FDA visits Japan 2008

Generously sponsored by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Global Foundation (SMBC-GF) and Japan Air Lines (JAL), the Frederick Douglass Academy visited Japan for our 8th consecutive year in July '08. This year, ten students, Dr. Hodge, and Mr. Ichida took in the sights of Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. In Tokyo, we were impressed with the contrasts between the modern architecture of Ginza (where real estate prices are $220,000 a square meter!) and the historical significance of Meiji Jingu, a shrine that encompasses 700,000 square meters in the middle of Tokyo. The Tokyo Tower and the grounds of the Imperial Palace also gave us a majestic peek into the enduring history of Japan. Early one morning, we visited Tsukiji, the world’s largest fish and seafood market, and learned how 2,000 tons of seafood gets sold everyday (in a word, CHAOTICALLY!). After strolling in Hamarikyu Park, a beautiful and tranquil Japanese garden, we boarded a ferry boat which toured the Sumidagawa river and took in the Tokyo skyline. We were also invited to Jogan-ji, one of the most significant Buddhist temple in Japan, and spent the day with Buddhist monks who taught us Zazen meditation and Chado, or Japanese tea ceremony. In this once in a lifetime opportunity, we got a true sense of traditional Japanese culture and were able to participate in activities that even most Japanese people have not experienced. We rode the Shinkansen, or bullet train, at 200 km/h to Osaka, Japan’s “second city”, and visited the famous Osaka Castle and the Osaka Museum of History. Osaka is known as the “nation’s kitchen” and in Dotonburi, we sampled food from stalls that sell everything from peanuts to knives. In Kyoto, we visited Kinkaku-Ji, the Golden Temple, and were lucky enough to see the Gion Matsuri, the largest annual festival in Japan