Mae's Thoughts

This Japan trip was by far the most eye-opening experience for me in regards to myself as a person. Having been raised in America by Japanese and Filipino parents, it was hard for me growing up to really appreciate my background and heritage in itself.  In my mind, I was American and I just looked Asian. I had the American mentality and my parents had the Japanese/Filipino culture's mentality.

Upon arriving to Japan, though, I realized two things:
1)  How much Asian culture already was a huge part of my life and the extent to which I love it without me even knowing it.  Something as simple as what I normally eat for breakfast taught me that I had more Asian in me than I thought.  LOL.  I felt right at home in Japan because much like it is at my house, nothing is off limits for breakfast:  Soup, noodles, pot stickers, rice... They provided it for breakfast - It was perfect!

2) How interesting and amazing my background really is and how familiar it all felt despite being new. I used to grow up hearing my dad constantly go on about how "In Japan, it's totally different" and "In Japan, they don't have things with such bad design." Having seen it for myself, I can totally understand the basis for my dad's comparisons and why he misses it so much.

Me and my grandfather. It was our first time meeting each other!

Now, onto the convention! I never thought that I'd be able to connect the way I did with the friends. After all, we spoke two completely different languages and were complete strangers, right? But that didn't even matter. The friends were very loving, and between our broken Japanese and their broken English, we learned to communicate and laugh at ourselves and be encouraging to one another. By the end, we came to truly love some of the friends we met and have since then been able to communicate through email.

Below, right next to me is Yoshie, an incredibly sweet sister that sat behind us one day at the convention. Her two kids, Ato and Ro, were also very adorable!

Me & Cody the first day of the convention :)

Just a few more tidbits about Japan.

-Japan is a very organized country. The trains are rarely ever late, people form lines to get on the train without anyone telling them to do so, and it's an understood thing to stand on the left side of an escalator to allow people on the right who may be in a hurry to get to their destination faster by walking instead of waiting for the escalator to take them there.

-The food is incredible!!!  Ramen is definitely something to eat there. The one restaurant we went to had a vending machine where you would pre-order your meal and it would print out a ticket that you'd give the waiter.  Also, their burgers were FABULOUS.  I will forever compare burgers to them and hold it to their standards - haha!

Cody at the ramen noodle shop's vending machine ordering his food.

At a restaurant called Retsu, where you cooked your own food :)

Ramen!

-It was refreshing to see the young people in the organization focusing on spiritual things rather than on dating.  At the convention you never saw guys hanging around a wall watching sisters pass by, and you never saw sisters walking around with tight clothes or cleavage hanging out.  It was all very dignified and you could sense the happiness of the friends.

MORE PHOTOS!

At Miyajima where there are tame deer

Me and Damaris a sis in our tour group

Green tea ice cream! My fave!

Nao and Shota - our Tokyo tour guides! So sweet! They are newly weds :)

Minami, is in the middle with the brown dress, we've been emailing since we've been back.

Cody in front of some shrine... not sure which one - lol

Day 7 - Bethel in Ebina, Japan

We boarded buses at 8:00 a.m. to leave for Ebina Bethel, an hours' ride from the Yokohama Sheraton. More opportunity to visit with the other friends from the states.  We met friends from New Jersey, South Carolina, Texas, and Nevada.

Upon arriving at Bethel and exiting the bus, we were again met with lines of brothers welcoming us and escorting us in. The first photo below of the sisters in kimonos is inside the lobby at Bethel.  Both sides of the lobby had the same view as this.  It was very beautiful.  Inside the lobby, there was a line of brothers that we followed all the way to the auditorium. Entertainment was the first thing planned.  Everyone greeted us as we went.  As we entered the auditorium, which was half full of Japanese brothers, there was continued applause until everyone came in and sat down. Very moving and emotional. 

A show was planned of singing and a traditional fan dance.  The most interesting to us was a father and son who professionally play a three-stringed guitar called the Shimasen.  Would you like to hear what it sounds like?  Watch this short Youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrD8MUDrfUE

Following this we walked outside past the Bethel garages and into the dining hall.  We were scheduled for an early lunch as the brothers would then have to feed all the Bethelites afterwards.  We sat at a table with two couples from Golden Valley, Arizona, an area that is two hours from the Grand Canyon.  We enjoyed our association very much.  Lunch was an omelet served over rice (eggs are used a lot in Japan, and sometimes raw).

After lunch we were given a tour.  We were in the lobby for a while waiting our turn and so had the opportunity to visit the museum there which displayed the history of this branch.  On the tour, we got to stop and greet a few brothers who are in the sign language department and see one of their videos and learn a few Japanese signs.  Many departments made displays to welcome us such as the Mt. Fuji made out of Watchtower pages - see below.

