Barbara and Bob Klein travelled throughout Japan for 17 days.
Links in the text will take you to pictures...
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We departed Honolulu on the morning of Thursday, 10/9 and arrived at Narita Airport (outside Tokyo) on Friday 10/10 in the afternoon.
At the airport we changed money, got our Japan Rail passes & booked train reservations to Tanabe, where the IAF (International Aikido Federation) Congress had already been in session all week long.
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The following day, Saturday 10/11, all the Congress participants boarded tour busses (about 50 of them!) for the hour long ride to Shingu.
We visited the Hongu Grand Taisha, the main Shinto shrine where O'Sensei came many times to pray and commune with ancestral spirits.
In the afternoon we passed through an enormous Torii (gate) to another shrine, Oyunohara, where the International Aikido Demonstration would take place. After various speeches, the demonstration began with Waka Sensei (Doshu's son), then a series of instructors from Japanese dojos in the local region. This was followed by about thirty sensei and groups from international dojos. Concluding the demonstration, as darkness fell, was Tada Sensei, 9th Dan, senior Shihan of Hombu Dojo, followed by Doshu, the world leader of aikido.
Afterwards there was a celebratory banquet, outdoors, with all participants standing while eating and drinking. Later, we all boarded our busses for a sleepy ride back to Tanabe.
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On Sunday 10/12, the final class of the IAF Congress was a two-hour seminar taught by Doshu. It was attended by 650 foreigners & 700 Japanese (1350 total) The mat was very large but the class literally was standing room only! Doshu instructed everyone to not fall, just to practice the techniques to the point where a throw becomes possible. He covered many basics in his class, especially the "kokyu ho" movement which he demonstrated as being useful for a multitude of different attacks.
That night was the Farewell Party, which was held in a large hall. This event included many speeches and lasted about two and a half hours. A small number of dignitaries were seated near the stage and everyone else was standing around tables stacked with plates, glasses and bottles. We met and chatted with a nice sensei from Wakayama city and his members. We also hand delivered letters from Aikido of Hilo member Jaume Labro-Colomer to his former teachers from Bangkok, Thailand, Fukakusa sensei & Suwanee sensei.
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Monday 10/13 was a travel day for us. We packed, rode the bus to
Tanabe Station and boarded a train. After making connections in Osaka and Fukuoka, we arrived in Kumamoto at dark and walked to our nearby hotel.
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Early on Tuesday 10/14, we were picked up by Hiroki Nishiyama, our good friend and former Aikido of Hilo member. He had arranged an adventure for us! We drove about an hour to Hitoyoshi city. There, we boarded a small wooden boat for an exciting ride down rapids of Kuma river. After a lot of spashing and bumping, we rode a chair lift up from the river valley to a nice restaurant for lunch, then a hike through a nearby cave known as Kyuusendo.
We drove back to Kumamoto where we had a chinese dinner with the Nishiyama family, Hiroki & Hitomi and their two younger daughters, Haruka and Makana. Some unusual treats included were jellyfish, squid, octopus, quail eggs.
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Our final day in Kumamoto was Wednesday 10/15. We rode the local tram system to do some touring on our own in Kumamoto. We visited Suizenji koen, a large Japanese garden built by the Hosokawa family in the 17th century. The garden reproduces the 53 post stations of the Tokaido, the historic road, between Kyoto and Edo at that time. We also toured the Traditional Craft Center, adjacent to Kumamoto Castle.
Later, Hiroki picked us up along with Natsumi (his oldest daughter) and Haruka. We went to a favorite noodle restaurant, then aikido class w/ Honda sensei. We met new and old friends there, including Junichi Nakayama who has visited and trained in Hilo three times in the past.
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We departed from Kumamoto on Thursday 10/16, taking the train to Hiroshima. We left our bags our hotel (again near the station) and went off to tour Miyajima, also known as "Shrine Island". In the middle of Hiroshima Bay, this island is reached by ferry, bringing a constant flow of tourists. Most famous at Miyajima is the "Floating Torii" in front of Itsukushima Shrine. It was low tide when we arrived and we were able to walk around at the base of the shrine, which is usually submerged.
Back at our hotel and did laundry until near midnight (no photo).
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Friday 10/17 was another long day of train travel to Tokyo. We arrived at our hotel late in the afternoon. When we walked into the lobby, the first person we saw was Art May, a member of Wago Enten Dojo in Honolulu. He had just arrived the night before for a couple of weeks training at Hombu Dojo.
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Now that we were settled in Tokyo, we got up on Saturday 10/18 to attend morning class with Doshu. To make the 6:30am class, we would get up at 4:30, leave the hotel about 5:30 and walk to the dojo, arriving at 6am to get changed and on the mat before class time. After class we had breakfast at our hotel and then ran some errands. We got cash from the ATM in the Post Office, returned to Hombu dojo to pick up some new dogi, then went shopping at Bingoya, a wonderful craft shop nearby.
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The next day was Sunday, the only day that Doshu "sleeps in". We attended his class at 10:30am and after lunch we went shopping near Shinjuku station. We visited our favorite bookstore in Japan, Kinokuniya, where we bought books in both Japanese and English.
