Could there really be a town with no trash?

The BBC reported on the Japanese town of Kamikatsu which has no trash pickup. Residents have to compost their green waste and recyclables are sorted into 34 different categories at the recycling center. Residents are responsible for disposing of all their trash.

Read: Living in a world without waste - BBC News

Make sure you look to the right of the article for other related articles.

Enjoy!

Other Teacher's Blogs

As part of my follow on plan I will be having my 8th grade students read some of the other blogs that teachers produced during this years trip to Japan. We will be looking for patterns and doing further research on specific topics. We will also be talking about the different perspectives we notice from each of the blogs. To check out other teachers blogs for yourself click on one of the names to the right. Enjoy.

I am home!!!!

My trip to Japan was absolutely awesome! Thank you for following my experience and continuing to check in on my posts periodically. I have finally recovered from my jetlag and I am ready to begin analyzing the experience I had in Japan. I just read an article discussing how Japan is beginning to bring different forms of technology into the classroom to teach English. As I see more articles in the news I will continue to post them to this blog for your reading enjoyment. Again, thank you for participating in my journey and please continue to read my updates.

Nintendo DS teaches English to Japanese Kids

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!

Day 9 back in Akasaka: Education for Sustainable Development?

Today, we listened to Hari Srinivas, Ph. D., from the United Nations Environment Program talk about Education for Sustainable Development. As I have encountered, discussed, and listened to many people in Japan I feel like there is an increasing drive for sustainable development. Japan wants to reach out to many countries to establish networks so they can collaborate to limit the ecological footprint of people. They are not perfect, but there seems to be the general attitude that there is a problem and it needs to be addressed. The Kyoto Protocol is one example of the leadership that Japan has shown to increase environmental education.

Many of the Japanese people have questioned the United States commitment to environmental education for sustainable development. I am curious, what do you think?
What are your perceptions regarding the environment and the United States?
Are we doing our part to limit waste?
Do we focus on sustainability?
Are we trying limit our ecological footprint?
Any comments?

Day 8 back in Akasaka: M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!

After getting checked in to hour hotel in Akasaka we decided to go to Tokyo Disney Sea Resort to see how it compared to Disney World in Orlando. We purchased the 6 to 10 p.m. pass because it was cheaper. It was rainy and a Monday so it was very quiet. We were able to get on many rides and saw a big band swing show. The Indiana Jones ride was entertaining, especially hearing Indiana Jones speak in Japanese. Everyone had a great time, but the food shops closed by 8 p.m. and we were quite hungry. It was a good experience, but of course, I love Disney World so it is not a surprise. Tomorrow we are back to business and I cannot wait to share more of my experience. Here is a few photos.

Day 7 and 8 in Ome-shi, Tokyo: Welcome to Nature Heaven

After visiting my home-stay family we headed to Ome-shi, Tokyo. We stayed in a ryokan that was simply beautiful. I am going to let the pictures speak for themselves on this one. Although, to get the full effect you will have to visit! Enjoy the pictures!!!