Tag Archives: featured

City Life, City Theme Activities, Tama City

National Diet

Japan national diet main hall
Japan national diet main hall

Starting off the day we took a train about a block away from the National Diet. We proceeded inside to have our bags checked and enjoyed the nice AC on a very hot and moist day. We had a guided tour of the diet building, getting a glimpse at the Emperor’s room and the main cabinet room. After we toured the insides of the building, we went outside to walk through a garden that had a tree to represent each of the prefectures and areas of Japan.

After the visit to the diet we were originally supposed to have some time to ask questions to a member of the parliament, but he couldn’t come, so we had extended lunch break instead. There was a souvenir shop in the building where we had our lunch, but sadly we couldn’t find any Abe-chan figurines.

We finished the day in Abiko, the third city of this session. After a brief internal time we met with the mascot, an old eel in traditional Japanese clothing, as well as our host families. And so we had to move on from Tama to Abiko; a new city, new faces and new friends.

Harrison Zurkan (USA), Juuso Myller (Finland)

Abiko City, City Life, City Theme Activities

Tea, games and fireworks

Josh making matcha tea
Josh making matcha tea

During this day we visited Chuo Gaikin university. Much like visiting the previous university it is the highlight for many as it is an experience to meet Japanese people of our age, with respectable English. First and foremost was the usual introductions between everyone in which we displayed our knowledge in either Japanese or English. Next was a short peek into a room in which traditional tea ceremonies take place, fitted in a small room with beautiful traditional walls and floors, as well as a fresh flower display. Following this was an actual tea ceremony we had in which the students of a tea club showed us each meticulous step, from how to make the tea to how to hold the bowl. The tea itself was delicious green tea, but slightly strong for my taste. It was interesting to see as these students, who could sit in silence to make tea, could then be seen a minute later cracking jokes, truly an embodiment to the politeness and respect within the Japanese culture. We were then asked to make green tea ourselves, a task which I of course royally failed at, never being able to have the sweet release of having the correct number of bubbles in my bowl.

After the tea ceremony was a chance to familiarise ourselves with the students better, in doing this, we played certain games and activities all involving communication and teamwork. The first of these was an adaption of Chinese Whispers but instead of words, it was a drawing. Now, this either resulted in a boat being a boat at the start and end or a boat being a castle at the end depending on the drawing skills at each interval. This was a fun activity with no confusion as everyone understands the language of art! Next was teaching each other Cups to the timings of “When I’m Gone”, again very simple to understand and entertaining. Finally and most interestingly was the activity involving the group siding yes or no to a proposed question, the most fascinating of which often involved an interpretation of our respective cultures and seeing how others reacted to this. Such as “Your country is the best in the world” or “Would you want to live in Japan?” After this and some exchange of social medias, we later said goodbye to one another and departed, having met some more relatable, wonderful people.

However the day did not end here, this day also happened to be the Abiko Hanabi Fireworks Festival, which of course many people within and outside our group swarmed to, myself included. This jubilant display and hysteria was wonderful to see as people swanned around in their kimonos and such, looking in awe in the dark sky above them, illuminated by the colours which then bounced off the river near.

Joshua Corder, UK

City Life, City Theme Activities, Tama City

Parthenon Tama visit

Stella becoming an angel in Parthernon Tama
Stella becoming an angel in Parthernon Tama

Today I visited the Parthenon. Not the one in Athens as you might think I’m off topic and country, but the one in Tama city, Japan. Right on top of the redbrick pedestrian lane one can see a building resembling the ancient Greek monument. For this reason the people of Tama agreed on this name thirty years ago when their culture centre was first built.

Our group was guided around the main hall where opera, ballet, music and theatrical performances are held. We also had the chance of taking a look at the backstage areas, which honestly looked like a daedalus to me… The “irony” of more Greek words…

Off to our happy free hour where we wandered around before we went to the pot luck lunch party organized by the local international partners.

And the feast eventually begins! We got a chance to mingle with Japanese people who joined the event and cooked delicacies for us.

I had an excellent discussion about World War 2, Lefkadio Hern (aka Koizomi Yakumo in Japanese) and permaculture in Japan and Greece with elder people who sometimes spoke good English and sometimes used all possible language combos and gimmicks. And it was fun seeing their wide open eyes while I was eating octopus as normally as any Greek person would… I got a few pats on my back for that, which made me feel like home and think how stereotypes about Japanese manners have nothing to do with honesty and the light heart of people.

We played traditional Japanese games together, tried calligraphy, astonished them with weird fun facts from our home countries and enjoyed their honest responses.

All in all, yeap, delicious food and good company are all you need to have a nice day. And this does not only apply for the Greeks as proven today…

Stella Tsolakidou, Greece

City Life, City Theme Activities, Tama City

Arigato Event and Culture Exchange

Playing Karuta in the Arigato event in Tama
Playing Karuta in the Arigato event in Tama

Today started out pretty grand as we practiced for the Arigato Event (always fun to sing and dance) and some of the university students joined in which made it more fun. I ate Italian which was super delicious! We also got to do country presentations. I learned a lot about the other countries, like how Finland and Norway have the chance to see the Northern Lights, Greece breaks ceramic pots on a certain holiday and Chine has sweets that I have to try!

There’s a lot more, but what I would really like to mention is the performance we got to watch. Elementary School children sang for us, which was both touching and amazing – no joke, these kids won a championship. I should mention that the Mayor also came and spoke a few words to us. It was really fun and I would say more, but I feel as though this is something that everyone should experience for themselves and I don’t want to spoil too much.

Aimee Morales, USA

City Life, City Theme Activities, Tama City

School Visits in Tama

Japanese calligraphy mastery as presented by WCJ members
Japanese calligraphy mastery as presented by WCJ members

Today started at Keisen University in Tama, which is a women’s only University. The university was surrounded by green scenery, and a big tower in the middle had bells that were ringing and a cross over the bells. We had an introduction and got to meet some of the student in small groups. We then went to the university’s chapel, where we heard a song from Bach being played on the organ, and got to know a little about the university’s history as well. We then got a small tour around outside of the university in groups. Everything was so pretty! We gathered together and collected herbs to make tea. My group got some different lemon herbs. Our tea didn’t taste of that much, but it was still fun, and we got to know the Japanese students in our group better. We were supposed to go dance in a gymnasium after that, but didn’t have time, so we quickly put on some music, and danced Soran Bushi where we were standing. It was a little chaotic and crowded, but very fun! I love dancing kind of silly dances. We then went to the cafeteria to eat the bento our host families had made. I found out they were selling matcha ice cream there, so of course I had to buy some.

After the University we went to Tsurumaki elementary school. We played a lot of fun children’s games, trivia, calligraphy and they also sang for us. It was a very fun experience, though it was very hot and humid in the gymnasium, with so many people running around.

We ended the day with a short meeting as usually, and we also shortly practiced our country presentation for Wednesday, and talked about our plans for our personal day tomorrow. I’m going to Yokohama with a group.

All in all it has been a very busy, but fun day, where I got to talk to a lot of different people. I ended the day with a relaxing evening with my host family, eating delicious food, and of course more matcha ice cream for dessert!

Trine Hansen, Denmark