DAY 2 (KANTO GAKUIN UNIVERSITY – KANNAI)

Hello everyone! Today was the first day of our travels, adventures and handbell fun! We woke up for breakfast around 6:45am and had a wonderful Japanese spread. There was a mix of American and Japanese foods such as miso soup, croissants, eggs, fruits, yogurt and much more! (repost from KCR/ER1 Japan Tour 2024)

(This is Noreen’s breakfast!) The breakfast was really good! It was great to eat some authentic miso soup and udon noodles. At the table I sat at, I exchanged and learned new Japanese phrases to say! (The most common Japanese phrases we have been using are “sumimasen” meaning excuse me and “arigato” meaning thank you.) After we ate our fill, we started our arduous journey to Kannai where we were to play a Friendship Concert at Kanto Gakuin University along with their representative choirs. Let me tell you, as much as our musical abilities are needed, I would also say that we needed some physical strength in order to complete our journey. We were in 90 degree, humid heat going up and down the subway stairs while also proudly wearing our handbell shirts!

(Some pictures of the subway!)

(This is the view from the subway!) We then walked 4 minutes to the University campus. The Kanto Gakuin choir greeted us and showed us where to put our bells. We then went to a space outside of the auditorium we were playing in and we got paired up with the Kanto Gakuin choir members. We then had a little time to spare and we started getting together a gift to give the other ringers which included friendship bracelets, chord protectors, pins, and some candy.

We settled in, pulled our bells out then started practicing our solos. It took a little while to get used to the big space of the auditorium but with a little practice we soon felt comfortable playing. Lunch couldn’t have come sooner and around 1:30 pm we were served bento boxes.

(They looked like this!) They were really good and filling and my favorite part was the rice. All of us ate with the Kanto Gakuin choir and we tried our best to interact with them and exchange our goodies! Afterwards, we practiced some more and listened to the other choir’s solos. We were all very amazed by the Japanese choirs and then we thought to ourselves, “we should have practiced more!” Nonetheless, the Japanese choirs did amazing solos and had quite the diverse repertoire and were extremely respectful audiences. (Program:)

After about 4 hours of on and off rehearsal, we sat down and the head of the university started a short worship service. One of the Japanese directors wanted to take a group photo so we changed into our dress clothes and took a photo with the Kanto Gakuin choirs.

Then, the concert commenced! Scott and Eiko were interviewed about their handbell experiences and a previous Emanuel handbell parent was also interviewed. We played all of our pieces very well and enjoyed listening to everyone else ring. We also did joint pieces with other choirs! We had announcers in Japanese and English to introduce the choirs and the music they were playing. They also explained the main theme of peace that was woven through a lot of the music. The concert lasted 3 hours with a short intermission and was enjoyable to listen to! We learned some new techniques and listened to some great music! After the concert, some of us were able to spend some time with 2 of Kyoko Tagami Meredith’s (KCR’s former handbell director) sisters (Kaori and Makiko) and their extended family. They had never heard handbells in person before!

Handbell ringing may seem fun and all but we were wiped out by the end of the concert! We quickly packed up all of our bells which were kindly transported to Hamamatsu by the Kanto Gakuin choir director so we don’t have to lug them there ourselves. (Thank you Takasu-sensei!) The subway ride back was fairly smooth and some of us broke off from the group to get dinner. By this time, everyone was ready to hit the hay and call it a night. We had a great time ringing with everyone there and we will dearly remember this experience! Thank you for tuning in to this blog post and see you all tomorrow! 🙂

Sasha & Aria – Bonus: Here we are all tired walking back to the hotel!