Tuesday, June 30, 1998

My second to last day in Tokyo, in Japan for that matter! Oh no, I have so much to see still. What a bummer that today's schedule is filled with meetings.

In the morning I attended a joint session: Internet/Environmental Education. We learned about using the Internet to facilitate our follow-on plans. We looked at a few web sites on an overhead screen. We discussed some of the technical hurdles (video conferencing) and some of the practical (time difference).

Then we moved to the second part of the session: environmental education. A Finnish professor from UN University spoke to us about the Japanese environmental movement. He talked very little about teaching or school related information. He did give some potentially useful advice: go with the lowest common denominator when dealing with technology. That way, more people can be included.

We also heard about GEIC - Global Environmental Information Center. This is a public plaza in Tokyo for environmental groups to meet and share ideas and resources. The goal of GEIC is to bring together 1. the environmental non-government organizations, 2. schools, and 3. regular people. We were invited to visit. I did not.

Instead of visiting GEIC or attending the afternoon sessions, I decided to visit something else. Actually, Erin and I decided to see the National Museum. So, after lunch, we boarded the subway and went to the Ueno park area. We had free passes to the museum so we were set. We stopped at a great temple and shrine on the same block as the museum. As usual, it was quite beautiful.

The museum itself was filled with artifacts from every era of Japanese history. I loved seeing it all. Erin and I did have one problem while at the Museum - we ran into other FMFers who were also playing hooky. Uh-oh. Both groups of truants decided to keep our mouths shut. I guess that now I am a snitch. Oh well.

When we left the Museum, we decided to walk through Ueno park. This is a very western style park with a large plaza in the center and tree lined paths on the edges. Near the main entrance to the park was a small area filled with tents. Each tent was on a small plot and was immaculately kept. Erin and I realized that this was Tokyo's homeless population. Even the homeless in Japan are fastidious; I noticed one man take off his shoes in the traditional way before entering his tent.

So as not to be seen staring, we moved on. Further down the park was a small path with Shinto gates. As we loved to visit shrines and temples, Erin and I walked down the path. We found another wonderful shrine and path leading to yet another shrine. This last shrine was inside a small building. The center of the shrine was a large rock that was wet and dripping water. Placed on it were several small objects. This shrine was different. I liked it. There was no English language explanation posted so I do not know the significance.

We moved on. We found a small lake in the park. Across the lake was a bridge leading to (you guessed it) a temple and shrine. More interesting than the temple was the lake itself. It was covered in large, luscious plants. The entire lake was covered; there were only a few spots where I could see the water. Erin and I stopped at a stand near the lake and had a snack. Then we returned tot he Akasaka Prince Hotel.

My friends (Maki, Erin, Stephen, Maki and Sarah - not pictured) were all making plans for dinner. I already had plans. When I was in Tokyo a week earlier, I made arrangements to have dinner with Yoshida-san and his wife. Yoshida-san is a rather wealthy business man. My connection to him is less than direct. It goes like this: the grandparents of my student (Micah W.) have visited Japan and the Yoshida house. The Yoshidas have asked the grandparents to house their children and other relatives when visiting Boston. So, the grandparents wanted me to return the visit and stay with Yoshida-san. Of course, the FMF program was too full to allow me to spend the night and enjoy their complete hospitality, so they took me to dinner.

Anyway, I met the Yoshidas in the lobby of the Akasaka Prince. We walked to their luxury car. The car had a small TV screen in the dash. Very cool. We watched baseball as we drove around the city. Finally, we stopped on a small side street in one of the many districts of Tokyo. We went into a small restaurant. We sat at a bar-like table. The master chef stood on the other side of the bar and cooked fresh tempura for us. When I say fresh, I mean that he picked up a piece of raw fish or a vegetable and battered it and dropped it in the oil. Then he placed the cooked food directly on our plates. I'd had tempura several times since arriving in Japan, but this was different. It was not cooked for a tour group. It was cooked for me. I enjoyed each piece that he served me, although I could not identify several things. The meal was great.

After dinner, we decided to go to a new hotel that the Yoshidas were interested in seeing. We drove around for a while and then I realized that we were lost. At one point Yoshida-san pressed a button on the TV. The baseball game disappeared and a map appeared. This car had a GPS system. Unfortunately for me, the directions were written and spoken entirely in Japanese.

Eventually, we found the hotel and the bar. From our seats, we could see the Rainbow Bridge. This is a large, fantastic bridge that crosses Tokyo Harbor. We could also see a one third size replica of the Statue of Liberty. I am unsure who gave this to Japan: the US or France. Finally, after some drinks and more conversation, the Yoshidas drove me home (well, to the hotel).

Thus ended another great day.

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