Later that afternoon, we board the buses again to head back to Yokohama. We knew this was our last arranged event with the brothers, and it was hard to go.  Some of the young people leaned out of windows to wave us off and some were in the parking lot waving us off.  They were so warm and loving.

Our bus guides, Shu (Shuichi Otomoroi) and Masa (Masaki Fuse) were very lively and fun hosts.  On the way back to Yokohama, they both made a really heartfelt comment to our bus group.  Masa mentioned that he was very grateful for the brothers in the U.S. because, if it weren't for the U.S. sending missionaries to Japan, they would have never learned about Jehovah.  Shu said that he feels they learned something from us because, while the Japanese brothers are reserved and don't show a lot of emotion, we all hug. 

Bethel lobby

Friends applauding as we walk from the lobby to the auditorium.

Friends applauding as we enter the auditorium.

Music and singing.

The father and son who played the Shimasen

An early lunch.

A young couple from Seoul, Korea.

Mockup of Bethel complex.

Our tour guide at Bethel.

Origami with towels!

Sign language: Thank you and I love you!

Mt. Fuji!!!

The send-off......

Lynne's Thoughts

Well it's hard, and really impossible, to sum up such an amazing experience and help you feel the emotion we felt.  But seeing another aspect of our international brotherhood was truly breathtaking.  I didn't expect so much attention, warmth, and love.  There were groups and lines of brothers and sisters welcoming us everywhere we went for 5 days.  And they didn't just casually say 'welcome' and 'thank you for coming'; it was a very heartfelt greeting.  We were greeted at the airport, at the hotel, on the bus in the morning, at the convention, and then lines of friends applauding at Bethel.  The emotion is hard to convey.  But having an immediate connection and love for friends you just met who also speak another language is truly amazing.  The Japanese brothers were beyond hospitable and many sacrificed a lot of time, planning, and hosting of all 1500 foreign visitors.  I certainly can't say thank you enough to them for their hard work and planning which made this an experience of a lifetime.

Japan has a beautiful culture in general.  They are known for being hospitable and for the feelings of others to be of prime importance over their own opinion. So they give their opinion very mildly so as not to offend.  Even the worldly people we met in touring were very helpful and mannerly.  The cities were clean as everyone has enough respect to clean up after themselves.  The respect and cleanliness were very impressive.  We knew we were in another world.

Something else impressive with the friends was that they were in their seat during the convention when the music started.  No walking around, standing, and talking.  They were quiet and ready for the beginning of the sessions.  That is not what we experience here.  No young people were walking the hallways during the sessions talking to their friends or on their cell phones.  We can learn from their respect.

Jehovah is very generous and, as a mother, I appreciate the affect it had on my family and what it did to educate my youngest son who has the goal of pioneering and learning another language.  When they can do something like this, it gives them the inspiration and courage to do more and Jehovah becomes more real to them. The governing body knows what they are doing in scheduling these international conventions.  A couple of friends on tour asked us if we are going next year and commented that this is like an 'addiction'.  It really is because the enthusiasm is unmatched!!!

Day 13 - Our Last Day: Kobe

Our last day.  We decided to take the train to Kobe.  The distance between Kyoto and Kobe is 1 hour and 9 minutes - but 25 minutes by bullet train!  We took a trolley up Mt. Rocco, which is behind Kobe, so that we could see the view and some of the countryside. It was pretty stunning.  There was a lookout platform at the top along with a gift shop.  We waited for a bus which took us to Rokkosan Pasture, a farm on the mountain.  It was a nice walk where the sheep were loose and the hills were rolling.  We ate grilled sausage and tasted cheese ice cream (as they made their own cheese at this farm).
               It was very humorous to see Japanese men in Swiss Alp costumes playing the Swiss long horn and also a singing group with yodeling.  We thought we were in the wrong country.

We finished the evening by stopping in Osaka and having an amazing steak dinner in a modern mall.

Osaka mall

Sheep farm behind Kobe

Did we mention that the bullet train is very cool????

Day 12 - Golden Temple and bamboo forest

Our 12th day, Saturday, August 10th, we toured again locally.  We took a bus to the golden shrine.  If you would like to see a beautiful picture and learn just a little bit about it, take this link:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3908.html

After that, we went to a bamboo grove.  For a few really cool photos and a couple of interesting facts,
go here: http://www.amusingplanet.com/2012/04/sagano-bamboo-forest-at-arashiyama.html