Japanese Judo Tour

The food, the smells, the crowds are different from anything you would experience at home. Once you’ve got your bearings in this unfamiliar landscape, there’s the contrast of a busy urban environment to that of the smaller seaside town you end up in. Unlike what you expected, you find a place where the tranquility has its own captivating air. 

Travelling with a group can be a really interesting process. Under normal circumstances, a group will really start to gel after about three days. Throw in jet lag, culture shock and excitement, and it can take longer. Learning everyone’s personalities takes a bit of time. Not surprisingly, the boys learn their boundaries and how far they can push things. When you travel with your Sensei, your skill development stretches farther in this regard. Travelling as a team, they get to know just whom they are travelling with as well.

Our first four days of the Judo and Cultural tour were spent in Tokyo. We visited sights such as the Imperial Palace, the Yasukuni Shrine, the Kodokan Judo Insitute, the Sumo Museum, Nippon Budokan, the Tsukiji Market, Akihabara, the Ghibli Museum and the Matsumae Judo Juku. At the Mastumae Judo Juku, the boys practiced Judo with younger Japanese students. After our quick tour of Tokyo, we departed for Katsuura, the sleepy seaside town that is the home of the International Budo University. While staying at the university, the students had the opportunity to practice with university-level Judo players. 

Japan’s cultural influence is so easily recognizable in many of the facets of western pop culture that when they appear in front of the students’ eyes, an excited conversation instantly begins. This lays the foundation for the shared experience that will stay with everyone and possibly continue for the years to come.