Overall reflection

It has been some days now that I returned from Japan. During these days I have been telling a lot of people about my trip and showing them the pictures I made. Japan is a very interesting country and culture and I enjoyed the experience.

In my professional work I have a lot of influences of the Japanese culture, working according to the TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) method. This is an improvement philosophy established in Japan. After our study trip I visited a brewery for my company. In the brewery I asked them about their TPM program, and they laughed at me as I was the stupid European asking for this program. I found out that the do not have this program because for them it is their way of working. So, I really need to bring more of this culture into my company, it's not another program but it's a way of work/life.

The experience broadened my view and visions on the history but also on global peace and why people would really go for it. I can understand people better and have become less pessimistic and sceptic about world peace. So to be honest, this trip made me personally grow as I started thinking about topics I have not been thinking as thorough before.

Also the group was very valueble for me as we could discuss various topics from many perspectives: Japanese, American, Dutch, Canandian. We all have a different background and goal but I enjoyed being a part of this group.

Thanks to all!!

Reflection of Hiroshima

On day 9 we had an early start and we travelled to Hiroshima, the last city of our study trip. After checking in our hotel we went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum, located next to our hotel.

To be really honest I must admit that I am glad that we ended our trip here as this museum, the city and the people of Hiroshima left an unforgettable impression on me. I was really impressed by the museum, how realistic and well informed it was. It really gave me the shivers, especially the models of before and after the bomb, but also the pictures and all the memories of the children who died as a result of the atomic bomb. It really was horrible what happened.

But what's also remarkable is how the people of Hiroshima picked up their lives, when you walk around in the city you will not guess all the horrible things that happened years ago. They really learned from it and are doing their best that this will never happen again.

In the museum we also met two very impressive people: Miyoko Matsubara (an A-bomb survivor) and Steven Leeper (director of the museum). The story Miyoko told us was horrible, she described her day on August, 6 in 1945, the day the bomb fell on Hiroshima. What happened, how she felt but also her life afterwards. I really have great respect for her and I am proud that I was able to listen to her story and help her spreading the word so no one forgets what happened on that day in Hiroshima.

Our class discussion with Steven was also very valueble for as he is a great believer of Global Peace but he is a great person to discuss this topic with. I was really impressed by his charma and belief, which are both really convincing.

The day ended with handing out the paper hands of the Global Art project for World Peace. During our trip through Japan we have been handing out these hands but this was the final set. Afterwards we had a reception nearby. It was a long but very impressive day I will never forget.

The next day we debriefed the course and went on our trip home. The end of the study trip had come, we students travelled with the Shinkansen back to Tokyo or Narita airport where we all said goodbye after a very intense and impressive study tour.

Reflection of Osaka

On day seven we travelled from Kyoto to Osaka by train. From the station to the hotel we took a taxi as our luggage was a bit to heavy. I was really stunned as this cabdriver, an older man, started to talk English with us and asking questions. He was the first stranger who made an effort in talking with us. A very good start in Osaka.

The next great experience in Osaka was having lunch in a sushi bar with a conveyer band. This was really an experience I will remember. Together with our translator I tried a lot of various sushi's and I enjoyed them all. The system is really a perfect example of a flawless operation. The various types of sushi's are prepared in the kitchen and you can choose whatever you want and if you would like something else you can just order it through your personal computer and within some minutes your request is prepared and ready to eat.
On the first day we visited the Liberty Osaka museum. This was again a museum about peace. They highlighted various minority groups within Japan with their history. There was not so much English but for all topics there were 2-3 movies with English subscript so we could learn about the minority groups and how they are treated in Japan. The movies/documentaries were very impressive to watch and learn from.

After this visit we went to the next museum, Peace Osaka. Unfortunately this museum just closed its doors as we arrived. However, we made a picture from our group in front of this museum. In my opinion this picture symbolizes our study trip. We are all standing around a sculpture of the world and making the peace symbol with our hands. We like to call our trip "We are the world", not only the song is suitable but also the picture.

The next stop was the Osaka Castle. This castle lays a bit higher and the walk to it was through a nice park. The castle itself was very impressive from the outside, see also the picture. It really looks new.

During the evening I walked around the streets in Osaka with one of my classmates. Osaka has a very busy nightlife. There are a lot of restaurants and bars all located in the same area. It looked a bit like a 'red light district' but it felt really safe and not strange to walk around. This is mainly due to the fact that regular people were walking on the streets, couples, business people but also children. It was really nice to walk around on a warm evening and enjoying the atmosphere (and the company I was with).

The next day we met Koko in our hotel, an A-bomb survivor. Her experience and goal in life is really making you think how little our own problems are. She was nine months old when the bomb was dropped and had to learn the history through her parents. She has had a hard life but she is still very positive.

In the afternoon we visited the Kansai University. Here we again went to visit a class. In the classroom the chairs were placed in two rows. Surprisingly all the Japanese women were sitting on the second row and all the men were sitting on the first row together with all the foreigners. Was this a coincidence or is this a cultural aspect? This question was asked by our translater but we did not really get a clear answer, allthough a girl really told us a horrible story about her job application. Gender issues is still alive in Japan, see also my chapter about gender issues in Japan in our wikibook.

I really enjoyed staying in Osaka.

Reflection of Kyoto

On day four our trip started with the travel to Kyoto. My first impression of Kyoto is that it is more relaxed in comparison with Tokyo. Also there are much more tourist on first sight.


We started our study trip in Kyoto at Kyocera. For me this was a bit disappointing as I thought that we would visit the company, but we just visited the museum of Kyocera. It was interesting to walk through and read what they all do (as this is really a lot) but I was very interested to see how business in Japan goes.