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On Monday 10/20, we began our day with Doshu's 6:30am class. We returned to Hombu dojo after breakfast for a meeting with Mr. Tani, head of the International Department. We discussed arrangements for future guest instructors to Aikido of Hilo and to other Hawaii dojos. Our project for the rest of the day was to wash all our clothing and dogi.
In the evening, we attended class with Inakoshi Sensei at his dojo in the Ueno area of Tokyo, Aikikai Shohtoh Wago Juku. We had visited this dojo twice before and were happy to greet and practice with members we knew. Afterwards they took us out to eat and drink at their favorite after practice spot, an "American" style restaurant called Jonathan's.
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On Tuesday morning we attended the early class w/ Doshu and then departed along with Inakoshi sensei to catch a train to Iwama, location of the Aiki Shrine and the Ibaraki Branch Dojo. We were met at the station by Inagaki Sensei. He drove us to the dojo and hosted our visit.
First, we paid our respects at the Aiki Shrine. This traditional Shinto shrine was first constructed by O'Sensei during the years that he lived, farmed and trained at Iwama. During much of the 1940s he lived a simple life here in the country and often returned in his later years.
Then we went back across the road to the dojo for class. There were groups of students from Argentina and Mexico staying for prolonged training and we all practiced together as Inagaki Sensei instructed. He taught eight versions of kokyuho waza, from six different attacks.
We shared a delicious bento lunch, beneath the flowering azelia bushes next to the dojo. Inakoshi Sensei shared some great sake with us!
After lunch, Mrs. Inagaki arrived to take us touring the local area. She first took us to the top of Mt. Atago where we visited a shrine to the the Tengu, mysterious mountain warrior spirits which O'Sensei is supposed to have trained with. We later went to a larger shrine complex devoted to the Fox, then stopped at a tradtional craft center. Finally, Mrs. Inagaki returned us to the train station for our trip back to Tokyo.
After our return that evening, we were taken out for a late dinner by Irie Sensei and Fujimaki Sensei. The four of us consumed large quantities of sushi and sashimi. We drank various types of sake from Kobe, Niigata and Hokkaido.
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We managed to get up on 10/22, Wednesday morning, and attend the early class with Doshu. Since the day before had been so long, we took it easy the rest of the day, paying bills online and again washing dogi.
That evening we met Sakai Sensei at Kaminakazato station and he escorted us to the Arakawa-ku class. We had visited with this group before and twice participated in their annual embu (demonstration). After another enjoyable practice, we went out eating & drinking with several of the sensei. Once again we were obliged to consume lots of food and sake. The party lasted late into to night and we arrived back at our hotel past midnight.
We were greeted by another friend, Dave Johnson, who had just arrived for 2 weeks of training. Dave had previously been a member of Hawaii Aikido Federation and later the Wago Enten Dojo in Honolulu. He had participated many times at our Aikido of Hilo Winter Camps. He now lives in Indiana and we had not seen him for several years.
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On Thursday 10/23 we didn't get up for morning class. We were too worn out from the partying late on Wednesday night. At mid-morning, we rode the train from Shinjuku to Tokyo station. We had reservations for the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to Yamagata, where we planned to train and to visit Akira Tohei Sensei's gravesite. As we waited on the platform, Joanne Tohei arrived, making the same journey. We had the chance to greet each other and catch up a little before the train arrived. Two hours later we arrived at Yamagata and were met by Mrs. Tohei's son, Aki, who lives nearby in Sendai. While they spent time together, we walked to our hotel and rested for a couple of hours.
That evening we met Mrs. Tohei at her hotel and she escorted us to the nearby dojo where Funakoshi Sensei teaches. We had met him nine years earlier at a Midwest Aikido Federation Summer Camp and were anxious to train with him again. Class was small that night and we had an excellent time, receiving a lot of direct, one on one instruction.
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The following morning, Friday 10/24, we met Mrs. Tohei at the station and took the short train ride to Yamadera, where Tohei Sensei rests. This quiet and beautiful country town sits below a small mountain dotted with numerous temples, a renowned pilgimate site. Tohei Sensei's gravestone sits right at the base of this mountain, against a wooded slope and facing across a beautiful forested valley. Although it was still October, leaves were already turning colors and the view was gorgeous. We went to lunch with Mrs. Tohei and then returned by train to Tokyo.
We travelled directly back to Hombu Dojo to attend the evening class with Doshu, then returned to our Tokyo hotel.
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The next morning, Saturday 10/25, we were back at Hombu Dojo for the early morning class with Doshu. After class we picked up a new hakama at Hombu, then returned to our hotel for breakfast. We spent the day repacking and organizing for our pending departure.
That evening the Ikemoto family came to visit us from their home in Chiba. They are former Aikido of Hilo members who have returned home to Japan. We had a wonderful dinner with them in Shinjuku and enjoyed catching up on all their news.
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The last day of our trip was Sunday 10/26. We attended the morning class at Hombu Dojo. Kanazawa Sensei substitute taught for the Doshu. We had a great class with him and he came over to greet each of us personally, remembering a visit he had made to Hilo in 1991 along with the Nidai Doshu (Kisshomaru Ueshiba).
We did our final packing and made our departure to Narita Airport. Our flight left there about 7pm. We arrived in Honolulu about 7am on the same day. Since we crossed the international date line, it was Sunday morning all over again! After a few hours we were back in Hilo, just in time for our dojo Halloween party.
