Imabari, Japan Schedule, 2012
Tuesday, June 26

6:00 am-7:25 am

Tampa TPA to Dallas DFW

10:45 am-1:15 pm

Okinawa to Tokyo Narita (Richard)

10:35 am-1:35 pm (Wed) Dallas DFW to Tokyo Narita
Wednesday, June 27

Thursday, June 28

2:00 pm-5:00 take bus
5:30 pm-7:00 pm
7:00 pm-8:30 pm

Narita to Haneda
Tokyo Haneda to Matsuyama
Ride from Matsuyama Airport

8:30-9:00 pm

Meet host families, ICIEA office

9:30-10:30 am

City Office, Meet Mayor Kan (10 am)

10:30-11:30 am

Japanese Lesson 1, City Office

12:00-1:00 pmHakurakuten Chinese Lunch

Named either for the flower “Camellia” or for a Chinese 8th century poet and 14th century play written abouthim (concerning the influence of China on Japanese poetry & arts), this popular restaurant tucked into a
downtown Imabari side street, gets high compliments for its fried rice, pork cutlet, baked sweet potato, andhearty soup. You can get an Imabari specialty here called yaki-buta-tamago-meshi featuring seasoned pork on abowl of rice, topped with two soft fried eggs, with a sauce (tare) made of fermented ingredients.

2:00-4:00 pm

Oshie Class, ICIEA

Popular in the 17th to 19th century as a way of recycling kimono scraps, oshie is a 3 dimensional craft thatprovides a view from every direction, made of kimono material or special chiyogami paper applied withcardboard, foam and layering.

6:00-10:00 pm

Welcome Party, Kokusai Hotel

Imabari Kokusai Hotel offers elegant 5 star service, accommodations and eight restaurants. Be swept awaywith breathtaking views of the city, Seto Island Sea and Kurushima-Ohashi Bridges.
[Dana-brief speech]

Friday, June 29

9:30-10:30 am

English Class 1, ICIEAA discussion class for intermediate & advanced English learners. Topics provided.
We will each have 5 students with whom to lead a discussion and nurture their skills.
11:30-12:30 pm

La Soiree Pizzeria Lunch , downtown
Napoli pizza in a stone kiln, (also pasta, salad, pie)

12:30-1:30 pm

Shimanami Kaido Islands Tour

Opened in 1999, this 40 mile bridge skips across six beautiful islands on the Seto Inland Sea, costs 5000
yen one way, only bridge to be walked or biked.

1:30-4:30 pm

Tokoro Museum, Omishima

This museum houses a collection of contemporary sculptures by Katz, Marisol, Hayashi & Fukai, belonging towealthy art collector Atsuo Tokoro, constructed on a cliff top of Omishima Island. (Museums subject to change.).

Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture
Designed by architect Toyo Ito, you can download the plan off its website to construct a miniature paper
model of this 4-polyhedron-shaped steel museum, designed to look like a ship and opened in 2011.
(Museums subject to change. TBD)

5:00 pm

Kirosan Observatory, Oshima

An architectural phenomenon, Kirosan Observatory is atop a 908 ft mountain peak on Oshima, ranked as the1898th highest mountain in Japan. The observatory, built by Kengo Kuma, a post modernist, whose goal was toerase architecture, making it transparent to itself, by preventing the appearance of any object. He exploredheterogeneous collage, brutal superposition, and stylistic interference in his intent to dissolve this architectureof chaos. Kuma came up against a paradox : while wanting to dissolve architecture and denounce the object, hewas, in spite of everything, producing new objects that were every bit as loquacious. In his project for the KiroSan observatory (1994), by reversing the way the eye sees—a turnaround from seen to seeing—he attempted tosolve the paradox. The building here becomes invisible, hewn into the land, as if the architecture wanted toextend to the whole mountain and to the landscape offered to the beholder. The observatory is uniquely
designed under the mountain and cannot be seen from outside. From the top, you can enjoy the panoramicview of the Kurushima Kaikyo Ohashi Bridge, the world’s first triplet suspension bridge and Mt. Ishizuchi.

Saturday, June 30

6:00 pm

Supper & Evening with Hostmorningwith Host Family

3:00-7:00 pm

Beach BBQ w/Host Families
Toyo Kokumin Kyukamura, “National Vacation Village”

Sunday, July 1(a.m.-Dana change host families)

Host Family Day-Enjoy!

Monday, July 2

9:30-10:30

Japanese Lesson 2 (& Snacks)

11:30-1:30

Boat Cruising/Fishing, Ohama

2:00-4:00 pm

Texport Handweaving Experience

Imabari, famous for towels with 200 firms, including related industries in dyeworks, printworks and industrial
sewing, are 60% of towel production in Japan. Products also include bathrobes, headbands, bathmats, cushions,bags, bedding and baby products. They have 2000 looms, 4000 employees, make 10,000 product tons annually.

