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June 14, 2002 |
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If you look really closely at the upper left hand corner of the Kansai Airport arrival screen, you might notice the arrival of an NP:J flight from Detroit (NW 69) and, in the lower left hand corner, a flight from Los Angeles (JL 69).
The bus ride from the airport to Kyoto is a time
to start formultaing your first impression of Japan. The trip to the hotel usually
takes about 90 minutes to 2 hours, depending upon traffic. |
We're in Japan! The first tour group for New Perspectives: Japan (NP:J) 2002 safely arrived in Japan. On Friday, June 14th, after many hours on planes and waiting for connecting flights in the United States, all eight school groups from the U.S.A. touched down at Kansai International Airport. After clearing customs, tired but happy students and teachers were welcomed by the staff of The Laurasian Institution. The first group of this summer's two tours is comprised of the schools and communities representing a broad range of ages and regions across America, and include:
After gathering luggage, the participants boarded buses for the 100-minute long bus ride from Kansai Internationalñbuilt on a man-made islandñto our hotel in Kyoto, the Rihga Royal. Everyone was in good spirits, but feeling a bit tired after the long flight. Questions and comments about Japanese life and culture began to fly across the bus aisle as students began observing rice paddies, tiled roofs, the skyline and sprawl of Osaka, and the mysterious temples of the ancient imperial capital of Japan, Kyoto. Students and teachers were thrilled to be able to check into their rooms at the Rihga Royal and have a moment to refresh themselves before making their initial foray in to the city of Kyoto. Some began to inspect the hotel's restaurants to determine if their first dinner in Japan would be Teppanyaki, Chinese cuisine, haute cuisine cooked in the French style, and so on. Many opted to dine in the hotel's revolving restaurant on the top floor, appropriately called the Top of Kyoto. The 360 degree night time views of downtown Kyoto are quite beautiful! In the evening, the NP:J teachers and TLI staff held a brief orientation and overview of the two-week study tour. Everybody is looking forward to a good night's rest and, Saturday morning, all will begin their exploration of Kyoto! Some will visit ancient temples, such as Kiyomizudera. Others will explore the Gion district with the hope of catching a glimpse of maiko. Some are keenly interested in exploring the crafts district and inspecting 16th-century calligraphy, or exploring the exotic silk or tea shops. All in all, the weekend in Kyoto promises to be an incredibly rich educational experience. That's all for our first web posting for NP:J 2002. Over the course of the next two weeks, we will post three additional articles with photographs of our first group's adventures in Japan.
Mt. Fuji is not the only mountain in Japan. Whenever our NP:J students and teachers arrive, we bring a mountain of luggage! This passenger parcel peak is a mere fraction of the the luggage that has ti be off-loaded from the bus and brought to our participants' rooms. |
This World Cup scoreboard was one of the first signs that
greeted the NP:J students when they landed in Kyoto. Can you tell that people in
Japan are excited by Japan's victory?
You can't escape the Worl Cup soccer tournament in Japan. The good news?
NP:J participants are interacting with people from all over the world!
The New Perspectives staff is
feeling "genki" (in good spirits) and ready to welcome everyone to Kyoto.
From left to right, here's a picture of Yamaguchi-san (really Director of NIppon
Express Chicago), Hosoi-san (Borrowed from Nippon Express LA), and Shida-san (a Laurasian).We're
very grateful to Nippon Express and their extensive support of this program!!
A veteran
member of our NP:J support staff, John Lacey, greets NP:J students in the hotel lobby.
By the way, the dragon on display in the foreground is the "star" of an
annual festival held in Kyoto at the Kiyomizudera Temple.
Students,
teachers and luggage are all getting off the bus and checking in to the Rihga Royal
Hotel in Kyoto.
The Lone Star State is represented this year by a group
from St. Mark's School of Texas, led by their Japanese sensei, Ms. Etsuko Barber.
The eyes of Texas are upon us! Welcome to Japan, St. Mark's School of Texas!
Ms. Marian Sheeran and Mr. Robert Stewart pose for a group shot in the
hotel lobby in Kyoto with their students from the Shawnee Mission Center for International
Studies. They're tired, but happy to be in Japan!
Karen Countryman and her students
from Jefferson High School gether at the check-in counter of the hotel to clarify
their plans for the evening. They agree on Western-style food for dinner, but tomorrow
they are all going to try Japanese breakfast!