FMF Japan Experience: June 15-July 3, 1999Welcome to the photographic journal of my first trip to Japan! Journey to Japan: Highlights from a Duplin County Teacher’s 3-week Trip to Japan by Shirley H. Benson
|
 Mt. Fuji on a clear day.
|
 A welcome reception for the FMF teachers |
 Popular business in Japan Tokyo is such a mix of ancient and modern and East and West. I saw the Imperial Palace Gardens, an ancient Shinto shrine, ladies in kimonos, as well as modern skyscrapers, elevators with videos and a talking voice, taxis with automatic doors, and girls dressed in 6-inch platform shoes. |
 A Buddhist priest
|
 Sensoji Temple in Tokyo
|
 Ritual cleansing prior to entering the temple area in Tokyo The Japanese food was an adventure. My first meal was traditional tempura which, unknown to me, included some squid. I soon learned the secret to being courageous about trying new foods was to taste first and ask questions later. Following that philosophy, I was able to eat things I never dreamed would pass over my palate-- seaweed, beef tongue, soybeans, tofu, eel, raw fish, and sea urchin. After just 2 weeks I was beginning to long for fried chicken and iced tea. The green tea served in Japan was just not the same. Of course, I was continuously encouraged by the information that all of these Japanese foods are very good for your health.
|
 A tempura lunch at Sendai Boys Commercial High School Transportation in Japan is interesting. Loads of people walk and bicycle since driving and parking space is at a premium. Motorbikes are also popular. Most of the cars are of the micromini variety. The subways have got to be the quietest and cleanest in the world, and the bullet train, so sleek and smooth riding can take you 200 miles in 90 minutes. After 5 days in Tokyo, my group of 20 teachers was sent about 240 miles north to the city of Sendai. It’s about 1 million people ( small compared to Tokyo’s 30 million) and is nestled between mountains and coastline.
|
 Fifth and 6th graders in swimming class at the school's rooftop pool There we saw some modern school facilities with lots of space and swimming pools and met some wonderful people. We learned that the Japanese ministry of education wants to reform their schools by 2003 to focus more on the individual and creative thinking as is done in American schools.
|
 Kendo, a popular afterschool martial arts sport at Hamamatsu-Kita High School in the Shizuoka Prefecture of Japan |
 I try to play the kodaiko drum in a college taiko class in Sendai The best part of the trip was spending 2 days in Sendai with a junior high English teacher and her husband and 3 children. I discovered that we had much in common, from our interests and beliefs to our love of children. In the evening after a succulent supper that Masako had prepared, we all gathered to play card games in Japanese. Japanese “Old Maid” can be really funny! I was instructed in a game called “beef tongue,” (gyutan in Japanese) which is a food special to this area. It is a very funny rhythm game that has to be seen to be appreciated; I think I will teach it to my students.
|
 Date Masamune, a Samurai lord, was the founder of the city of Sendai. |
 Masako and her husband took me to this Buddhist temple and gardens in the city of Sendai. Next Masako, her husband, and 11-year-old daughter took me to a local hot springs health spa. There I soaked in an outdoor pool of naturally hot mineral water while rain dripped off the trees onto my face...aaahh! The spa was also equipped with a massage chair which I took advantage of. The Japanese have the right idea when it comes to stress relief; a spa trip would do anybody’s body good. If you ever get the chance to go to Japan, you will have to get used to 3 things other than the food (don’t worry; McDonald’s is everywhere)--the language, the toilets, and the slippers. Take a pocket language book to help you make crucial negotiations. Look for “western” on toilet stalls. The Japanese style toilets are recessed in the floor and require a good squatting position. So “western” does not bring cowboys to mind, but takes on new and important meaning for us American female teachers with long skirts and pantyhose. At each school we visited, everyone took off his shoes and donned indoor slippers. My challenge was to climb several flights of stairs in these slippers with no back. The pace was slow but respectable until I walked out of my slippers as I was leaving a formal meeting with the high school principal. All dignity to the American image was lost in the 2 seconds it took me to stumble.
|
 Tomie Osawa, from Hamamatsu-Kita High School, welcomed me as an overnight guest and dressed me in her formal kimono. Also, if you are lucky enough to go to Japan, watch out for the great number of friendly, helpful, courteous, and short Japanese people. I am only a little over 5 feet tall, and I finally felt like a normal height. I have never felt safer in any large city than I have in Tokyo. It was quite common to see women and children walking alone along the streets even in the evening. Truly there are God’s wonderful people all over this earth, and I am glad to have met some who live in Japan. Sayonara.
|
 We became Japanese one night at a ryokan as we sat on the tatami mat in our yukatas. |
 Tomie Osawa and students welcome Mrs. Benson to their school.
|
