The Friendship Force of Devon UK
Friendship Force of Devon Exchange to Japan Nov. 2009
The long haul exchange for the Friendship Force of Devon in 2009 was allocated by Atlanta well over a year earlier in 2008. It was to a place called Ota Gunma in Japan a place which nobody had ever heard of !!
I was appointed E.D. because my son has lived in Japan for 20 years although he had never heard of Ota Gunma either!.Sometime later we were approached by Atlanta and asked if we would like to extend the exchange to a second week in Nagasaki because Sussex were unable to accept it as their Exchange through lack of interest. It transpired that most people in Devon had heard of Nagasaki but nobody was interested in going there except Barbara Beaman.
Nevertheless we accepted Nagasaki and I began the long involved and thankless task of trying to find at least ten people from the whole of the United Kingdom who wanted to visit the Land of the Rising Sun as members of Friendship Force International and at around half the normal price!!
In the end, apart from the E.D. and his wife, we had:
This state of affairs surely indicates something very worrying about the future of Friendship Force in the U.K.
Two members from Devon
Two members from Sussex
One member from Somerset
Five New members who had not been on an Exchange before
THE EXCHANGE TURNED OUT TO BE THE HAPPIEST AND MOST SUCCESSFUL
THAT WE HAVE EVER BEEN ON!
THIS WAS DUE TO THE EXCELLENT FORWARD PLANNING OF BOTH, THE OTA GUNMA AND NAGASAKI CLUBS AND THE EXTREMELY FRIENDLY AND HOSPITABLE NATURE OF ALL THE JAPANESE CLUB MEMBERS . They are without doubt the most enthusiastic and happiest f.f. members I have ever met.
We arrived at Narita airport to be met by Kyo, the president and his wife who had travelled three hours from Ota to meet us on the private bus we had hired at some expense. The journey back to Ota passed quickly because we were fascinated by all the views of Tokyo and it’s harbour and it didn’t seem long before we were having the first of thousands of group photos we would be having taken with our new friends over the coming days in Ota Gunma.
Although that first evening we were a bit weary we enjoyed the welcome suppers and parties that our hospitable hosts had organized.
The following day we were guests at one of the superb Japanese schools that our hosts were so proud to show us. The children have music lessons every week and all sang for us with great enthusiasm and joy. It made me realize what mistakes we made by cutting this kind of lesson from the English curriculum years ago. There were superb kitchens where every child is taught to cook and to understand which are the most important foods for health etc.
Later we visited the modern city hall and were addressed in the council chamber by the Mayor who gave us all a small momento in the shape of the Ota bear. We presented him with a message from the mayor of Exeter bound in a lovely leather writing case.
Another day we were taken to visit one of the country’s largest frozen food factories and another full day was spent touring the beautiful mountainous area north of Ota viewing a 99 meter waterfall before having a Japanese lunch. By now we were all getting quite good at eating with chopsticks !
But one of our favourite times was when we were taken into the hills to pick apples in a HUGE orchard. These were some of the biggest and sweetest apples we’d ever encountered. In the shops they sell for approx £1 75p each!!! We filled several crates and when we took them to the farm to pay, the bill came to over £80 !!
The week came to an end all too quickly and our final party was held in a lovely old Japanese style restaurant where only a few of us were lucky enough to have a hole in the floor for our legs under the very low tables we were sitting at .
The following day we flew 1000 Kilometres S.W. to Nagasaki. The view of the inland seas and many small mountains and islands was truly inspiring as was the very warm reception we got from all our hosts as they met us at Nagasaki airport.
Then followed another memorable week’s exchange in this fabulous city.
The first day we had a tour of the city including the Peace Park on the site where the atomic bomb fell. There are many stone monuments of a touching nature showing families and mothers with children, the hopes for the future. These had been given to the city by many countries from around the world. The atomic bomb museum has many remains which were rescued from the bomb site and there are countless reminders of how destructive this bomb was. And it had only a small destructive ability compared with what is available today!
We had several meals in Japanese style restaurants and visited Glover Gardens overlooking the city as well as visits to impressive temples and shrines.
A particularly interesting day was spent visiting The Unzen National Park and the museum of volcano eruptions. There had been a very serious eruption there in 2003 which had done a huge amount of damage and killed numerous people and two volcanologists.
But one of the best fun days was a visit to a south facing mountain orangery which was owned by a relative of a club member. The orange trees were heavy with a huge crop of Natsumas and we were allowed to take as many as we could collect in special crates in an hour and a half ! ! We got four sacks full which filled the car boots of our host and his friend. They have enough oranges to last them all winter.
After a final visit to another school where the children again impressed us all by their bright eyed enthusiasm and hearty singing it was time for the farewell party. What a party!!
The wonderful food, the beautiful venue , the Japanese dancing lady, everything was of the highest standard. We were all so impressed. How do they do it on the exchange fees we give them? They don’t! I was told that since the exchange is the raison d’etre of Friendship Force if the cost runs over budget they are always prepared to subsidise these occasions out of club funds. Food for thought??
The next day we were on our way by Shinkansen to Kyoto where we spent three fascinating days visiting temples and shrines.
Then we moved on again by the bullet train to Tokyo where another three days were spent exploring this amazing city .
Finally on November 24th at 11.10am we boarded the British Airways flight to London Heathrow and miraculously arrived at terminal 5 at 3.30pm that afternoon.
A Friendship Force experience never to be forgotten.
Keith Ascough