Many members wanted to go on this trip, but six of us actually made it-- Barbara, Bob and Rachel Klein, Gordon Honltgrieve, Robert Burns and Kris Reinhart.
Clicking on the links in this text, you can view pictures of a few of the places we visited. Our trip began Nov. 1 and, crossing the international dateline, we arrived at Narita airport on the evening of Nov. 2 .
Nov. 4 was our first day practicing at Hombu dojo, the World Headquarters of Aikido. We practiced the next 5 mornings and one evening at Hombu, training under the Doshu and Masuda Sensei. All of us were able to train with partners who were 6th Dan, 7th Dan and 8th Dan, for some very intensive practice!
Nov. 5 we explored Asakusa, where the entrance to the renowned temple is adorned with an enormous paper lantern. Outside the temple is Nakamise, a seemingly endless shopping arcade composed of thousands of small shops.
Nov. 7 we visited Kamakura, a famous location outside of Tokyo,
On the morning of Nov 10, our hosts in Kyushu, Nakayama-san and his girlfriend, took us to visit a beautiful shrine and a museum featuring local history and folk art. Then we boarded the Shikansen for the six hour trip back to Tokyo.
On Nov. 12 we took the morning class with Doshu, then rode the train to Iwama to visit the Aiki Shrine. This historic site is where O'sensei trained and farmed for many years. He constructed the original shrine at this location.
We continued morning classes at Hombu dojo daily, and trained again with Masuda Sensei on the evening of Nov. 13. After class we went out eating and drinking with a large group including some old and new friends.
