All posts by Thomas Greve

Abiko City, City Life, City Theme Activities, Tama City

Travel Day and the National Diet

Travel Day and the National Diet

Day of activity: August 5th 2014

Hello readers!
Today we had lots of farewells and meetings.
In the morning, we said good-bye to our host families in Abiko, and it was really hard to part from them. We learned about Abiko city and had lots of awesome time with local people. Although I am Japanese, I was also able to learn about Japanese culture that I had never experienced, such as “Shakyo (copying of sutras)”, Kaiawase (a Heian period game which involved pairing the two parts of clamshells)” and so on. The nine days we spent with our host family have become an unforgettable memory of our lives.

After saying good-bye to our host families, we moved to the last city of session four, Tama. On the way to Tama, we went to the national diet building. I often see the exterior of the building and its inside on TV, but it’s the first time for me to see it with my own eyes. I was surprised and the magnificence of the sight took my breath away. The area of the site is 103,001 square meters, so it is such an imposing building!

We entered the building and we looked down into the central hall. The central entrance usually remains closed, but beyond the central entrance lies the central hall, which is located directly under the central tower. The hall has a floor area of about 267 square meters, and the cathedral-like ceiling rises four stories high, admitting daylight from above, making the hall about 32 meters high. The windows and ceiling are decorated with beautiful stained glass, and the hall contains bronze statues of Hirobumi Ito (the first prime minister). Then we saw the emperor’s room which was used by his majesty the emperor when he visited the Diet. The room is made entirely of Japanese cypress finished with fine lacquer and is said to be the quintessence of the architecture and craftsmanship of that era. I was surprised at the red carpet, which has a total length of about 4 kilometers. After that, we entered the chamber of the House of Representatives. In this chamber, the house of representatives holds its plenary sittings. We sat down and got an explanation about the chamber. It was a good opportunity to learn about the Japanese politics system.

We left there and then went on our way to Tama city! Here we met with the final host families!

Mari (Japan)

Abiko City, City Life, City Theme Activities

Chuou Gakuin University Day

Chuou Gakuin University Day

Day of activity: August 4th 2014

The places you go to are only as great as the people you meet; in that regards Japan is quite unique. I have been interacting with people all over the country for the last 2 months, and still now their kindness and benevolence keeps surprising me. Yesterday, we visited a university on the outskirt of Tokyo. There, we interacted with students from various schools and backgrounds. Together we experienced Furoshiki: a traditional Japanese art that consists of folding clothes to create bags that allow for easy transportation of everyday life objects. Learning together with the Japanese student allowed us to bond rapidly. We spent the day doing fun activities, and by the time we left it felt as though we had known each other for much more than a day. The people we met yesterday were genuinely kind, curious, interested and playful. I thank them for making yesterday such a beautiful day. And I hope their imprint stays with all WCI members so that we can work together for a better tomorrow.

Jeremy (Canada)

Abiko City, City Life, City Theme Activities

Host Family Day in Abiko

Host Family Day in Abiko

Host Family Day in Abiko

Day of activity: August 3rd 2014

This day was host family day, so my roommate Mattis and I spent it with our host parents. We went out a little before lunch time, and after taking a train we ate some delicious ramen noodles. We then took a cab to where we could cross the Edo river by means of a traditional boat from the Edo period. On the other side were the town Shibamata where we spent most of the day. Here we visited the Tora-san museum of the famous comedy movie character from the 1950s and 1960s, tora-san, whose real name apparently was not much used. There were lots of displays of items and models of locations used in the movies. We then went to the museum of a famous film director, Yamada Youji. Afterwards we visited a beautiful house and garden from the beginning of the Shouwa period. The house interior was a blend of Japanese and Western style, something I had not seen before. After looking through some shops and eating shaved ice, we went to eat dinner at a restaurant together with our host parents’ 29 years old son. We ate okonomiyaki, a traditional Japanese dish. It was a very fun day!

Stian (Norway)

Abiko City, City Life, City Theme Activities

Arigatou event in Abiko

Arigatou event in Abiko

Day of activity: August 2nd 2014

Today was the Abiko Arigato Event day. It was my first arigato event. The morning was filled with preparations and such. Everyone was in high spirits and we rehearsed a lot. Our host families all made lunch for a big potluck party. All dishes were lined up on a big table, it looked super delicious. After we all did itadakimasu, everyone rushed to the table and dove right into the food. There were things like sushi rolls, ratatouille, salad and other yummy things. After the potluck we all introduced ourselves once more with our host family and our host families were asked to tell everyone an interesting or funny happening that occurred during the week. My host mother Idenuma Yoshimi-san told everyone how I accidentally threw my wallet in the garbage on the morning of our personal day. Afterwards we had the Arigato Event and we danced to a medley and me and the other Swedish participant Caroline sang the unofficial National Anthem of Sweden. We also got to hear Miranda from China’s beautiful voice. Everyone had loads of fun and it seemed like our host families appreciated and enjoyed the event too. It was such a fun and new experience!

Mattis (Sweden)

Abiko City, City Life, City Theme Activities

Personal Day in Abiko

Personal Day in Abiko

Day of activity: July 29th 2014

The personal day was simply fantastic!
For those who do not know what this special day is, it is a predetermined free day to do what you want. With a group of WCJ participants we decided to go to Asakusa. At Asakusa we headed towards a temple with an enormous lantern dominating the entrance. On this particular day, it was really hot and we were walking for quite a while. Upon arrival to this nice temple most of us spontaneously decided to go to a nice air-conditioned restaurant to eat and to enjoy some cold drinks. So, after walking over 2 kilometers to reach the temple we took a group photo in front of the lantern then headed to a restaurant. We had a great time cooling off from the heat, joking around, and eating delicious Japanese food. Around this time of the session I was feeling a bit homesick, but after such an awesome personal day with my friends, I was feeling fantastic.

Sauche (USA)