Day of activity: July 17^th 2014

Today we meet at the community center and meet some lovely locals there. We got to know each other better through questionaire and talked to the volunteers who were to make okonomiyaki with us. We were divided into 5 groups and settled at a baking station. Soon after the baking plates were on and special pancakes made of cabbage, dough, corn, bacon and other ingredienses were cooking, which produced a lovely aroma that filled the room.

After the Okonomiyaki was done we got to eat it as our lunch and it was delicious! After ending this wonderful meal we all got the recipe so I will definately try to make it at home!

We also went to visit a peace museum and wathed a short animated movie about the Hiroshima bombing. The movie was shown from a child’s perspective, which was so sad that in the end I shed a tear. It was so sad to see the loneliness and panic. After the movie was over, the movie producer Mr. Maeda answered any questions we had about the movie and it’s connection to the A-bombing.

Then we went to the Asahi beer factory where we had a tour. The tour itself did not contain much new information for me, but the walking did keep me vivid. I am not fond of beer but I tried some after the tour which ended with a short video. During the time we had to drink beer I shifted from beer to juice because I did not like it.

Before we went back we had a group photo taken. Then walked to the station. Another fun and interesting day came to an end.

Mariska (the Netherlands)

Day of activity: July 13^th 2014

On personal day, Me and some friends went to Osaka castle. My host family guided us. The castle was past two moats, one of which was covered with vegetation. The castle took up a relatively small part of the inner area, but was impressive nonetheless. The inside of the castle had been turned into a museum. It contained real artefacts, replicas and models. It was possible to try on some of the replicas for a small price, which of course, I did. The view from the top floor was spectacular. Afterwards, we went shopping in Namba on this really long shopping street. And that’s how I spent my personal day.

Theo (France)

Day of activity: July 15^th 2014

Today was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were signing and, because of my low tolerance for hot temperatures, I was sweating quite profusely… We started the day of by visiting a very nice shopping street in Suita. Many of the commerces had been kind enough to welcome WCI participants in their shops. There, some of us learned to make sushi, tempura, and okonomiyaki, while others were helping out with sales or reporting the morning’s activities. After eating the delicious food that had been prepared by our peers, we moved to Kitasandi high-school where we were warmly welcomed. We got to interact with the students however, given my very limited ability to speak japanese, I had to come up with alternative methods of communication, which proved to be very entertaining for everyone. The time we spent with the students truly made my day. For this I must thank the community of Suita and WCI for allowing me to partake in such memorable and beautiful experiences.

Thank you so much!

Jeremy (Canada)

Day of activity: July 13^th 2014

For the Host Family day, my Host family and I went to Kyoto. Our first destination was a movie studio, which was absolutely awesome! I went through the whole movie studio with my Host Father. We checked out literary every single house or attraction they had :D. One of the most interesting ones were Street and houses from Edo period, Samurai Event, and Ninja house :D. There were a lot of actors dressed up like samurai (I think I took a photo with most of them lol) and people wearing kimono and yukata or samurai and ninja costume. Ninja house was AWESOME! There are a lot of traps and ninja trickery :D. By the expression on the ninja’s face, I got impression that we bought a one way ticket haha… But somehow my host father and I maniged to find the way out LOL. He mistook me for an actress, thou haha. His English was broken but he gave his best to make our day. We had so much fun! If you ever visit Ninja House, Ganbatte with finding the way out haha…

After movie studio my host mother and I visited a lot of Temples and famouse tourist spots in Kyoto. I well in love with the city and I would definitely want to visit Kyoto again. One day in Kyoto is too short to visit all the places one would like to see. Next time, I would like to spend at least 5-7 days only in Kyoto, where one whole day I would use only for the movie studio and samurai or ninja make over LOL. I had so much fun! I am sad because I will have to leave Japan but I will give my best to come back.

A samurai-lover: Bojana Bogdanovic (Serbia)