Japanese Canadian Leadership Delegation 2011 - Friday February 4th to Sunday Feb 13th
Report from Sharon Marubashi ( Toronto delegate)
I would like to extend my deepest and heartfelt appreciation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Japan for providing me with this fantastic experience of visiting Japan as a part of this leadership delegation program. I can honestly state that this program definitely served its purpose – “ to expose them to Japanese traditional culture and also to arrange the exchange of views with Japanese leadership in various fields. To strengthen contacts at a personal level between Japanese and Canadians thereby promoting the relationship between Japan and Canada.”
I feel such a sense of pride to be of Japanese ancestry and being able to visit Japan through this program has strengthened it even more. I experienced and learned so much about Japan’s culture, history, society, family life - all in one week! It was fascinating, emotional, educational, informative, exciting and fun throughout the entire time. I was also impressed with the fellow delegates that were chosen – this program brought us all together and gave us so much opportunity to exchange and share our common connection of being Japanese Canadian. In preparation for the trip, I must thank the members of MOFA and the Consul General’s office of Toronto for always keeping me up to date with the itinerary and providing tips and advice on everything including the weather update! The dinner hosted by Consul General Yamashita, in honour of this trip, instilled the sense of importance and value of the purpose of being chosen to participate in the leadership delegation. Everyone was supportive and encouraging and I felt so proud and honoured to represent Toronto.
Summary of the trip:
The orientation session in Vancouver was so informative and educational. I learned so much more about Japan’s history, geography, economy and politics from Professor Kawasaki. It was also very interesting to learn about family life and social life in Japan from Professor Takanayagi-Heine. I felt that this was very beneficial to be educated about the life and culture of Japan before going there.
The dinner hosted by Consul General Ito was so enjoyable. He had invited one of the delegates from 2010 – Mr Leslie Tabata from Kamploops. Leslie spoke to us about his incredible experience last year and was so positive and excited for us. All of us had a chance to talk about ourselves and our organizations – this allowed us to get to know each other better.
Landing in Tokyo we met our guide/translator – Kei Nakano. He was an excellent choice to be our escort. He was always prepared with information on our excursions, covered all the details with travel and appointments ( always making sure that we were on time! ), and provided answers to all of our inquiries. He had a great sense of humour and overall was a fantastic, knowledgeable and interesting person to accompany our group.
It was very informative to meet with the MOFA officials on the first full day of being in Japan - Mr Oyama and Ms Nonose. They explained the purpose of the program and about some expectations and protocol at some of our meetings ( Princess Takamado visit and visit with Parliamentary Vice Minister). It also gave us opportunity to ask any questions about our visits/meetings scheduled.
Tokyo Sky Tree: This was amazing to learn about the concept and transformation of the “soon to be” tallest tower in the world. This will certainly be a huge tourist attraction for the future. I look forward to returning to Japan and going up to the top – will be a breathtaking view of Tokyo!
JICA: Japan International Cooperation Agency. This was a request by fellow delegate Sachiko Okuda and was very informative and educational. The representative explained how JICA was started and about the purpose and activities to provide assistance and funding to achieve “human security” for all people in the world. It was very impressive and shows how Japan is a leader in the global world.
Canadian Embassy: Visiting the embassy gave me a sense of the importance of Canada Japan relations. We were given a very warm welcome and were so happy to be able to meet and talk briefly with Ambassador Freid. It was also a very impressive building and celebrating 20 years this year!
Meiji Kinenkan Dinner: The tour of the garden and banquet hall was also impressive and stunning. We had a fabulous dinner hosted by Deputy Director General North American Affairs Bureau Mr. Koji Tomita ( along with Mr Oyama and Ms Nonose). There was good intellectual conversations about Japan and Canada ( and other counties also). Many discussions arose that was mentioned from the Vancouver orientation session and I felt comfortable knowing some background of the Japanese economy, society, history etc. We also talked about promoting Japanese culture in Canada and about our heritage and associations.
Panasonic Tour and Visit: We had such a fantastic welcome at Panasonic. A huge billboard sign on the outside of the building welcomed the “Japanese Canadian Leadership Delegation 2011 with Canadian and Japanese flags”. The General Manager – Mr Takashi Oshima – provided us with information about Panasonic and we were given a tour of the Eco –house and the digital network museum. I was so impressed with the technology, energy saving initiatives, innovative ideas and aim to be a Green Innovation Company.
Imperial Palace tour: Enjoyed being able to tour the gardens and learn about the Imperial Palace. Even though it was winter, I could imagine how beautiful and majestic is must be in Spring, Summer and Fall.
The Meiji Shrine was also very impressive and spiritual. It was amazing to learn that the people created the gardens and shrine in honour of the Meiji emperor.
