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July 13, 2002

International Arrivals, Narita Airport, JAL Flight Yes, it was a looooong flight!

Japan, Here We Are! The second tour group for New Perspectives: Japan (NP:J) 2002 safely arrived in Japan. On Friday, June 12th, after many hours on planes and waiting for connecting flights in the United States, all nine school groups from the U.S.A. touched down at Narita International Airport. After clearing customs, tired but happy, students and teachers were welcomed by the staff of The Laurasian Institution. This tour is comprised of the schools and communities representing a broad range of ages and regions across America, and include: Arlington High School, Indiana Estill County Middle School, Kentucky Hamady Middle/High School, Michigan Janesville Craig High School, Wisconsin Redford High School, Michigan Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy, Michigan St. Maria Goretti School, Indiana San Clemente High School, California Theisen Middle School, Wisconsin After gathering luggage, waiting in the long lines to proceed through customs and immigration, the participants boarded buses for the normally 90-minute bus ride from Narita International airport. Although we got stuck in a Tokyo-style traffic jam, everyone was in good spirits. Even though participants were feeling tired after the long flight, they still managed to take pictures, ask questions, and comment about the rice paddies, tiled roofs, the skyline and sprawl of the Tokyo Metropolitan area along the way. The first bus arrived at the National Youth Olympic Center around 8:00 pm. The other bus arrived at 9:00 pm. Students and teachers quickly dropped off their suitcases and gathered in the restaurant on the top floor of the teachers' dorm. Although the teachers were harried with their meals because of a 9:00 meeting, some still were able to take a few deep breaths and enjoy the Tokyo skyline from out the restaurant windows. After our dinner, the NP:J teachers and TLI staff held a brief orientation and overview of the two-week study tour. During this weekend, some will visit old temples, such as Sensoji; others will explore the the modern shopping mecca, Shibuya. Some are keenly interested in exploring the flea markets and others inspecting 18th-century historical atifacts or exploring the narrow streets of the neighborhoods surrounding the Olympic Center. All in all, the weekend in Tokyo 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 four additional articles with photographs of our first group's adventures in Japan. Ja Mata!