japan10

The day began with a meeting with the Mayor and Superintendent of Ito City. I was responsible to deliver a speech on behalf of our group. Fortunately, I had delivered the speech to our translator, Miki, the night before, and all went well. I also had the opportunity to give a proclamation of Friendship from the people of Middletown, RI to the people of Ito City, which was recipricated by the giving of a "Tile of Friendship" from the people of Ito City. All in all, it felt like a great moment of mutual understanding and respect. The mayor even said to me as he shaked my hand, a phrase from my speech ... "World Peace!" I was thrilled by this comment!

Afterwards, we toured the mayor's office, the local dept. of ed. and the disaster center, which is quite necessary, as Japan has to cope with potential for earthquakes, typhoons and tsunamis. Thebuilding is seven stories high and has art work displayed throughout. It is built to reflect a tall ship in tribute to William Adams, the historical figure upon whom the story Shogun is based. Even the windows in the mayor's office are shaped like portholes, and a huge model of one of the ships Adams built is on display in the lobby.

In the afternoon, we toured a cactus park that was really a zoo without bars, their version of a cliff walk, and a Japanese Inn built in 1928. Limiting myself to three pictures from each is a test of selection abilities, especiall when the spider monkees at the zoo were so cute!