4:00-5:00 pm

Recycle & Antique Shop Tour

5:15 pm

Supper, TBD

7:00-8:00 pm

English Class 2 Discussion Class(p.m.-Beatty, Rocky, Richard-change host families)

Tuesday, July 3

9:00 amDrop-off, ICIEA

10:00-12:00 pm

Tomita Elementary Visit

This school has 650 students, grades 1-6, with 4 classes at each grade, 27-34 students per class (Florida kids,
18-22 /class). Seven of Dana’s students emailed students from this school all year & wrote about this in I-News,
Imabari’’s bilingual paper. We will tour and interact, joining them for a school lunch like the children receive.
Good opportunity to speak Japanese & English with youngsters. [Dana-brief speech]

12:00

School Lunch

2:00-4:00 pm

Kawara Pottery Class, Kikuma Kawara Center

Unique ceramics can be found at the seaside town of Kikuma, they’ve engaged in traditional roof tile
production for several hundred years. Kikuma-gawara, as the local tile is known, is of such a high grade, it iseven made by appointment to the Imperial Household in Tokyo. Roofs of temples & palaces beginning in the late
6th century, were covered with round roof tiles bearing designs on their outward surfaces, usually of lotus
flowers and Korean influence but some with animal or demon faces.

Wednesday, July 4

5:30 pm

Dinner & Evening with Host Family

9:00-10:00

Japanese Lesson 3

10:00-12:00

Ikebana Workshop

Ikebana may have come to Japan in the 7th century with the Buddhists, as a disciplined art form in which
nature and humanity are brought together. Ikebana often emphasizes other areas of the plant (than blooms),
such as its stems and leaves, draws emphasis toward shape, line, form and employs minamalism. Though acreative expression, it has certain rules governing its form. The structure of a Japanese flower arrangement isbased on a scalene triangle delineated by three main points, usually twigs, considered to symbolize heaven,earth, and man or sun, moon, and earth. The container is a key element of the composition. We will be taughtby one of our host parents. The spiritual aspect is very important to its practitioners. Silence is a must during
creation. It is a time to appreciate things in nature that people often overlook because of their busy lives. One
becomes more patient and tolerant. Ikebana can inspire one to identify with beauty in all art forms. This
closeness to nature provides relaxation for the mind, body, and soul.

12:30-1:30

Lunch TBD

2:00-4:00

Haiga Class

Haiga is a style of painting based on adding image to haiku poems in a single piece of word and drawing, basedon simple yet profound observations of the everyday world, created with the same brush and ink. The art work
does not necessarily directly represent the image presented in the haiku and varies widely based on training andpreferences but is usually minimalistic (Zen). Some are produced as woodblock prints. Moon, Mt. Fuji, rooftops
are common subjects. Contemporary artists experiment with form, using digital imagery, photography, etc.
Our Haiga lesson will be taught by Shigeo Tomita & calligrapher Yoko Jinno, who gave us prep work in early June.

5:00-6:00

English Class 3
Designed for High School Students-our Lakeland guests.
No plan yet. Richard may lead, based on hisexperiences with Japanese guests on recent exchanges.

Thursday, July 5

7:30-11:00

Bus/Ferry Travel to Naoshima Island

An island of 3000 people, renowned for its contemporary art galleries, the Chichu Art Museum is entirely
underground so not to detract from the panoramic view of Seto Inland Sea. Benesse House is a marriage of
hotel and museum to illustrate the coexistence of nature, art & architecture. The Lee Ufan Museum houses
paintings & sculptures of the acclaimed Ufan. Art House Project is a series of 7 homes converted into art works.
Depart at Takamatsu Port, gateway to Shikoku

11:30-1:00

Guided Museum Tour

1:00

Museum Restaurant Lunch

Benesse House features a restaurant and a café. Issen serves Japanese cuisine in a tranquil, relaxed ambiance.
The menu, focused on kaiseki cuisine, offers a variety of prix-fixe options with fresh seasonal seafood from theInland Sea. There’s also a small gift shop.

2:00-5:00

Tour Continues

5:00-6:00

Miyaura Port to Takamatsu Port6:30Udon Restaurant, Takamatsu

Takamatsu is extremely well known for its udon, a specialty noodle dish of the area. Kake udon is the basic
hot variety in a soy broth with sliced onions. Or you may order it with kitsune (fried tofu) or tempura (shrimp &veggie) or you may even get it cold (zaru udon) or with raw egg.

Friday, July 6

7:30-9:00

Bus Travel Home

10:30-11:45

Nihon Shokken Factory TourThe head office of the liquid and powder seasoning plant is in Imabari. There are offices in LA & NY.

12:00-1:00 pmLunch-TBD

1:30-4:00 pm

The Art of Sushi Making Class

5:30-8:00 pm

Potluck Party, Shimin Kaikan
This is our farewell dinner.

Saturday, July 7TANABATA. The day is a festival that originates from a Chinese holiday based onfolklore. The story of this Japanese fairy tale is that two stars, a boy and a girl, were in love but were separated
by the Milky Way. Every year on the 7th day of the 7th month, the two get to meet; this day is Tanabata. Overtime, the festival has evolved into a children's holiday. There is a Tanabata song that is traditionally sung, andthe main ritual of Tanabata is for children to write a wish on a colorful piece of paper, then hang that paper on atree for their wish to come true.

Sunday, Jul 8
Sunday, Jul 8

9:00 am
9:30-11:00 am

Load luggage, ICIEA
Travel to Matsuyama

12 pm to 1:30 pm
2:00 to 5:30 pm bus
6:15 pm to 4 pm
5:30 pm to 9:05 pm

Matsuyama to Tokyo Haneda
Tokyo Haneda to Tokyo Narita
Tokyo Narita to Chicago (ORD)
Chicago to Tampa

6:50 am to 6:30 am Tokyo Haneda to New York JFK (Richard)
7:35 pm to 10:35 pm New York to Tampa (Richard)