Page 1 of 3

June 27, 2001

The students quickly drop off their carry-on luggage, crammed with omiyage (gifts) from homestay families, so they can spend every possible minute exploring Tokyo. On each of the 4 days NP:J students and teachers stay in hotels in Kyoto and in Tokyo, they can send and receive e-mails from our computer room. The staff at the Kyoto and Tokyo hotels provide friendly and helpful advice, in Japanese and in English! The Shiba Park Hotel is no exception.

Two More Days in Japan Tokyo is a city where, including its surrounding suburbs, more than 25 million people live, work, study, and play. Keeping that huge population in mind, the size of this cosmopolitan urban center is staggering. Given the fact that the NP:J participants have two days left to explore the city, you can imagine how eager the students and teachers are to get out on the streets and subways. Everybody is trying to make every last minute count! Tuesday, June 26th, each of the nine schools participating in NP:J Tour Two 2001 returned to the Shiba Park Hotel to drop off their bags, catch a few minutes of rest, and check in with the staff of TLI to get directions and advice about where to go and what to see. Tuesday was also a very hot and humid day, so everyone seemed to welcome the brief respite in air-conditioned comfort. Before describing their Tokyo destinations, though, a word or two should be shared about the activities of the prior week. Like all past NP:J tours, the students and teachers are letting us know that the homestays and the visits with host schools were, for virtually everyone, an outstanding experience. Here are a few samples of comments about the past week from the students and teachers: Believe it or not, one of the high school students said: School was FUN! From a male student, a junior in high school: I can't believe it. When my host family said goodbye, even I (emphasis on I) was crying! Several of the young ladies from Sudbrook Middle School offered variations on this theme: My host family was really generous and kind. I wish I brought more omiyage (gifts) for them. An NP:J teacher shared this thought about her host school: They were terrific. Really top-notch. They treated all of us really well and had a great schedule planned out for us. These thoughts were expressed again and again by so many of our participants. We hope this gives everyone back home an idea of how special the homestay and host school portion of the study tour can be. We can't keep track of the number of NP:J participants who, when describing their week spent in homes and at schools, say these exact words: I didn't want to leave. Now, however, there's a metropolis to explore! The popular haunts for Tuesday appear to be: a boat trip to Asakusa to explore the shrine and the vendors there, a quick train ride to Akihabara to examine all the latest in electronics gadgetry, a trip to the world-famous Edo Museum, and window-shopping at exclusive depaato (department stores) and shinju (pearl) shops located in high-priced Ginza. Wednesday, June 27th, is the final full day and evening in Japan for the second Study Tour group. Following a day of walking and touring Tokyo's rich and varied neighborhoods, many of the teachers and students plan to have dinner at restaurants that will serve their group's favorite cuisine. For many participants, Wednesday night represents the final opportunity for an evening meal in Japan, so most are opting for Japanese cuisine. Some will choose sushi. For those seeking something a little less adventurous and/or less expensive, many options are available. Luckily, all are within walking distance of or a short train ride from the Shiba Park Hotel. How do these dishes sound to you? There's okonomiyaki. A pancake doesn't capture the gist of this meal. Think of lots of good seafood and vegetables fried in a rich egg batter. How about ramen? A noodle dish, served with vegetables and meat in a steamy, tasty broth. Here's a fun one: yakitori. In this case, yaki means grilled. Tori is the Japanese word for chicken. However, anything you can think of that can be grilled, you can find at a good yakitori. Small skewers of delicious chicken, shrimp, peppers, scallops, shiitake mushrooms, and so on. The list could go on and on. We'll end our dinner section with one last food group: Ma-ku-do-na-ru-do. This restaurant has been, and continues to be, one of the most popular dining stops for many NP:J students (but not teachers). Here, the students can chow down on ham-ba-gaa or ma-ku-po-te-to. If you haven't guessed it yet, the uniquely Japanese restaurant we are describing is McDonald's, where your sons and daughters can sample hamburgers and fries. This is our final entry in the on-line newsletter for the Second Study Tour Group for NP:J 2001. It has been a rewarding and enriching experience for all. The staff of The Laurasian Institution extends its thanks to all who made the trip possibleña hearty "domo arigato" to the students, to their friends and family who supported them on this trip, and to the teachers and chaperones who accompanied them. We also want to acknowledge our deep appreciation to our scholarship and program funders, The Freeman Foundation and The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership. Without their support, many of our NP:J student participants would not be able to enjoy this wonderful experience. Bright and early Thursday morning, we will be leaving the Shiba Park Hotel on buses for Narita International Airport and, later in the day, we will be boarding flights home to the United States of America. Until our return with the third NP:J Study Tour group in July, 2001, Sayonara!