Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni hosted a friendship tour for local Japanese residents at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, Jan. 13, 2018.
The purpose of the tour was to deepen the public’s understanding of U.S.-Japan alliance defense activities, witness daily life on the air station and experience American culture.
Children from Iwakuni Elementary School and leaders from the Iwakuni City Board of Education attended the tour. Children from Matthew C. Perry Middle School also spoke in Japanese to the visitors to practice their language skills.
“This was our first attempt to make this kind of tour happen,” said Kenichi Nagaki, the section leader of School Education Division for the Iwakuni City Board of Education. “This is also a great opportunity for the children to gain more interest to learn English.”
The tour consisted of a window tour of the air station via bus, and a walkthrough of M.C. Perry Middle School, a family housing unit and the commissary. The tour concluded with a lunch at Crossroads Mall.
“My favorite part of the tour was touring the commissary,” said Maika Osaki, a student of Iwakuni Elementary School. “There were a lot of products there that I’ve never seen before.”
Nagaki said that Iwakuni City is planning to have more events like this to enhance the understanding of American culture.
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