We visited the Golden Temple this morning. Then, we visited a sake “brewery”, a park where residents were gathering to celebrate cherry blossoms, a museum, and lastly the Byodo-in Temple in Uji, the oldest temple in the region (and the one featured on Japan’s 10 Yen coin).

This evening we returned to Nishiwaki to our homestay families for dinner and sleep. I’m pretty tired, so I’ll have to add more detail to this entry later.

(As a reminder, the delegates from Renton, including me and my family, have paid our own travel expenses for this visit. It’s money well spent for the education, cultural exchange, good will between communities, and the lasting personal friendships it builds. Any resident who is interested in being a future delegate is encouraged to contact the mayor’s office and ask for information about Renton’s sister-city program. In addition, if you are interested in hosting an exchange student from Nishiwaki, and you meet the eligibility requirements, you can make application through the Renton School District. Contact the District Office for more information. Thanks!)

See all the pictures by clicking here!!!

Today was our first full day in Nishiwaki. Our delegation convened this morning at city hall for an official meeting with the mayor and council of Nishiwaki, along with introduction of other special guests and city leaders.

We exchanged greetings, letters, and gifts. Mayor Kishi presented the city with a Kakejiku, which means “hanging picture” in English. It’s a beautiful, colorful banner (about five feet high) with a sun, bamboo, crane, pine… all happy images in Japan. The Crane also symbolizes long life.

After touring city hall, the city of Nishiwaki hosted us on a tour of a city history museum, an art museum, and their natural history museum (which includes a planetarium and an observatory with a 32″ telescope).

They also showed us some of their great parks, and other city facilities.

At lunch, I was deeply touched when Mayor Kishi himself brought out a birthday cake for my daughter Susie, who is celebrating her tenth birthday today. The whole delegation, and our Japanese hosts, sang happy birthday to Susie, and Susie characterized it as her best birthday ever. They also gave her some really cute gifts.

Evening was really fun. We joined another family to dine on Kobe beef and sukiyaki. The hosts are generous and gracious entertainers, and we had a wonderful time. They also made a cake for Susie, gave her a gift, and helped her and Cathy try on kimonos.

The most amazing site from yesterday travels was the immense impact of the Cherry blossoms everywhere. People were picnicking under the blossoms throughout Ueno Park, and the cherry trees were in full bloom lining many of the city’s streets.

We really enjoyed the Tokyo zoo, where the Giant Panda is a main attraction, and there were other animals we had never seen before. We also rode on a suspended monorail at the zoo.

The Tokyo history museum was very interesting and entertaining, as it had many models and interactive exhibits. We finished the day with Tokyo friends, with a traditional Japanese dinner (sitting on the floor in traditional room). We had the wonderful marbled beef that they have only in Japan, boiled right at our table and dipped in a variety of sauces. Also, vegetables, sea urchin, shrimp tempura, straw mushrooms, rice noodles, bean sprouts, and edible wild plants.

Cathy and Susie and I are now taking in the beautiful sights of Tokyo. I’ll blog more when I get a moment. Meanwhile, here are some images!

click each one to enlarge