One night in Mito...
Timothy Dobbins
Tomorrow we are doing the first of our school visits, and Ibaraki
University is here is Mito. The next day we will travel on to
Hitachiota for the rest of our host city stay!
The last few days have been another whirlwind, but so worth the
exhaustion I am currently feeling. Friday morning and afternoon were
spent in seminars, with a buffet lunch at the hotel. In the morning I
chose to attend a panel discussion on Japanese mathematics curriculum
and was very glad I did. Eizo Nagasaki, a very prominent member of the
Japanese educational system, was there to discuss the differences and
similarities between our two ways of teaching math! One of the most
startling differences that I noticed was when Nagasaki-san took out
examples of the Japansese textbooks. Thin. Consumable. Direct and to
the point. Very different than our own here in California!
The afternoon was spend in a wonderful lecture regarding traditional
Japanese theatre, or Kabuki. Mark Oshima was kind enough to educate us
on all the nuances of this ancient art form. The highlight of the
afternoon was being able to see a live Kabuki performance, with song,
dance and music. The music especially was beautiful, but still foreign
to my Western ear! The entire experience was transcendent, though, and
I feel honored to have been a part of it.
Friday night found a few of us out to dinner at a great place near the
hotel! I feasted on gyoza, chicken skewers with green onion, miso soup
and some tempura shrimp! So good and so reasonable.
After dinner a three of us made our way to the Park Hilton, Tokyo.
This is the home of the New York Bar, which was made famous in the
movie "Lost in Translation". The three of us there were all big fans,
and after a few odd looks (we were dressed a tad casual for the
location) we were ushered to the perfect table, right in front of the
three piece jazz band and singer! We had a drink and ordered some
great dessert! The pictures I took of us there did not come out very
well, but as a big fan of the movie mentioned above, this was a real
treat!
Saturday was deemed our "free day", and I intended to make the most of
it. I decided beforehand that I would love to travel to Nikko, a small
town about 2 hours north of Tokyo. Nikko is famous because is is the
burial place of Tokogawa, the first of the Edo period Shoguns and the
first Shogun to unite Japan. Suffice it to say until I can post
pictures that Nikko was an incredible place to visit, with amazing
temples and shrines around every corner! We then traveled further into
the mountains and visited Kegon waterfall, a very famous place for the
the Japansese. I even saw a monkey run across the road in town! So
wonderful!
That night took us back to the hotel, exhausted, but ready to eat! We
found another great restaurant near the hotel, and feasted on tempura
and udon until stuffed. I then had to pack my bags for the trip to
Mito today, and figure out how to pack enough in my carry-on, since we
would be without our main luggage for two days! Considering we have to
dress formally for our visit to the University, this was a challenge.
We also are going to meet with the Mayor of Hitachiota City and the
Superintendent of the school district there.
I will post pictures as soon as I am able!