Day Four: Tuesday, June 30, 2009: Toyoma Senior High, Jindai Junior High

Day Four: Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Day Two Visiting Schools

We got a 7 a.m. wake up call. Breakfast at 8. Left hotel by 9.

Morning
Tokyo Metropolitan Toyama Senior High School

We boarded out minibus and headed to Toyama Senior High School. It is one of the top public high schools in Tokyo and I think we were told it is the second oldest–over 122 years old.

A sign welcomed us at the front door of the school.


Principal Uchida and Vice Principal Takemura


Art class.


Printmaking


Calligraphy class. Being in this class was one of Mark's favorite moments.


Math class.




Gift exchange. Deb Sigmun presents a certificate from California State Superintendent Jack O'Connell to Principal Uchida.


Gift exchange. I gave one of the Decamhian t shirts to one of the teachers we talked with. He seemed genuinely pleased


Group shot at Toyama

Lunch
Soba Noodles in the Jindaiji area
From Toyama we drove out to the Jindaiji area and stopped for lunch a very cute soba (buckwheat) noodle restaurant.


Keven, Jose and the mokey get ready for a fantastic lunch.


These soba noodles are made form buckwheat. It was fun dipping them in the sauce with out getting in all over your shirt. Mitzi said "slurping" was OK.


Rare groups shot with everyone in the photo. We didn't even for get Alastair

Afternoon
Buddhist Temple
After lunch we were able to walk to the nearby Buddhist Temple which was founded in 733.



The smoke from the incense can cure what ails you.








Chofu Municipal Jindai Junior High School
In the afternoon we visited an older junior high. the school is much older but the current buildings are over 40 years old. Very different from the more modern Toyama Senior High School.

Principal Kikuyama Naouki showed us a powerpoint presentation of various school activities at Jindai.


Students must exchange their out shide shoes for school shoes. Notice the rack for the "water friends" what one shop called umbrellas.


This was actually a Home Economics class. They were building robots. Alastair was definitely in his element.


One young fourteen year old student came to us asking if we could set her up with an American pen pal, so we hooked her up with a lot of our goodies. Have the nerve to ask and good things will happen. She was so nervous that she was speechless.


Choir club after school. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip so far. They sang several songs for us including one that was about the incidents on 9/11. Apparently they are preparing for a competition. The teacher was absolutely delightful. Her joy for her teaching really shone out. She somehow wanted to get Mark involved and she got him to sing John Denver's "Country Roads" which we all joined in on.

Mark performing with the choir teacher. He did all of us and California proud.

Evening
Imperial Hotel
We came back briefly to the hotel to change our clothes and then we headed downtown where we passed The Imperial Palace which has a cool moat around it. Apparently you can only enter the grounds on two specific days of the year. Mitzi had arranged for us to stop at the Imperial Hotel where my mom had had Christmas dinner in 1945. Too bad that they tore down the original Frank Lloyd Wright building but the new hotel was built on the original site so I got the feel of where my mom had been.

The original Frank Lloyd Wright hotel.


The modern version.

Dinner
Vino Vita
We had Italian food at Vino Vita.



Fish and pork.


Assortment of ice cream including chocolate, green tea, and rum raisin for dessert.

After Dinner
Taking the subway back to the hotel
Mitzi wants to give us as much experience as possible with the various transportation possibilities. Today we got the chance to try the subway.


Jose , Mitzi and Deb heading home on the crowded subway. It was incredibly crowded fot 9 p.m.

Meeting with my former yearbook editor Rebecca
Back in the spring I found out that one of my 2007 editors would be in Tokyo while I was here. She is working in a day camp for kids. She applied at UC Davis and they could have sent her anywhere in the world. Somehow she got Tokyo. We talked back and forth about it on Facebook and decided to try and meet. We planned to meet sometime between 9:30 and 10 not knowing if either of us could get away. When I got back from dinner there was still time, so I went up to my room to check my email and Rebecca said she was leaving although she might not make it until after 10. Well finally she did make it.

Chatting in the lobby.


Needed proof that we actually met in Tokyo. Notice that it says Tokyo on the bell stand.


Facebook shot. Creepy old guy.