TOKYO TOWER

Since its opening in 1958, the Tokyo Tower has been the world's tallest self-supporting steel tower measuring in at 333m high . The Eiffel Tower in Paris is 320m high.The Tower is painted in white and orange according to aviation safety regulations.

One hundred and seventy-six floodlights installed in various parts light up the Tower. The Tower is illuminated with an orange light in winter and white incandescent light in summer. Tokyo Tower weighs about 4,000 tons. It is much lighter than the Eiftel Tower which weighs 7,000 tons; a result of remarkable advance in steel manufacturing and construction technology.

Fourteen broadcasting signals for nine TV stations and five FM radio stations are transmitted from the Tower.

I had a view of Tokyo Tower from my hotel room. Two days before we left Tokyo to go back home, I made a point to visit the Tower. It took us awhile to find this famous landmark. "It was so close, yet so far away". Finally, after many winding streets and back alleys, we found ourselves staring at the tallest steel structure in all of Tokyo.

A STAY AT A RYOKAN

On the tale end of our trip we stayed overnight at a ryokan in a town called Chichibu. A ryokan embodies the very essence of Japan: the architecture, lifestyle, nature, traditions and culture. Staying at a Japanese ryokan offers a splendid opportunity to familiarize yourself with the spirit of Japanese hospitality and graceful customs that have been passed down over many generations.

Guests coming to stay at a ryokan look forward to taking a bath as part of their travels.. Japan, which is a volcanic archipelago, is known worldwide for its many hot springs called onsen in Japanese. People travel to the hot springs to benefit from the therapeutic effects of the hot spring (known as toji). Another of the charms of hot springs is the magnificent landscape from the bathroom.

There is a certain dress code at a ryokan. As you can see, our group is properly dressed for our sumptuous feast served Japanese style.

Senbei Crackers

Soka Senbei is a variety of rice cracker that is known throughout Japan. On our last day in Soka we visited a Senbei factory where we were invited to bake our own senbei crackers.

After kneading, the dough is shaped , baked and then flavored with toppings such as soy sauce or sugar. As you can see, I did shape and bake my very own senbei crackers.

Soka City-Nikko Kaido Highway

Nakasendo is a highway which connected Kyoto and Edo (now called Tokyo) over an inland route that passed 500 kilometers (310 miles) through the heart of Japan's main island of Honshu. From Kyoto, it passed along Lake Biwa, over the mountains at Sekigahara, across the plains north of present-day Nagoya, close to the southern Japanese Alps, across the plain between Matsumoto and Karuisawa, and down to the Kanto plain which surrounds present-day Tokyo to Tokyo's predecessor, Edo.

Located in the southeast corner of Saitama Prefecture (state), Soka city began to flourish in the early days of the Edo Period as the second post town along the Nikko Kaido Highway. Today many people walk daily along this scenic route. Above is one of many commerative "tiles" depicting travelers along the highway.

Nikko

Nikko is a small city at the entrance to Nikko National Park. It is most famous for the Toshogu, Japan's most lavishly decorated shrine complex and mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. Nikko has been a center of Shinto and Buddhist mountain worship for many centuries. There are thousands of people who visit the shrine daily. It is said that if you write your wishes on the woodblocks above, hang them up and pray for them, your wishes will come true.

City Hall

This is the Mayor of Soka City
The citizens of Soka City pledge to create a cultural and heartful community of peace loving citizens.To create a safe and pure community of lawful citizens.To create a caring and comfortable community of healthy citizens.(adopted November 1, 1988) We were met by the Mayor and Superintendant of Soka City. Here is a photo of me with the Superintendant. After meeting with them, we were fed this lovely bento lunch.

Soka High School

This is Soka High School. High School is not mandatory in Japan, so these students are attending high school because they want to go onto university. The is a Japanese grammar class. Their classes are 50 minutes long. I spent the entire class time talking to them about our students at Wash. We talked about clothes, hair, music, etc. I told them about our principal, Andy Ishibashi. It turns out that the student who is standing up is an Ishibashi, so here is her picture.

There is an American teacher here who is an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher). He co-teaches English with the master teacher who is Japanese. There are 10 students in this particular class. The class won't meet till Monday. He is targeting this class to correspond with our students in Sensei Pryce's 4th period Japanese class. I have given him the DVD and everyone's email addresses. I have also given him my blog address. Look out for emails from these students. I hope this will be the beginning of long and happy friendship between San Francisco and Soka City.

