Journey to Tohoku (東北への旅)

Today we folded our sheets, spread our beds, and said goodbye to our home at the Yoyogi National Olympic Youth Center where we've been staying for roughly the past three weeks and set out for our new adventures in Tohoku. 

The bus ride and bento break gave us a chance to rest and prepare for the new experiences ahead.  

We were able to watch and learn from professional Koto (traditional Japanese harp) players and applied what they taught us as we all practiced playing the Koto ourselves while doing our best to play the song "Sakura Sakura". 

We also visited a Noh stadium and all had a chance to wear Kimonos and move to the music and lyrics for "Sakura Sakura" as we imitated our choreographer and teacher.

We arrived at our Ryokan (Japanese style hotel) later in the day and wore our Yukatas (summer style robes) and visited an onsen. 

After bathing, we all enjoyed eating our Washoku (Japanese style meal) dinner together and listened to a special Taiko (traditional Japanese drum) performance. 

It was a fun-filled night with Karaoke, festival style dances, and many other moments for student and leader participation and appreciation.

As we all get ready to call it a day, we're looking forward to wearing our Yukatas again to breakfast tomorrow and sharing more precious moments in Tohoku together. 

By Curtis Wright