Seiritsu International Education

Tea time, Japanese traditional that is!

While sleepy, perhaps recovering from jet lag and sauna-like day yesterday, our Japan Experience students still trooped into the school for the morning Japanese class. The beginners went over how to say 'that's a tall building!' to 'this is terrible coffee!', while the intermediates learned how to give multiple directions for multiple senarios.

Nakamura Sensei instructing Marvin.

After an email check break, a new Mrs. Nakamura, a wonderfully refined chado (tea ceremony) teacher, welcomed us into the school's traditional style tatami mat tea ceremony room. Nakamura-Sensei looked resplendent in a soft rose petal-colored silk kimono of many layars. Helping her were current Japanese students who are in the school's tea ceremony, plus graduate students who volunteered as well, which was really appreciated.

Sensei's wonderful helpers!

Nakamura-Sensei, using her excellent command of English, instructed us through each stage of the tea ceremony, right from how one enters the room from a small doorway (so that to leave all one's baggage of reality outside), to how to bow, add the tea powder to the cup, how to add hot water, then whisk it together before properly holding the cup to drink.

A tea ceremony club member makes tea very carefully ('cause Sensei's watching!)

We learned how to be the guests in the tea house and receive sweets before tea. Then tea is made by a host, in this case the Japanese girls were making tea first for us under Sensei's watchful eyes of course. Afterwards, everyone had a go, and dark green liquid was tried by all.

Everyone tries the smooth green tea!

Nakamura Sensei said that there are many types of tea depending which tree in Japan or China it is picked from. Plus tea can be light or thick, thick having more taste (and more cost)!

'Wakeseijaku', the Japanese calligraphy on the wall, meaning calm, peace, soothing, as you should feel during the tea ceremony.

A sense of serenity took over, the tea room it's own separate world and all too soon, time passed and we were done.

One young helper is so cute as she watches everyone from the kitchen in the next room...

Our Japan Experience students then had lunch of soba noodles mixed with cooked, sliced onion and boiled seaweed (plus a raw egg if they were feeling adventurous), plus rice and beef stew.

We rushed over to Akabane station and hopped a Saikyo-line train to Shibuya, an amazing city center full of whole buildings devoted to fashion, plus endless music stores, restaurants, pachinko parlors, bars and department stores of all kinds.

Shibuya!

But before shopping, we got tickets to experience Japan's national television (NHK) channel's Studio Park interactive television center. A large facility inside NHK's huge main studio complex, it has a long walking tour with multiple displays describing how NHK creates it's magic, from TV news, dramas to radio and 3D shows.

Fun things included recording our own voices reading the script for a short animation AND then seeing it played back, seeing kids under 8 be the talent in a studio, all of us standing in front of a green while we saw an animated world of sea creatures swim around us, and also we experienced the first 3D no-3D-glasses-needed cinema in the world. Plus we made lots of little friends with the little people who were out in force with parents and friends.

Little ones rehearsing for the big-time someday!

A short hike from there we made out meeting point the front of the famous 109 fashion building, with it's endless fashions mainly for young women, not far from the world's craziest intersection, where thousands of people cross in all directions at the same time!

Shibuya's famous intersection!

Of course, no trip to Shibuya for the first time is not complete with out meeting Hachiko, the statue commerating the real like Akita-breed 4-legged wonder who from about 1924-36 always waited for it's master at Shibuya station (the area was actually more rural then), even after the master died early around 1925. This type of devotion made it famous sitting outside alone and the statue has become the most famous meeting point in all of Tokyo.

With the eternally loyal Hachiko!

Weekend plans for the students are to be with the home stay families, which I heard will include trips to Tokyo Tower, karaoke box singing, more shopping at Harajuku, learning how to wear kimonos, helping make tempura from scratch and possibly attending a local matsuri (festival). The students all seem to enjoy being with their home stays, plus for sure they'll enjoy a little more sleep over the next two days before we dive right back into more adventures in Tokyo!