Japan Study Abroad Program | Day 11 | May 20

Konnichiwa, minna!

It was a wonderful homestay experience last night! 3 of us stayed with the Ohyama family while professors stayed with the Ohba family and it was fun to experience traditional culture. Two of Ohyama-san's grand children were very adorable as well. This morning, we had a very delicious breakfast with the family before they went to work in the tea fields. It was very hard to say goodbye to our host as they were so much fun to be with and so hospitable.  All of us will miss them very much and will not forget this experience.

After getting picked up by Mizu-san and Hiro-san (our local travel agents), we made our way to Nagasaki city, where we would see one of the most humbling and harrowing sights possible, the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. The sights that greeted us were very sad and made us really think about the past and peace. Even after we left the museum, the atmosphere around us was somber, and it seemed very out of place to even smile for pictures. The museum and the Peace Park were both very eye opening and made us see the issue in a different view than we had before.

After a quick lunch and went to catch a ferry to Gunkan-jima, Battleship Island. Battleship Island was a very interesting experience as it is a showcase in the length man goes to for a limited resource and what happens when that resource is no longer cost effective to gather. Battleship Island accessed an undersea coal mine and, at one stage, the mine housed over 5000 people and it became 7 times more dense than Tokyo. However, when the company decided to stop mining, people left and the island city was just abandoned and left to crumble. Then, we were able to have a bit of time to shop around, it was a very touristy area, but both Blake and Jason were able to get their feet cleaned by doctor fish!

It is a 2-hour drive back to Kokura, so we decided to write the blog on the trip back to Tanga. Today was our last day in Japan!  It was a great experience and we will miss it here! The culture is so interesting and the people have been so nice the entire time! This trip allowed us to see our sister city, Kitakyushu, interact with local students and people and work with community members while thinking about environmental science topics through wonderful lectures and site visits. We are so thankful for everybody who helped make our trip so much more memorable!!!

Great breakfast by the Ohba Family

Shaun & Nami did homestay as well!

Reflection time at Peace Memorial Park

The guide for the tour said
those dilapidated buildings may not be here in a few years...

 Battleship Island