Category Archives: City Theme Activities

Abiko City, City Life, City Theme Activities

Kagura and Abiko presentation

August 3, 2014 Thomas Greve

Day of activity: July 29^th 2014

Hello!
Today we learned about Abiko City and took sine group photos of all the World Campus members and staff. Session 4 is already progressing fastely and I am so excited!

After a delicious meal we learned about one of the traditional forms of Japanese theater, Kagura. After a Nice preformance, where two of the World Campus members were participating in, we Got the opportunity to try the masks.

After that we had a karate preformance by three locale people and one preformance from a participant who practices karate in her country. Later we were all taught some basic moves and punches which was very fun.

Amalie (Denmark)

City Life, City Theme Activities, Uda City

Murou-en elderly home & Murou temple

August 2, 2014 Thomas Greve

Day of activity: July 23^rd 2014

It was already warm when I walked to murou shinkou center. After meeting up in the morning we went to an elderly home called murou-en and interacted with the elderly people. I talked with a man who was 90 years old, but it was quite hard to understand because my Japanese is not that good yet. But with the help of the staff of the facility, we talked about Japan, his and my country. He was really funny! We then played a chopstick game. We had to pick up rice grains, beans and other things with chopsticks and move them to our bowls. The man cheated to help us by moving the rice grains and other things to our bowl using his hands. Then it was time to say goodbye to them after they handed us origami umbrellas. We got a tour of the facility and all the elderly where happily smiling to us as we passed. We then said our last goodbyes and left the facility on the way to eat lunch. We ate Japanese curry and it was very delicious. It was then time for the last event of the day. We walked to Murou-temple and then had a guided tour through the temple. To reach the top of the temple we needed to climb a lot of stairs! Eventhough it was tiring and hot to reach the top it was definitely worth it, because the scenery you could see from the top and the temple on the top of the mountain were very beautiful. At 4pm it was time to return to murou shinkou center and end the day. We then all went back to our host families to eat and take a rest.

Iris Remans (The Netherlands)

City Life, City Theme Activities, Uda City

Kaedo no Sato

July 31, 2014 Thomas Greve

Day of activity: July 22^nd 2014

Today started with a lecture about nara prefecture and Uda city by former school teacher Mr. Matsumoto. He taught us about the history of the region according to the kojiki, the oldest history book of Japan, compiled in the year 712. At the time, people did not have a concept of Hokkaidou, so nara was seen as the center of Japan. The first emperor made a pilgrimage to Nara to stop the fighting in the country.

Afterwards, we went to Kaedo no Sato, a garden and research facility with over 1200 species of maple in its garden. Its mission is to develop new species of maple which can withstand global warming. I had no idea the “maple” family had so many subspecies, with such a variety of leaf shapes and colors. The chief of the facility guided us around and explained the different species to us. We then received a lecture about leather imprinting. All in all it was a fun day and I learned a lot about maple trees.

Espen (Norway) & Amalie (Denmark)

City Life, City Theme Activities, Suita City

Yoshi!

July 27, 2014 Thomas Greve

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)

City Life, City Theme Activities, Suita City, Uda City

Uda – July 20th – travel day

July 26, 2014 Thomas Greve

Today the World Campus Japan participants parted with our host families in Suita, Osaka. I learned so many things about Japanese culture from them and in turn, I taught the children English. I really enjoyed teaching my host sisters who were eager to learn the English language. After saying my goodbyes, I managed to catch up on some well-needed rest on the bus ride to Uda, Nara. Before heading to our final destination, we stopped at a shopping district. Despite the heat, I really enjoyed myself. It was a pretty big shopping district with a Ferris wheel and the sea dominating the west side. I was also able to remember my host mom’s good cooking one last time with the bento she prepared for me for my travel to Uda, Nara. Overall, it was a sad yet exciting day in which I made great memories!

Sauche Eiland (America)

World Campus International Blog