SAITAMA UNIVERSITY

Teaching credentials are issued for life. The educational system is looking into changing the requirement to renewing your credential every five years. They do NOT have professional development requirements. The bachelor's degree is a 4 year program. A master's degree is a 6 year program. In order to hold a teachers certificate for schools for the blind, deaf, or other special needs, it is necessary to acquire 13 to 47 credits for specialized subjects in special education. This is in addition to those required for regular certificates for elementary, lower secondary or upper secondary schools.

As you can see, everyone rides their bikes to school. The girl in the photo next to me went to middle and high school in San Jose. Her English is excellent. She will be visiting San Jose in August. I told her all about our school and our students. She is eager to visit us at Wash.

TEA CEREMONY

We participated in a tea ceremony. The Japanese tea ceremony (cha-no-yu, chadō, or sadō) is a traditional ritual influenced by Zen Buddhism in which a woman wearing a special kimono serves a powdered green tea, or matcha to a small group of guests in a tranquil setting. Colloquially the tea is called ocha among the Japanese. It is mixed in hot water with a special whisk. Sweets are served.

National Sports Day

On the second Monday of October is Health and Sports Day (taiiku no hi): On that day in 1964, the Olympic games of Tokyo were opened. It is a national holiday throughout Japan. It is celebrated with a three day weekend. On that Monday, we participated in a Sports Festival with children and their families. As you can see, young and old participate in the festivities.

On the Way to Soka City

We have been in Tokyo for a week. We are now preparing to leave Tokyo for our host cities. All 200 of us are separated into groups of 20. Each group will stay in a different host city for an entire week. My group is on the way to Soka City, in Saitama Prefecture. Soka City is only approximately 15 miles from Tokyo. We stop for lunch at a new shopping complex that has been built on landfill. I ask if they are not worried about earthqaukes and building on landfill--my question is ignored. This shopping complex reminds me of our Pier 39. It is Sunday and the place is packed. You will notice the food displays. They are all plastic.

SITE SEEING

Harajuku Girls can only be found in a very narrow strip of Harajuku. The main vein starts at entrance of Meiji Jingu (next to the JR Harajukustation and continues across the street and down the entire length of Takeshita-dori. The main street and shopping area is just one street over, Omotesando, which is know for high end shops such as Louis Vitton, Chanel, etc. Omotesando is what most Tokyo locals think of when they think of Harajuku.
The term has come into popular use via Gwen Stefani's music videos and songs from her Love.Angel.Music.Baby album. There are many fashion styles, and many different groups who spend time in this area. Takeshitadori is know as the Champs de Lyse of Japan

DAY OFF

Saturday, October 8 was our one free day. I signed up to take a cooking class from Elizabeth Andoh. Born and raised in America, Ms. Andoh's formal culinary training was taken at the Yanagihara Kinsaryu School of Traditional Japanese Cuisine, in Tokyo. Ms. Andoh is a writer, lecturer, and a business consultant, specializing in Japanese food and culture. She is a member of the Japan Food Journalists (JFJ) association, the International Association of Cooking Professionals (IACP), and is Gourmet magazine's Japan correspondent. She has written numerous magazine and newspaper articles and authored several cookbooks, most recently WASHOKU: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen, winner of a 2006 Jane Grigson award for "distinguished scholarship" and nominated for a James Beard award in the category of International Cookbook. We tasted 7 different kinds of miso and prepared a 7 course meal using all of the different kinds of miso. There was a photographer from an NPR station taking photographs of our class. We learned about Japanese etiquette and how to set a proper table setting.

October 6, 5:00am

We all piled into a cab at 4:45 AM in the pouring rain (from the typhoon)to get to the fish market in time. What a site.

Tsukiji Central Wholesale Market is a large wholesale market for fish, fruit and vegetables in central Tokyo. It is the most famous of over ten wholesale markets that handle the collection and distribution of fruit, vegetables, flowers, meat and fish in metropolitan Tokyo. Tsukiji Market is best known as one of the world's largest fish markets, handling over 2,000 tons of marine products per day.
The sight of the many kinds of fresh fish, shellfish and other seafood and the busy atmosphere of scooters, trucks, sellers and buyers hurrying around, make Tsukiji Market one of Tokyo's major tourist attractions. However, since Tsukiji Market is a site where serious business is conducted, it is important for visitors not to interfere with the action by not bringing any large bags and not obstructing traffic along the narrow lanes.

October 5 in the afternoon

We visited Asakusa, which is old time Japan. Here we are at a Shinto Temple. Shinto represents traditions and celebrations of the living.
People come here to pray and get blessed by the waters.