Trip to Japan a Life-Changing Experience for Shinzen Team

Trip to Japan a Life-Changing Experience for Shinzen Team


The 13th and final year of the Shinzen USA Nikkei Youth Goodwill Sports Program saw nearly 80 participants from the Bay Area — 21 basketball players, their families and staff — traveled to Japan on July 27 for a weeklong grassroots exchange trip.

The program was created by the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California and the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco to create a connection between youth in Japan and Japanese American youth.

In 1997, the program’s inaugural year, 20 youth and their families traveled to Japan in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the San Francisco-Osaka sister-city relationship.

Since then, more than 300 Bay Area youth have participated in the program, either traveling to Japan, or, in alternate years, hosting their Japanese counterparts.

This year’s theme, “Shinzen Forever,” was a reminder that although the program in its current state is ending, the friendships and bonds created by the spirit of Shinzen will always remain.

Many of the program’s former participants, who often described their experiences as “life-changing,” have remained involved through community activities and subsequent trips to Japan for leisure or as exchange students and Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program participants.

This year, participants began with a tour of Osaka and an evening welcome reception at the Osaka YMCA, where they met the host families with whom they would be staying with for four nights.

The next morning was spent further getting to know their Japanese counterparts through games, dancing, creating photo quilts and the making and sharing of friendship bracelets.

Lunch was followed by friendship basketball games. Teams were a mix of U.S. and Japanese participants, boys and girls, and current and past participants. Many of this year’s participants are siblings of Shinzen USA alumni; also in attendance were Osaka alumni.

Another highlight was a trip to Osaka City Hall, where the players met with Vice Mayor Keizo Kitayama, several members of the City Council, the San Francisco-Osaka Sister City Committee, and the president of Shinkin Bank.

Shinzen USA girls’ team member Katie Endo was among those who addressed the crowd, and Kiyoshi Moran of the boys’ team presented a letter to Osaka from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom that introduced the Shinzen team.

A plaque marking the 50th anniversary (in 2006) of the San Francisco-Osaka sister-city program was later dedicated in Nakanoshima Park, with girls’ team member Kylie Uyeda representing Shinzen USA during the official ceremony.

Goodwill games with the Osaka YMCA participants followed at the Tennoji Sports Center with the USA team winning both games.

After four nights in Osaka, the Shinzen group traveled to Kobe for another busy day.

They began their morning at an orphanage that previous teams had also visited, Nagata Kodomo Home, where they made crafts, danced, sang, took photos and shared lunch with more than 20 children.

Afternoon goodwill basketball games hosted by the Kobe YMCA and Kobe City Board of Education resulted in more new friendships between the Kobe and Shinzen USA youth. The Shinzen players spent the night in Kobe with their host families before heading back to Osaka for one final night.

Back in Osaka, Shinya Uemura, long-time coach of the Osaka Shinzen team and father of a 2008-09 participant, welcomed the group to Toyosaki Junior High School, where he is a teacher. Along with a musical welcome from the school band, the Shinzen USA players were treated to a tour to see what school life is like for teenagers in Japan.

The boys won their game, and in the true spirit of Shinzen, the final game ended for the girls in a tie. The day concluded with a farewell reception at Taikoen.

‘Seeds for the Future’
JCCCNC Executive Director Paul Osaki, Kobe coach Kazuhiro Oda, Osaka coach Masahiro Ueno and JCCCNC staff member Ruby Hata, who has been a part of each Shinzen trip to Japan, remarked on how the program has touched their own lives, and commented that the many friendships formed between young people through the program are the “seeds for the future.”

Other highlights included a slide show covering all 13 years of the program, a hip-hop dance by the Shinzen USA team, a spirited “Soran Bushi” dance by the Osaka youth, the “Shinzen Forever” odori danced by everyone, and the boisterous “YMCA” song and dance finale, a standard at all Shinzen farewell parties.

The next day, Aug. 4, participants departed on the Shinkansen bullet train bound for Hiroshima. They were met at the train station by Osaka YMCA staff, coaches and two players.

Saying their final goodbyes and seeing the Shinzen USA team members board the train, Hiroya Koto of the Osaka boys’ team, who visited San Francisco last summer, could not hold back tears as the doors shut and the train began to pull away.

His USA counterpart, Kinji Steimetz, recalled, “My favorite part of the trip was interacting with the Japanese kids. I was able to make many new friends, even with the language barrier. The Shinzen trip was truly an experience that I will remember and cherish for the remainder of my life.”

In Hiroshima, the group paid an emotional visit to the Peace Memorial Museum, which commemorates the atomic bombing of that city by the U.S. on Aug. 6, 1945. They walked through the Peace Park to pay respects at the cenotaph for the victims of the atomic bomb, then presented their 1,000 cranes at the Children’s Memorial Monument, in memory of Sadako Sasaki and in hopes of future peace.

The day ended with a final “Sayonara Party” with reflections from players, parents, grandparents and staff and closing with a slide show of the trip and releasing of jet balloons. And, of course, “YMCA.”

Students’ Reflections
The Shinzen youth volunteered to keep a journal to post their daily thoughts during their trip to Japan. At first they expressed their exhaustion, commented on the long travel day and the extremely humid weather, but after the first day their thoughts then began to turn to their actual experiences. Following are excerpts from their journals.

Prior to the trip, Kylie Uyeda of Daly City wrote about her expectations: “In Japan, there are many things I hope to learn and experience. I want to learn about everyday life as a Japanese teenager. I think it will be quite different and hard for me, an American, to adapt but fun to experience. I’m looking forward to trying new things and pushing myself to get out of my comfort zone.”

She closed her Shinzen journal with this: “I used to think that people can’t be friends if they can’t communicate, and we’re across the Pacific in a different time zone. Now I know that it is possible. I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes, how two people become friends despite a language barrier.”

Amanda Joo of Santa Clara wrote, “When we first started, I didn’t understand the meaning of goodwill and friendship, I just thought, basketball and Japan — that sounds like fun. But it was way more than that.

“We volunteered, went to events like the consul general’s reception (in San Francisco) and at Osaka City Hall, we learned about the bond in Hiroshima and played with the kids at the Kodomo Home.”

She concluded, “I learned that friendships can spread and maintain for probably my whole life. These friendships that I made in Japan will always be remembered.”

These memorable moments would not be possible without the support of many organizations, donors and volunteers who have given to this program over the years. The 2009 Shinzen Program would like to especially thank: Consulate General of Japan, Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation, Japan Airlines, Comcast, Kintetsu International Travel,
Allen and Pat Okamoto, Mits and Sadame Kojimoto, and San Francisco Drakes Organization.