Day 10 in Akasaka: Sayonara Buffet and Karaoke

Unexpectedly, today turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. Each group of teachers had to make a 15-minute presentation regarding information specific to their prefecture experience. We had ten solid and surprisingly unique presentations about each prefecture. It was really exciting and uplifting to watch a group of professionals pull together in a very short time and create wonderful presentations including technology, art, drama, music, and more. This is not always easy with a group of teachers because we are conditioned to lead and it is not always easy giving up that control. Lorraine Romano, one of our group members from Jacksonville, Florida, teaches Film/TV production at the Douglas School of Arts. She took the time to make a terrific iMovie slideshow/video that we used during our presentation. Everyone contributed to the script, but her hard work really allowed us to share our experience in a way that everyone could enjoy it—Thank you Lorraine! After the presentations we took the Tokyo Metro over to Akusaka to visit the small shops there one more time. After several hours of wandering I made it back the hotel for the Sayonara Buffet.

At the Sayonara Buffet we had the opportunity to here closing remarks from David H. Satterwhite. He is the executive director of the Japan-United States Education Commission and is full of important knowledge. We had the chance to thank all of the local organizers while also saying goodbye to all of the American educators. Toasts were made and dinner was enjoyed. We watched an Aikido Demonstration that blew me away. Finally, we sang “Auld Lang Syne” as we celebrated our successful trip to Japan. As the night wrapped up everyone was ready to let loose Japanese style—Karaoke!



We all changed into more casual wear and headed out to a Karaoke lounge. People work extremely long hours in Tokyo during the week and they sometimes take time to enjoy Karaoke during all of the madness. We rented out one of the rooms and twelve of us sang our hearts out. It wasn’t pretty sounding, but it was a blast. This is just one more dimension of Japanese culture that is exciting. I couldn’t have imagined ending this trip on a better note. It is now morning and I have to finish packing and get to the airport. I now have a follow-on plan to complete. Hopefully, I can bring more of Japan to the community of Rockford. I plan on updating my blog with a final analysis of my trip so please check it again over the next few weeks. I will also be sharing some of my projects and activities as I create and implement them throughout the year. Hopefully, my trip will have opened you up to a very unique and exciting culture while creating excitement for travel and understanding. Again, please check back every week or so to see updates of my follow-on plan.



Sayonara!