Aikido trip to Japan 2019
#Aikido #Japan #Netherlands
Trip to Japan October 15th - 24th 2019 with Paul Jungschlager Sensei, Micah Sensei and Li. Flight from Amsterdam to Osaka with a stop in Helsinki. In Osaka we've stayed 3 nights in Tsure guesthouse. Practice aikido with Ze'ev Sensei and his wife in the dojo of his teacher Shimamoto Sensei. Visited Kyoto by train and climb the top of the mountain of Kyoto. Back in Osaka we've visited the castle of Osaka. Then the following day (Saturday) we went by bullet train to Iwai. There is a Autumn Aikido camp of Yamashima Sensei and his friends. Stayed there one night and the following day we went by train to Tokyo. Slept in the Hikari guesthouse for 4 nights.
Aikido practice with Yamashima sensei on 2 location (sport centre). Regular training & weapon training. Followed two morning Aikido practice (6:30) with the Doshu. Lots of people. Difficult making ukemi's. Lots of foreigners including us. After practice, coffee drinking with Yamashima sensei. Thank you for treating us the coffee & sandwiches!
Also many thanks for Ze'ev sensei treating us lunch and practising together. We've enjoyed the food and drinks.
Done some sightseeing i.e. in the highest tower (Skytree, 635m) of Tokyo and the Shinjuku garden.
The flight back home from Tokyo to Amsterdam with one stop in London. All this within 10 days together. Last day celebration of the birthday of Paul Sensei. Too short with all that delicious Japanese food!
Many thanks to the beautiful Japanese ladies for singing the birthday song for Paul Sensei. Next time we are in Japan we will treat you for a drink. We were in hurry for catching our plane.????
Thank you Paul Sensei, (DojoCho of Hagukumi Dojo in The Hague of the Netherlands, for a unforgettable time in Japan. And thank you Micah for joining us to Japan!
Music by: Grillabeats - Arigato
Koyasan - Shirakawa-go - Kyoto
Japan, September 2010.
Train up to Kyoasan, fire ceremony in Eko-in, taking the funicular down, train and bus to Ogimachi village in Shirakawa-go district, then to Kyoto JR Station, view from the Kyoto Tower, from the Kiyomizu-dera on Higashiyama, end of the day watching AKB48 on the TV, Atsuko Maeda sings Princess Mononoke theme...
More pictures:
“Shin-En”, Miyako Taiko, Kizuna & Ryo Shimamnoto
“Shin-En”, Miyako Taiko, Kizuna & Ryo Shimamoto (markhtaiko.com) performed at the Institute of Musical Traditions (imtfolk.org), Takoma Park, Maryland, USA on October 24th, 2014.
Award-winning Taiko Artist, Ryo Shimamoto, joins the local contemporary taiko trio Kizuna along with the group, Miyako Taiko for a dynamic evening of Japanese drumming. Combining cultural traditions from Japan with a modern aesthetic of rhythm and movement, taiko is an ever-evolving art form that awakens the spirit and connects to audiences world-wide. Dramatic, playful, athletic, emotional - taiko is a fully-engaging performance that one experiences rather than watches.
Ryo Shimamoto was born in Yuasa-cho, Wakayama-Ken, where he first encountered taiko at age 11 and still resides. Ryo led a local taiko group (Shippu Uchi Daiko) for 15 years and in 2008, became a professional solo taiko performer and instructor. He has won recognition in recent years for playing odaiko (big drum), a style he has been training in directly from former Kodo core player, Mr. Katsuji Kondo.
Kizuna is a DC-based taiko trio whose members collectively bring 40+ years of diverse taiko experience to the stage. At its heart, Kizuna reunites three friends who love to share taiko with each other and with audiences, appearing at events and festivals around the area (Washington Folk Festival, We Are Takoma, National Cherry Blossom Festival). As performers, they seek to embody the spirit of kizuna, the bond of friendship that is the foundation of the North American Taiko Community.
Miyako Taiko is a Japanese drumming group based in the Washington DC area and part of the Mark H Taiko School.
Composition by Mark H Rooney
Sound: Dave Eisner, Nate Belasco
Camera: Dick Tufts, Kate Tufts, Tim Twomey
Editing: Ralph Lillie
© 2014, Institute of Musical Traditions