SUMMER IN JAPAN
Meiji Mae “Life Before the Lights”
Carpe Diem is excited to expand our offerings to include a summer program in Japan. While most of our programs focus on high school graduates, this one is available to sophomores and up.
For three weeks, we will explore Nara Prefecture, an incredibly rich area in Japan by studying Shintoism, Buddhism, and the ancient ways of the samurai warriors. We will live in homestays, villages, and mountain huts in the historic Yoshino Kumano mountain range. This program will focus on “life before the lights” but we will be in and out of the bustling cities as well.
We are offering an exploration of one of the most unique cultures on the planet by focusing our studies on the ancient capital of Nara Prefecture. Ideally located between Kyoto and Osaka in Japan’s Kansai region, Nara was the first capital of Japan, and is awaiting celebration of its 1,300 year anniversary in 2010. When Buddhism arrived to Japan from China in the early 700’s, it began flourishing in this amazing prefecture and boasts some of the greatest temples in the country. Nara is also proud to have a 5,000 year old history of Shintoism, which is the native religion for the Japanese people, and we will explore a number of the ancient shrines.
Orientation:
We will arrive in the amazing city of Osaka and spend a day gazing at the bright lights, eating takoyaki (fried octopus balls), and wandering around this incredible city “Lost in Translation”. After a night in a capsul hotel, we will take the train to Nara city, where we will have a welcoming speech in the Nara Prefectural Government building by an officer from the International Affairs and Tourism Bureau. We will spend one night in the capital city and then move on to our homestays in the village of Asuka.
Week 1
Asuka village homestays:
Our homestays are organized through the Nara International Foundation, which is affiliated with the JET Program (a government sponsored grass-roots international relations organization). For one week, we will live with families and explore the hometown of Prince Shotoku, who wrote Japan’s 17 Article Constitution that was responsible for governing the land. This area is rich with temples, castles, shrines, and museums, which are located amongst beautiful terraced rice fields in the foothills of the mountains.
Week 2
Nishiyoshino village:
The second week of our adventure will be spent in the persimmon and plum orchards of Yoshino. Yoshino is the most famous region in Japan for cherry blossoms, and is in the middle of a UNESCO World Heritage site. We will be staying in a ryokan (Japanese Inn) overlooking the Nyu river and studying various cultural treasures of Japan such as: language study, ikebana (flower arrangement), calligraphy, tea ceremony, taikyokuken (tai-chi), zen meditation, shiatsu massage, and cooking. After an hour of language study in the morning, we will volunteer in the kindergartens, as well as help the elderly persimmon farmers in their orchards. We will also participate in a “Clean River” campaign.
Week 3
Yoshino-Kumano Pilgrimage Routes:
The third week of our journey will be an intense exploration of the “yamabushi” (mountain warrior) and their religion of Shugendo Buddhism, which was founded by En no Gyoja in the early 700’s. The yamabushi believe that we must become one with nature. In order to study this, we will live beside a crystal clear river in the village of Tenkawa (Heaven River) and go on several hikes along the ancient Shinto and Buddhist pilgrimage routes. There will be a three day trek to the World Heritage site, Tamaki jinja (shrine) and we will be staying in mountain huts and subsisting on pine needles (just kidding, but that was the master's diet).
Program Dates:
Summer 2010: June 22nd - July 13th, 2010
Group Size:
A maximum of 10 Students & 1 Adult Leader
Eligibility:
Minimum of Sophomore in high school (as of upcoming school year) and Up
Language Requirement:
None, but previous study in Kanji is helpful
Admissions:
No deadline - applications accepted on a rolling basis until start date
Starting & Ending:
San Francisco, California. Our travel agent will price the most economical options and notify participants
Program Fee:
$4,400 Program fee includes all food, accommodations, and scheduled program activities for the duration of the program. International and domestic airfare, health insurance and spending money are extra. International airfare estimated at $1500. For information on Financial Aid click here.
