Tour of Japan | Cary Academy Goes to Japan 2019 – FAQ Part 3

Aug 01 | Evan | No Comments |

Sometimes when you’ve visited a place a few times, it can be easy to forget all the little things that you noticed when you first visited. Traveling with someone who has never visited a place helps you to remember what you first noticed and to notice new things as well! Teenagers are especially fun to travel with because they’re not afraid to ask questions. The next couple of blog posts will focus on the “frequently asked questions” that this year’s group asked. Perhaps you’ll have some of the same questions when we visit Japan!

TeamLab Planets

Can we do that again?

Of all the questions our students ask, our favorite is “can we do that again?” or its twin, “can we stay longer?” Most students’ favorite experience on our trip was visiting Team Lab: Planets, an immersive art installation is Odaiba, one of the newer areas of Tokyo created out of reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay. Team Lab is an artist collective that creates pieces unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. At “Planets”, we jumped in giant bean bags, walked through knee-high water with digital “fish” floating in it, and walked through strings or lights and a room of giant floating spheres. Elements of the installations were static, but typically you’d never experience the same room the same way twice. Your movements and the timing of your visit, combined with the movements of the people around you, create a unique experience each time you visit. Students wanted to go through another time after we finished!

TeamLab Planets 2

Students also really enjoyed Orizuru Tower in Hiroshima. The top of the tower has an amazing observation deck that overlooks the “Atomic Bomb Dome” and the Peace Park and provides a beautiful vantage point to see the entire city and the nearby mountains. “Orizuru” means crane, a reference to the ubiquitous paper cranes associated with Sadako and the children’s peace monument. Students especially liked the slide (yes, like a playground) that made up part of the path down from the top of the tower. They wanted to walk back up and slide again! Other popular “repeat” spots included arcades, ice cream shops, and covered shopping arcades like Teramachi in Kyoto. It’s fun to return to a favorite store or restaurant when I visit Japan, and it’s so rewarding when students want to return too.

That’s it for the “FAQ” and our 2019 trip report. We’re excited about the 2020 trip. Traveling in Japan is always a great experience, and we hope that our students will stay curious and keep asking questions!

This summer, Japan Photo Guide by Evan Pike was once again able to offer a spectacular trip to Japan just for Cary Academy students. Katie Taylor, 6th grade Language Arts teacher and Japan enthusiast, co-led the group with Evan. We began our trip in Tokyo, then traveled to Nagoya, Hiroshima, and Kyoto before returning home from Osaka. This post is written by Katie Taylor, a 6^th grade teacher at Cary Academy and Japan enthusiast. Read about our 2016 trip to Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Kyoto or see all reports from the 2018 tour of Japan or 2019 tour of Japan.

Tour of Japan | Cary Academy Goes to Japan 2019 – FAQ Part 2

Jul 31 | Evan | No Comments |

“Why do they do that?”

For example, why do they stay so quiet on the train? Since most Japanese cities are very densely populated, travelers are often surprised at how quiet it is. The trains/subways are particularly quiet, especially when one is accustomed to travel on trains in the United States. Our students this year actually downloaded a decibel meter on one of their phones to help them judge their volume compared to those around us. We talked with students about cultural differences and how in the United States we typically have a “individual first” mentality whereas group comfort is typically more important in Japan. You may have heard that the new Japanese era is “reiwa” – the character that is pronounced “wa” means harmony, but not musical harmony. It specifically relates to harmony within the social group.

Another common question is why the Japanese remove their shoes when indoors. Most people know that the Japanese generally don’t wear shoes inside their homes, but we make sure that students are prepared to remove their shoes in some restaurants, temples/shrines, and even in the fitting rooms in clothing stores. We also have to be careful not to step with our clean socks on the dirty outside floor or step on the clean inside floor with our dirty shoes while taking them off. I’ve been to Japan five times, and I still don’t get it right all of the time! This is also related to “wa”, the concept of harmony within the social group. In this case, it’s a matter of taking special care to keep shared areas clean. Our tea ceremony gave us a great opportunity to learn about and practice “wa.” We also learned about “kei”- respect; “sei”- purity; and “jaku” -tranquility. Our host taught us how we can consider these four concepts as we participate in a tea ceremony. It was amazing how calm and focused we were during the calligraphy lesson after the ceremony!

