In the morning, we headed out and our first stop was the Golden Palace, which was built as a place of relaxation. It was literally covered with gold. 
Amazing as the views were of the temple in April, we saw pictures of the souvenir shops of the Palace in winter with snow all around, and it was even more spectacular then. The Palace was surrounded by a beautiful garden, and that’s when we first learned about the importance of Japanese gardens. Dr. Clark explained to us how the Japanese put a great deal of thought and planning into the design of their gardens. He said they will often start a tree with a plan of what they want it to be in 120 years, knowing that they won’t be around to see it. They know that they are now able to enjoy gardens meticulously planned by their ancestors long ago, and they feel it their obligation to do the same to provide for the enjoyment of generations to come after them.
Our next stop was the Kiyomizu Temple on Mt. Otowa in Kyoto,
which is the ancient capital of Japan. There were several shrines, including the Jishu Shrine, which is actually independent of the Temple, even though it resides within the Temple. It is said the dwelling place of the god of love and matchmaking. You can buy charms, and many come to pray for good marriage and ‘splendid love.’ 
The name Kiyomizu means “pure water” and there is a shrine where water from the mountain flows out and people from all over the world come to drink the water. The Buddhist monks will also stand beneath the falling waters and pray, sometimes for hours on end. The temple also offers great views of Kyoto.
After a short lunch in the area, we headed to Kanazawa. Upon our arrival, we checked in to our apartments on KIT’s campus. Most of the party went to a dinner reception hosted by the Student Association, while Coach Shaw and I attended a dinner with Coach Aoki, his assistant coach, our good pal Tets, and two Deans from KIT. I can’t speak to the dinner reception, but I know that our dinner was a wonderful experience. We ate at a Japanese restaurant, at which we sat on the floor at a small table. Dinner was brought out continuously, and consisted of some raw tuna, squid, salmon, octopus, a chicken stir fry, pork, cucumbers, among other stuff, then capped off by a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
One interesting tradition that we learned at dinner was the importance the Japanese place on seating arrangements. The place of highest honor is in the middle of the table near the wall with some decoration. As the guest of honor, Coach Shaw was assigned to this seat. As the hosts, the folks from KIT were seated opposite us. The most interesting time came when Coach Shaw switched seats for comfort reasons. In order to “keep the balance of the room,” our counterparts on the other side of the table adjusted with us. They kept their highest-ranking official across from Coach Shaw.
As Dr. Clark pointed out to us, they place great importance on ranking and honor in such things as seating arrangements and where people stand, but then they are very egalitarian in function. Conversely, in America we make efforts to say that we’re all equal, but in function we are very hierarchical.
Tomorrow we tour some of Kanazawa, and play our friendly against KIT.
Amazing as the views were of the temple in April, we saw pictures of the souvenir shops of the Palace in winter with snow all around, and it was even more spectacular then. The Palace was surrounded by a beautiful garden, and that’s when we first learned about the importance of Japanese gardens. Dr. Clark explained to us how the Japanese put a great deal of thought and planning into the design of their gardens. He said they will often start a tree with a plan of what they want it to be in 120 years, knowing that they won’t be around to see it. They know that they are now able to enjoy gardens meticulously planned by their ancestors long ago, and they feel it their obligation to do the same to provide for the enjoyment of generations to come after them.Our next stop was the Kiyomizu Temple on Mt. Otowa in Kyoto,
which is the ancient capital of Japan. There were several shrines, including the Jishu Shrine, which is actually independent of the Temple, even though it resides within the Temple. It is said the dwelling place of the god of love and matchmaking. You can buy charms, and many come to pray for good marriage and ‘splendid love.’ 
The name Kiyomizu means “pure water” and there is a shrine where water from the mountain flows out and people from all over the world come to drink the water. The Buddhist monks will also stand beneath the falling waters and pray, sometimes for hours on end. The temple also offers great views of Kyoto.After a short lunch in the area, we headed to Kanazawa. Upon our arrival, we checked in to our apartments on KIT’s campus. Most of the party went to a dinner reception hosted by the Student Association, while Coach Shaw and I attended a dinner with Coach Aoki, his assistant coach, our good pal Tets, and two Deans from KIT. I can’t speak to the dinner reception, but I know that our dinner was a wonderful experience. We ate at a Japanese restaurant, at which we sat on the floor at a small table. Dinner was brought out continuously, and consisted of some raw tuna, squid, salmon, octopus, a chicken stir fry, pork, cucumbers, among other stuff, then capped off by a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
One interesting tradition that we learned at dinner was the importance the Japanese place on seating arrangements. The place of highest honor is in the middle of the table near the wall with some decoration. As the guest of honor, Coach Shaw was assigned to this seat. As the hosts, the folks from KIT were seated opposite us. The most interesting time came when Coach Shaw switched seats for comfort reasons. In order to “keep the balance of the room,” our counterparts on the other side of the table adjusted with us. They kept their highest-ranking official across from Coach Shaw.
As Dr. Clark pointed out to us, they place great importance on ranking and honor in such things as seating arrangements and where people stand, but then they are very egalitarian in function. Conversely, in America we make efforts to say that we’re all equal, but in function we are very hierarchical.
Tomorrow we tour some of Kanazawa, and play our friendly against KIT.
Could you please help me,I´m looking for Brian Bibb. do you know where he is,our if he is playing bball? Thank you,drop me a line. steven.reuter@gmx.de
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