartment. I soon realized that all of the rules I had read about and all the worries I had about messing up were uncalled for. Other than taking off their shoes (which is what I do anyway) they didn’t use slippers or special “toilet” slippers in their home. We headed off to the grocery store to get things for dinner. The place was very crowed and I was surprised at how the little boy would wander away with the cart and the parents didn’t seem to worry. I on the other hand, was constantly worrying that he would get lost and tried to follow him without losing site of the parents (I didn’t want to get lost myself!) Once we got what we needed we headed back and I had my first Japanese cooking lesson. Because of the heavy rains I spent the rest of the day indoors trying to communicate with the parents and playing with their son who was really interested in trains, cars and maps. They opened the gifts I had brought and were excited about the books on Philadelphia. I also showed them photos, which I tried to explain in very simple English.

The time I had been dreading finally came in the evening when the father asked me if I wanted to take a bath. I had worried about this for weeks now and pondered over the procedure and how it would all work out. I knew that usually the guest bathed first and then the father and the rest of the family, all using the same bath water. I was thrilled when the father then said that I could go anytime and take a bath or a shower, which ever I preferred. I immediately answered that I would take a shower and would go last. This was going much easier that I had expected.


The next morning the father left for work at 4 am and we woke up at around 7am. The mother had prepared a beautiful breakfast of rice, salmon, miso soup, salad and eggs. The rain had cleared and it was another gorgeous day. There was a big festival going on in Inagi, so we got ready to go to town. A friend and her two sons came over to go with us to town. The festival was made up with numerous musical performances, food booths and a huge flea market. It was a lot of fun walking around and checking out the different things. I saw many of my friends who were there with their families and exchanged a quick hi and “how are you making out?” A lot of people were in the same situation trying to communicate while others had families who were English teachers and quite fluent. The time passed by quickly and we soon headed back home to get ready to drop me off at the community center. We took a few more pictures and headed back. As we said goodbye the mother had tears in her eyes and I thanked her for everything and promised to write. As we boarded the bus we waved back to the families that sent us of. (Waving is a big deal here; every time you leave a place your host walks you outside and waves until you are out of site)

Komazawa Gakuen Girls’ Senior High School

As we pulled up to the front of the school we were amazed by the size of the campus. It not only housed a high school but a middle school, university and grad school. Komazawa Gakuen Girls’ Senior High School is a private Buddist school and the day began with Principal Makoto Suzuki chanting onver the loudspeaker. We were greeted by two English teachers, Jackie from Ireland and Travis from New Zealand. They gave us an introduction to the school and then took us on a tour. The building was both huge and beautiful, The main entrance into the auditorium was so grand it looked like the poshest of hotels. The class rooms were numerous and very simple. Going along with the simplicity of Buddism both the classrooms and halls were very empty looking, a sharp contrast to the elementary school yesterday. We had time to visit classes on our own and observe the girls. In the gym we were able to see about 100 girls during meditaion. It was absolutely silent and every single person was perfectly still. The jikido paced back and forth between the rows carrying his kyosaku (stick) to be used if someone loses their form. (If you start falling asleep or slouching the stick is used to strike your shoulder (it doesn’t hurt, I tried it later) and remind you to stay focused.)


The practice of Zazen was explained to us and we went up to the mediation room to experience it for ourselves. I was very conscious of every step I took and move I made trying to do everything perfectly. Once seated on my zafu (pillow) I kept my eyes at a 45-degree angle and let my mind settle into complete tranquility. I definitely felt a sense of relaxation but it was hard not to let my mind wander and start thinking about different things.


After lunch in the cafeteria, where we were joined both high school and university students we were off to a calligraphy class. We were given the chance to try our skills with the brush and ink. After practicing some words, we were able to choose our best work and put it on a fan. It was a lot of fun trying calligraphy and showing off our work to each other.



At the end of the day we had the chance to meet with the principal and staff for a question and answer session. We learned that the school had a partnership with a school in Australia and the girls would be heading off for their annual trip in November. They were really excited about the opportunity.
http://www.komazawagakuen-h.ed.jp