August 7, 2010
Japan Experience! 2010 Day 8
Day 8 started with quiet meditation in the school’s peaceful karate dojo with the high school club members, but being karate soon the students were all exploding with energy playing ‘karate tag’ with each other! As Richard Sensei led everyone through an introduction to punching and kicking, the Japanese students each paired up the JE10 kids for personal one-on-one instruction.
Taking a quiet moment to reflect before the karate lesson.
After finishing with our patented karate club memorial photo where everyone has to go from being lined up together to change positions with someone else by the time the cameraman says ‘San!’, we all gathered back at the meeting room for the Japan Experience’s annual ‘I Know Japan!’ contest.
Our American and Hong Kong representatives from the "I know Japan!" contest.
Each student represented their country, or in case of several students from the same country they picked their city or neighborhood as well. The rules are simple. First the teachers ask questions related to anything that has happened to the whole group, either something they experienced or learned. Then the students quickly write down their answers on a piece of paper and when a teacher says ‘Answers Up’, everyone holds up their answers for checking and comparison.
After 65 minutes of fierce competition, we finally had a winner. Here are some of the 80 or so questions asked;
-‘What was the name of the Japanese Inn we stayed in?’ (Kirinoya Inn)
-‘When did Japan become a modern country?’ (1868)
-‘How many times does the bullet train stop at school’s Akabane station? (none, it’s a trick question to see if everyone’s paying attention)
‘What are the words needed to complete this popular, Japan Experience-related phrase…
_____ ______ ______ not _____ ______ picture, _______ were ________ there!
(If you were not in the picture, you were not there!)
Congratulations to Binita who had the most answers correct!
Following the contest was another delicious lunch of yakisoba, beef chahan, salad and okinomiyaki, plus CAKE for dessert (which everyone still ate even after Jordan dropped it – 3 second rule!).
A painting of a sumo wrestler inside the Ryogoku train station.
The afternoon’s field trip started with a visit to the popular Sumo Museum inside the Rogoku kokugikan Sumo Arena. This year’s students quite enjoyed watched famous old matches of yokozuna, top ranked wrestlers, on a big television.
After buying lots of cool sumo stuff in the gift shop, it was just a short walk to the Edo-Tokyo Museum, which is a massive modern building suspended in the sky yet inside it contains a huge areas depicting different eras in Tokyo’s history, from the ancient, to the pre-war to today. Always a big hit with the students, this year was no different as everyone wondered around checking out numerous cityscape models, geisha houses and bombing of Tokyo relics.
After that, we called it a day and the students had a few hours to explore the city accompanied by one of the long-term Seiritsu international students before heading back to their host families.
On the way to the Edo-Tokyo museum.
Tomorrow the schedule calls for participating in the Higashi-Jujo ward area matsuri (festival) and then the Sayonara Party!
Striking a pose in front of the sumo mural