“What is this?”

This question came up pretty much every day, usually at least once during every meal! Students fell in love with conveyor belt sushi and wanted to try everything, but wanted to know what they were trying! This was also a common question in convenience stores, which we visited most days. This year’s group loved trying new snacks and drinks. “Straight Tea” and chocolate were both especially popular this time around. Another favorite was momiji manju, maple-leaf cakes filled with soft fillings in various flavors. It was fun to discover different flavors and compare the different bakeries’ styles. Students were also curious about pretty much everything at shrines and temples. “What is this gate? What are those little wooden thingies? What is this cow?”

How the sushi comes if you order off the menu (iPad)

How the staff calculates your bill

Tour of Japan | Cary Academy Goes to Japan 2019 – FAQ Part 1

Jun 17 | Evan | No Comments |

“What is this for?”

For example, what is this plate for? A traditional Japanese place-setting includes many small plates and bowls, each for a separate dish or topping. Settings usually have a unifying theme or motif, but are often different shapes and patterns. Simple pottery pieces or lacquered wood with subdued colors are common. Our host and cooking teacher in Tokyo, Kyoko, showed us which plate to use for her delicious gyoza, katsu chicken, radish and carrot salad, etc. The gyoza was our students’ favorite. Kyoko uses a technique to both steam and fry the gyoza using the same pan. In Kyoto, our guides told us about the various plates used to serve our udon, tonkatsu, and other dishes. A few restaurants we visited even had a guide about what each container on the table contained. Ramen is one exception to the multiple-plates rule. It typically comes out in a huge bowl. Eating soup with chopsticks was a new experience for students, but luckily we had Frank from the blog 5 AM Ramen to tell us the ins-and-outs of eating ramen!

There were many versions of this question when we visited shrines and temples as well. Students were especially curious about the troughs of water with bamboo ladles near the entrance of most shrines and temples; these are used for ritual ablutions before prayers and offerings. Students learned to perform ablutions like the Japanese do, as well as how these rituals influenced the general cleanliness of Japan’s cities. Since cleanliness is seen as “holy” and ritualized cleanliness was a part of what was once daily religious practice, even secular parts of Japanese society value cleanliness and prioritize cleaning in public spaces. Subway stations, platforms, and trains are conspicuously clean, even in the busiest areas of Tokyo!

“How do we do this?”

Our students are excited to participate in many different activities (what we call “experiences”) while we’re in Japan. Many require a bit of coaching, and we’d often hear the question, “how do I do this?” Our guide in Nagoya, Machiko, showed students how to pull a fortune at a temple or shrine and what to do with a less-than-lucky fortune. She also showed them how to make an offering at the shrine by clapping, bowing, and, of course, depositing a coin and ringing the bell! During our day with Machiko, students also rode antique bicycles and learned how to walk on stilts at Meiji Mura, a unique park filled with Meiji Era (1868-1912) buildings that have been moved from all over Japan.

We visited a few different arcades during our trip, and students really enjoyed the classic drum game “Taiko Master”. Once Evan showed them the basics, they were off. This prepped them for our lesson with real taiko drums in Kyoto. The Taiko Center is housed in a fairly non-descript building in Kyoto, but it’s really interesting inside! There are several sound-proofed rooms within the narrow building, making the best use of the space to create rooms that feel large and open. It’s hard to believe how quickly students picked up the basics of taiko drumming; maybe all the “Taiko Master” practice helped!

It was interesting to see how video games and physical activity often go hand-in-hand in Japan. There’s the drum game I already mentioned, dance games, musical games that require you to stand and tap different lights, and tons of VR games! On this trip, “Ninja VR Kyoto” taught us how to “be a ninja.” It was silly and so much fun! We tried a few different activities, including two virtual reality “tests” using a VR headset and dart competitions to test our aim and focus.