Meeting with Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs , Member House of Representatives– Mr. Ikuo Yamahana: This was an interesting meeting and we were prepared by MOFA about protocol and about Mr Yamahana’s profile. He had an interpretor and throughout the meeting, he seemed to emphasize the importance of the leadership delegation program as a cultural exchange and wants us to be sure to promote Japan back in Canada. He was also interested in our Japanese Canadian organizations and we each able to talk about them. I gave him an information package on the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.
During our dinner and free time in Tokyo we were on our own and took the train to Shibuya Station and walked around. The big lights and sounds of a bustling city was thrilling and fun!
Visit with Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado: This was one of the highlights of the trip. Her Highness is so gracious, warm and elegant in her conversations with all of us. We were able to visit with her for about an hour and I think we could have talked for more ! I had the honour of representing the group and thanked her for inviting us to her residence.
Kabuki Theatre: We had the best seats in the house! Our own private balcony overlooking the stage. Even though they weren’t able to provide English translation, I found it very impressive and enjoyed just watching the performance and the costumes.
Coffee with MOFA officials Mr Oyama and Ms Nonose: We had requested the chance to learn about “everyday life” in Japan. They graciously offered to meet informally with us over coffee and were very open and honest and talked about their family, education, careers, and social life in Japan. It was so interesting to learn and get to know them on a personal level and it made me feel more connected to the Japanese society and life overall in Japan.
Celtic Irish Pub – this was an invitation by delegate Leslie Wada. The Ministry of Tourism for BC Canada was hosting a celebration of the anniversary of the Vancouver Olympics. It was so amusing to be in an Irish Pub in Tokyo!
Hikone:
We took the Shinkansen to Hikone. I loved seeing the countryside while on the train and the mountains looked so majestic and beautiful. Mr Oyama of MOFA accompanied us on this trip also. I think that this was appropriate for a MOFA official to take time to be with our delegation as it enabled him to be a part of the program and we were able to talk with him about the trip so far.
The Mayor of Hikone met us with open arms! There was a display in the city building of the Japanese who were interned in Canada and returned to Hikone after the war. One of our delegates ( Jason Tsunokawa) became very emotional when talking to the local media about his family roots in Hikone. He and David Tanaka had requested to visit Hikone to re-discover their roots. I thought this was so touching and I was so happy for them.
Minami Junior High School visit: delegate Sachiko Okuda had requested visiting a school. This was a great choice as we were able to visit an English class at the school and gave the students the opportunity to converse with us. Sachiko even taught them the Canadian Flag song.
Local History Office – this was so interesting to learn about the history of Hikone and there were many photos on display. It was very educational and informative. I gave them the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre information package – and pointed out our Heritage programs as they were interested in the sharing of the history of Japanese from Hikone in Canada. We also were able to have a tour of the museum led by a descendant of the Ii ruling family ( 16 generations ! )
I was glad that our tour included a visit to Hikone. It was so great to see sites and atmosphere of a smaller city.
Hiroshima:
On the Skinkansen we made paper cranes from origami paper that Kei had purchased for us. This was another example of how thoughtful and caring he was. He was fully prepared for all our tours – he bought the paper and also took the time to string them all together so that it can be placed at the Childrens Peace memorial.
Peace Memorial Museum was very moving, sad and thought-provoking. I believe that everyone should visit this museum as a reminder that this should never happen again. It was important to include this in this trip.
Miyajima Island was a wonderful place to visit. The shops, temples, pagoda’s and roaming deer are such a great attraction and creates the feel of the tradition and history of Japan.
For dinner we all decided that we just had to have okinomiyaki “Hiroshima style”. We took the streetcar to a place that Kei had found. Taking the streetcar was a great way to get a view of the city and get the feel of living there. Again Kei was such a great guide and helped us get to know the cities that we visited.
Kyoto
Toured Kyoto and visited 3 famous shrines ;Ryoanji Temple / Kinkakuji Temple / Sanjusangen do. All so impressive and gave feelings of spiritualism and calmness. This sense of beauty, culture, tradition and history are all seen throughout Japan when visiting the many shrines, temples and natural areas.
Our trip was at the end and we found that we had all learned, experienced and discovered so much. Personally, I felt that my life had been fully enriched by participating in this program and was anticipating returning back to Canada to share my experiences. Also during each visit that we made in Japan, I was thinking ahead to the future for when I can return with family and friends and discover even more! The selection of all the places that we visited and toured were perfect – I feel that I was able to experience so many aspects of Japanese culture, society and history. I was thoroughly impressed with the politeness of the people, the cleanliness of the cities, the energy saving and “green” initiatives, the advanced technology and traditional customs and sites.
Since we have returned, we ( the delegates)have exchanged some emails and am sure we will all benefit from our time together on a personal level and also for our respective Japanese Canadian organizations. In my capacity with the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, I will value this trip forever and use this experience to help promote Japanese culture and also Japan /Canada relations.
