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June 7, 2003 |
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The first busload departs for the Olympic Village in Tokyo, way ahead of schedule.
The second bus heads to the Olympic Village
The third bus heads to the Olympic Village. |
New Perspectives: Japan Summer 2003 Tours Begin! The first tour group for New Perspectives: Japan (NP:J) 2003 safely arrived in Japan. In fact, all flights arrived nearly an hour earlier, thanks to some very weak headwinds. On Friday, June 6th, all eleven school groups from across the U.S.A. touched down at Narita International Airport, outside of Tokyo. After clearing customs, tired but happy students and teachers were welcomed by the staff of The Laurasian Institution. In the next two months, over two hundred students and teachers studying about Japan will be participating in the New Perspectives: Japan program, known as NP:J. The first group of this summer's four tours is comprised of the schools and communities representing a broad range of ages and regions across America. This tour also includes the New Perspectives: Japan Fellows group -- eight schools from the midwest that are part of a United States-Japan Foundation funded program to introduce teachers and students to Japan, its culture and language. The other three schools in tour 1 are made up of teachers and students of Japanese. These three groups' participation is supported by generous grants from The Freeman Foundation and Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership. Schools Funded by United States-Japan Foundation:
Schools Supported by The Freeman Foundation and Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership:
After gathering luggage, the participants boarded buses for the two hour bus ride from Narita to what will be their home base for the next few nights: the National Olympic Youth Center or the Olympic Village in the Yoyogi area of the megatropolis of Tokyo. Along the way, the participants saw an indoor ski ramp, one of the world's tallest ferris wheels and Cinderella's castle at Tokyo Disneyland. During the bus journey from Narita, staff went over the layout of the Olympic Village complex, pointing out the student and teacher dorms, the Center Building where meetings will be held, as well as the different eating options that are found on the grounds. Students and teachers also took pictures along the bus route, marvelled at the shapes of the cars (they seem narrower but taller), asked questions about what they were seeing. Others were overcome by exhaustion and fell fast asleep. Fortunately, since the flights all arrived earlier than expected, participants arrived at the Olympic Village well before 6:00 pm and therefore had the time to freshen up, unpack and eat a real dinner before the teachers joined NP:J staff for the evening meeting. While the group experienced some congestion around the Kasumigaseki area -- preparations were being made to welcome the President of South Korea who will be in Tokyo for a few days (perhaps one of the NP:J groups will spot President Roh?) -- the rest of the trip went quite smoothly without any major rush hour traffic backup. Once settled in, the participants also had time to read their emails as well as write to a few people. Perhaps you were the recipient of such an email? Today, Saturday, the adventure began for these eleven groups. Some started the day at 5:00 am and trekked to the Tsukiji Fish Market. Here they saw some really big tuna that were auctioned and headed to be eaten as sashimi or sushi for a pretty penny. Some of these tunas can reach over $10,000 a fish! A great many participants headed to Happoen to experience a Japanese tea ceremony. This location happens to be on the grounds of the estate of a famous lord from the 19th century. As the grounds are beautiful, it is a popular place to hold weddings. Others visited art museums, the sword museum and Meiji Shrine. The group that went to the Meiji Shrine is featured in the next series of photos. That's all for our first web posting for Tour 1 of the NP:J 2003 program. If the participant you know is not in any of these pictures, please visit again over the course of the next two weeks. Three additional articles with many new photographs will be posted. Until then, sayonara! |
