The end of the journey is approaching. Today is our second day in Sendai and
also our last day in Japan. Our
sister school, Tohoku High School made an arrangement for a bus tour for
us. 17 Japanese students and two
teachers from the school joined us to see the devastated area, Ishinomaki,
after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in March last year. Ishinomaki area lost everything after
the big tsunami. Everything was
washed away. On the way to the
center of Ishinomaki, we were able to see tons of debris like small hills
around this town. We could still
see damages of Tsunami in houses and building. After one year and three months, some of this area appeared
to get back to normal, but we were told that schools and hospitals have been
closed due to the damage, and many people have moved out to another city. What we saw was devastating, but we
know that people in Tohoku can recover from this tragedy.
Tohoku High School provided Obento lunch for all of us. We
went to Matsushima, one of the most beautiful landmarks in Japan for
lunch. Matsushima is famous for
their small islands and its scenery.
Over 200 small islands are located in Matsushima. We didn’t have enough time to get on a
cruise ride, but it would be nice to see Matsushima from the ocean.
Staff, teachers, and students of Tohoku High School were
very nice and so thoughtful. At
the end of the trip, they gave us nice souvenirs with pictures we took
yesterday. We are hoping that we
can develop our sister school relationship with Tohoku High School and
collaborate different projects with them through class activities.
Now, we are on our way to Tokyo and Haneda airport by
Shinkansen. We all know that two
weeks are not enough to see everything about Japan, but we were quite busy to
try to see as much as we can. We
hope this trip has become another reason to learn more about Japanese language
and cultures. Through many unique
aspects of Japanese cultures that each member may have encountered, we
certainly hope that s/he will remember the excitements s/he felt in his/her
heart.
I am glad that there was no one who got sick / injured
through this trip. Under the rainy
“tsuyu” season’s weather, we walked a lot, but students seem to be energetic to
enjoy each day.
All the photos that I took are available online now. Students will receive the link very
soon. I am sure your child will
share many photos with you.
Tonight, students will take Japan Airlines, flight 002 to go
back to San Francisco. The flight
will arrive at SFO around 5:30 PM on Tuesday, June 12.
Please check these web sites to see the more accurate
arrival time:
or
As you are aware, unfortunately, I am not going to take the
same flight back to San Francisco with students. I have business in Tokyo, South Korea and Osaka after this
trip, but I will make sure that all students check in all baggage with a
boarding pass and walk through the security checkpoint at the Haneda
airport. Our HS graduate
participants (Toyomi-san and Jennifer-san) will assist me to make sure all
participants will go home safely.
Thank you very much for letting your child to be a part of
this program. It is always my
pleasure to share many pieces of Japan with students. I truly enjoy these new experiences each time. Arigato!
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