The next day we visited the Kyoto museum for World Peace. I found this museum much more valuable and impressive than our visit to the Yushukan museum. As this was not only the focus of Japan, but a more global view. Also there was more visualizing in my opinion. But what really struck me was the connection with Anne Frank and this museum. Anne Frank is a Dutch Jewish girl who wrote a diary during the World War II as she was living on an attic in Amsterdam hiding from the Nazi's. Everyone in The Netherlands has read this book and knows her story. For me this was really stricking to see the bond between Japan and The Netherlands.


After the visit we had a lunch with students from the Ritsumeikan University. For me this was really a high light, as this was my first opportunity to have a good and real conversation with Japanese students. After lunch we attended a class, very interesting as we had discussions about peace museums all around the world.


In the evening we had dinner with the director, professors and staff of the University in a real Japanese restaurant. While sitting on the ground, pooring each other glass with beer (you're not allowed to fill your own glass) trying various nice Japanese meals (the table was filled with different bites). A real great experience.



Our last day in Kyoto was about sight seeing. We started at the Nijo Castle. A very beautifull ancient Japanese building where we had to walk around on our bare feets. The garden around this castle looks amazing, it's a real Japanese garden but when you look at the pictures I took it all looks fake. It's so beautifull that it looks like you're watching a fake picture or drawing. After lunch we went to do The Philosopher's walk (tessugaku-no-michi). This is nice path were you can walk very quitly and enjoy the views.


We ended the day by walking through the Gion district where Gheisa's can been seen. We had dinner with some friends from our translator who also arranged Karaoke after dinner. The dinner was again Japanese, sitting on the floor, pooring each others glass and eating what you dare to eat. No really, it's a great experience and I enjoyed the food. To end the day we went to the Karaoke bar, for me this is real new experience which I will not tell my friends:-)


We were in room with each other, all sitting around a table and staring at the TV. The 2 microphones were busy through the two hours and Yes, even I did my best. It was a night I will never forget.

Reflection of Tokyo

Tokyo was the city where we started with our study tour. To me it's a very big city and comparable with other huge cities around the world. Only the people are different. For me it was the first time to visit a country in Asia and it has been a pleasure. The beginning was a bit scary for me, how will I cope in a country where I don't speak the language, don't know anyone and where I have never been before. I have been doing a lot of travelling around the world but I never went to a country yet where I could not read or speak with people. But once should be the first time and in the end it all worked out very well.

On day one I finally met all my classmates, we have been mailing around through the internet but now we will really meet each other. Next to this, I have to do my first presentation directly when we start in the hotellobby! It all went well as my topic, the book "The Toyota way" is one of my favorite business books. I hope I was not too enthousiastic and too boring, but it's allways hard to be the first.......

After the introduction, my first presentation and orientation we went to do some sightseeing at the Asakusa Sensoji, Japan's oldest Buddist temple for ordinary people. It was my first visit to a temple so quite impressive. We all got a fortune here, but for one student this was no fun as he got a bad fortune. Luckily for him, he could leave his fortune behind so the monks of this temple could prey for good luck for him.

From the temple we walked to the Kotokoi bridge where there is a monument remembering the bombing of World War II as there were a lot of people killed on this spot. It seemed like a forgotten place, this monument is not even on the tourist maps while it is a very important place in the history of Japan.

We ended the first day at The Toyota Showcase, my second topic of my research. This is a kind of Disneyland for adults. Here are cars from the past, the present and the future. Very nice to see and to visit as this is the biggest all over the world.

The second day of our trip was very impressive. We started at the Yasukini Shrine and Yushukan. The museum was very Japan and militarism focussed with a lot of numbers and data in my opinion.

In the afternoon we visited a member of the Japanese parliament, counseler Fujita. This visit was arranged by Yumi, a very impressive woman who strives for World Peace. Both were very nice people and it was a great opportunity to talk with them and discuss various topics.

On our last day in Tokyo we went to the Kyoritsu University, a university for women only. Here we had another meeting with Yumi, to discuss more about Global Peace but we also attended a class. During this class we introduced ourselves and the students were allowed to ask questions to us. For the students this was really strange as they normally are not used to asking questions, they just have to make notes and study. The questions varied from very simple to very deep.

Study trip

It has been some days after I have returned from my trip to Japan. For me it was a new experience, not only the country but also the topics we studied. In my expectation there would be more business related topics as I am persueing an MBA. However, it turned out that the main topics were global peace.

In each city we went to a University and folowed a class. This was very nice to do as you really see some differences with my own education. Especially the discussion with the student were very valuable.

Next to this we participated as ambassador-delegates for the Global Art Project for Peace. This meant that we handed a package of hands decorated by Art to various persons we met. All were very pleased that they received this package for peace.

We also visited musea in all cities, all were about the same topic: War and Peace. However, all had a different angle and focus which made it very interesting. Also the diffences between Japan, America and Holland were very valuable for me as you tend to see it all in your way. Every history has more sides to it which could result in different conclusions and views.

Comfort women

In The Hague, The Netherlands, is currently an exhibition about: Comfort women, an unfinished history. This exhibition shows that by breaking the human rights a quick reaction is needed in order to prevent following generations to suffer from the same issues.

The exhibitions shows the crimes through three stories, partially of personal testimonials. Two are from Korean "troostmeisjes" (comfort women) and a third one is of a woman who was forced to have sex in a concentration camp of the Nazi's in World War II.

Probably tomorrow I will visit this exhibition as is relevant to my research topic gender issues and my interest about comfort women.

Does anyone know if these kind of exhibitions are also held in other countries?