IGNITED MINDS

Our 10 day tour to Japan began on 15 June 2009. We stayed at the Asakusa View Hotel in Tokyo. In the Indian embassy, we had an orientation programme briefing us about the visit.

            Our visit showed us the two sides of Japan, a land with an ancient history and culture and the leading country in latest technology. We visited TEPIA i.e. Technology Utopia where we saw the latest technology robots, navigation systems and machinery.

            The Japanese love cleanliness, a fact which was evidently noticed on our visit to the clean city of Tsukuba. This city provides a facility for incinerating garbage from 84,000 households.

            We were also mesmerized by our visit to the Tsukuba Expo centre, the Ushiku Daibutsu where stands the tallest Buddha statue in the world. We got a first hand knowledge of the Japanese life style and family values when we stayed with Japanese host families. They treated us as members of their family, taking us shopping and visits to their relatives.

            We attended classes in Ushiku High School and had a cultural exchange. The students there were keen to learn about our country. We made efforts to teach them Hindi. We were surprised to learn that the students there clean their classrooms and corridors themselves. The Japanese school system is very nice and efficient and equal importance is given to studies and physical education.