Field Trip to Nara
2012/08/09
We went on an overnight field trip to Nara on August 7th and 8th.
On the first day, we visited Osaka City Abeno Life Safety Learning Center and learned about disaster prevention and earthquakes. We felt and saw 'What it's like to encounter an earthquake' at the Center. It was a good opportunity for students who are not so familiar with earthquakes to learn how important it is to be well prepared for disasters.
We then travelled to Nara and enjoyed a BBQ at Mt. Shigi followed by ceramics painting. The ceramics will be ready in a month so we are looking forward to receiving them then. After the fine work of ceramics painting, we played 'Suika-Wari', a common game to play in Japanese summer where we try and hit a watermelon with a stick blindfolded. Feeling pleasantly tired, we headed to Asuka Institute of Kansai University Ueda Memorial Hall where we stayed for the night.
Asuka Institute of Kansai University Ueda Memorial Hall is located in the center of Nara prefecture which was once a capital of Japan in the ancient era and the Hall accommodates 120 people at a time. After the dinner, 6 students with high academic achievements gave presentations on various topics. The topics included 'Festivals in Japan and Tibet', 'Study of napping', and 'Perspective on marriage'. We then had a discussion on those topics.
On the next day, we first visited Asuka Historical Museum and learned about Japanese archeological resources. We then spent some time strolling around Imai-Cho Town where the streets and houses from the medieval period are still preserved.
Imai-Cho Town developed as a temple town and initially built as a military base town surrounded by a moat. As you can see in the photos, Imai-Cho Town is one of the few and unique places in Japan where the historical houses are still well preserved.
The last stop for our field trip was Osaka Museum of History. This spacious museum collects and exhibits resources of the history of cities in Japan such as Osaka from the ancient, medieval and present time. It was a great opportunity for the students to learn about Osaka as well as the history of Japan through the vast collection of historical resources.
Everyone on the trip (Pictured in Imai-Cho Town)
Ceramics painting