IWAKUNI CITY, Japan -- Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni residents and local Japanese residents gathered at the Tsuzu Elementary School for the 8th Annual Culture Day in Tsuzu Town, Japan, Dec. 1, 2018.
They gathered together to experience Japanese customs such as calligraphy, making a bamboo instrument called a shinobue and conducting a tea ceremony.
Marine Corps Community Services Iwakuni Cultural Adaptation Program and the Youth and Teen Center co-sponsored the event in order to bring Japanese and American families together.
Events such as this one brings families from Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni into the community and shows them a side of Japan which they wouldn’t see in passing.
“I have three kids who love coming here, spending time with Japanese kids and doing things outside of our comfort zone,” said Logistics Specialist 2nd Class David Cronin, with Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron.
The families departed the school after learning how to make Japanese meals, participating in a tea ceremony and receiving hand painted papers with their names in calligraphy.
Hiroaki Maeno, a representative of the Tsuzu International Exchange Relationship Village, said that he is proud of Tsuzu Town and that the program serves to provide an opportunity for Americans to experience Japanese culture and the local area.
For more information on trips similar to this, please contact the Cultural Adaptation Program at 253-6165 or the Youth and Teen Center at 253-5549.
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