This trip takes students to Tokyo and to three Japanese cities with which UAB or the City of Birmingham has official ties: Mito, Hitachi, and Maebashi. Tokyo is the ultramodern capital, the destination for many people all over Japan for economic opportunities. Mito, Hitachi and Maebashi are typical "countryside" cities which are hometowns for many Tokyo residents. Students will experience both the frenetic excitement of Tokyo and the more intimate experience of smaller Japanese cities. Students will connect the fascination with manga and anime with actual life in Japan while learning the type of “survival” Japanese that is not always included in textbooks. Excursions will emphasize real life in Japan, such as a visit to a grocery store, a high school, an employment agency, a real estate agent, a wedding, and a festival. Typical tourist destinations will be limited to Kamakura, home of the great Buddha statue, and Nikko, location of the gilded mausoleums of the Tokugawa shoguns. Every excursion will itself provide lessons in how to travel, eat, shop, lodge, and interact with Japanese people. Continuing one’s learning of Japanese in Japan allows one to use the language in a 24-hour-a-day context. Studying anime and manga in Japan provides a firsthand glimpse of the social and cultural context out of which those genres developed. This trip is designed primarily for students with interest in manga and anime and who have taken at least one year of Japanese, or have equivalent skills in the language. However, manga and anime enthusiasts with no Japanese language background are also welcome. Additionally, the Birmingham Sister City Commission has offered to facilitate a 3-day visit to its official Japanese sister city of Hitachi. Homestays in Hitachi are possible, and have been arranged for Birmingham groups in the past, but will depend on an adequate number of host families to volunteer. The Commission will also contact its official “friendship” city of Maebashi to request a vehicle be sent to Tokyo to transport UAB students to Maebashi. Homestays in Maebashi will not be requested. In both cities, the municipal governments and boards of education would conduct official welcoming functions to facilitate interaction with local residents. While in Tokyo, the program will also visit the suburb of Narashino, halfway between Tokyo and Narita Airport. This is Tuscaloosa’s sister city and Narashino High School sends students to Tuscaloosa every other year, but this year, because of circumstances stemming from the April 27 tornado, the students came to Birmingham instead, where Tim Cook served as their English teacher and tour guide. During their visit, Narashino High School students participated in many activities with UAB students. Knowing that a UAB trip to Japan is being discussed, Narashino High School is similarly interested in interacting with UAB students in Japan. 2012 Faculty Leaders:
Quick Facts
Population: 126475664 Capital: Tokyo Per-capita GDP: $ 34000 Size: 377915 km2 Time Zone: (GMT + 09:00 hours) Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo
US State Department
Travel Warning: NO See : Country Specific Info.
