Category Archives: Arao City

Announcements, Arao City, City Life, Kumamoto City, Masuda City

2012 WCJ Session 2 experience

June 1, 2012 Thomas Greve

In Arao, our participants will be greeted by the city mayor and visit some of the unique cultural sites, such as a Japanese sword smith and “Iai” demonstration. They will also have an interaction in a local elementary school.

In Kumamoto, our participants will visit the Japan’s only hospital which accepts “abandoned babies” with various reasons and listened to the doctor who started this baby drop off concept. They will also have an opportunity to explore the Kumamoto city with a group of local university students.

Masuda information coming soon!

Arao City, City Life, City Theme Activities

A Samurai is only as strong as his sword

August 1, 2011 Thomas Greve

“While making the Katana for the Samurais we put all our heart and focus into it because we know the Samurai is putting his life on the line for his country and people.” This said by one of the sword makers while teaching us the art of making a katana.

Its always great to have the opportunity to see how anything is made, just so we can understand the work and effort that goes into them. I guess in this case I can say a little more work and effort go into making a Samurai sword, (Katana). I would say this because it roughly takes 3 months from start to finish to make and 5 years of training to learn the art of making them. In Arao we had the chance to visit a Dojo where lived craftsmen that make and train with Katana’s full time. It was very interesting to see their unique way of training and making the Katana’s.

Of course hearing about the swords history, purpose, and art was very interesting and exciting but we all couldn’t way to have the chance to hold the lite power of some of the world’s sharpest swords, and even get to use them! I think the expression on our faces said it all once they would hand us the sword and we realized just how lite they were! Overall the experience was full of history and interesting facts and being able to slice a blade and cut bamboo in half like it was butter was the perfect end! Thank you very much for welcoming us to your Dojo and teaching us the art of the Samurai sword!

(Brandon Serna – External Relations Manager for Summer ‘11 Road Team)

Arao City, City Life, City Theme Activities, Our participants

International Fair, 9 Cultures (Norway’s Table)

July 25, 2011 Thomas Greve

This last weekend we had a great opportunity to host an international fair at the Arao City Mall. Right now our World Campus Japan group represents 9 different cultures and countries and the 4 of us Norwegians were excited to represent Norway. I wasn’t too sure on how I could show Japanese people our Norwegian culture but it the challenge was great and it turned out to be quite fun and new for me. Alexandra, Joakim, Torunn and I (Ola) were the 4 Norwegians in the group and we had the idea to serve traditional Norwegian porridge, which surprisingly many of the Japanese people seemed to enjoy. Hiro the president of World Campus International, Inc. luckily has a Norwegian wife Kristinn and she had been kind enough to make it for us (because none of our host families had the right ingredients), it takes about two hours to make it from scratch so we were really thankful for her help and knowledge for knowing the ingredients!

Lots and lots of people from the community showed up for the fair anywhere from older couples to somewhat over 100 kids! By the end of the fair almost all of the porridge was gone. We were also letting people taste the Norwegian liquorice, which not too many seemed to enjoy as much as the porridge. We all really enjoyed sharing our cultures, traditions and taste buds with the Japanese community here in Arao, we thank them very much for welcoming us and we learned a lot from their culture so it was great to be able to give back and it would be great to do it again sometime!

(Ola Johanness from Norway)

Arao City, City Life, City Theme Activities, Kumamoto City

400 years later and still standing strong

July 17, 2011 Thomas Greve 2 Comments

This week all of us had the opportunity to visit the historical castle of Kumamoto. This was an amazing experience because it showed all of us just how simple, yet beautiful Japanese architecture is. Even though the castle was over 400 years old, it is still in good shape and just as beautiful. When we went through the entrance of the castle, the walls were really tall and made of big black rocks that would be impossible for any person to climb (I think that the purpose). Even the watchtower was over 50 m tall and when walking through the low doors, passing through the small rooms and going up the really narrow and yet tough steps, you could really feel those 50 m. But it was all worth it, when we got to the top of the tower the view was the beautiful city and mountains of Kumamoto. Afterwards, we went to the restoration of another part of the castle. Even though the restoration was new, it had been restored so carefully, that you could almost feel the spirits of the samurais and how they’ve been walking though the underground part of the castle.

400 years later and still standing strong

When we finished the tour of the castle, we went outside where we met a Japanese guy dressed as a red samurai looking prepared to win a battle (we thought it was hot outside but after seeing this guy dressed in a full samurai uniform weighing around 70 Kilograms we now thought we were the lucky ones) also he was very polite in front of the girls, he even took the ladies hands and got on his knees as a polite gesture.

After all this experience was so indescribably beautiful, that the pictures just doesn’t reach the same level of beauty. It’s just one of those special places where you just have to see it through your own eyes. I did, and I would properly never discover this castle without WCJ. And for that I’m truly grateful.

(Nina Møller from Denmark)

Arao City, City Life, Kumamoto City, Uda City

Welcoming 2011 Second Session!

July 16, 2011 Thomas Greve 1 Comment

Second session has begun this week and our schedule is full of some fun diverse activities! Visiting a Katana Sword makers dojo, a 400 year old castle, and hosting a culture fair in the mall to let the city of Arao
know some fun things from our countries! We’ll be sharing out foods, languages and of course music with the community! Stay tuned to find out how all those events go!! Love from Japan!!