Japan Study Tour 2008
In May, Professor Allan Bird and Elizabeth Eckelkamp led a group of 25 students to Tokyo, Japan for a two-week study tour. Their mission: learn as much as they could about the second largest economy in the world and the country and culture that support it. The group included 20 undergraduate and 2 graduate students along with a member of the Chancellor’s International Advisory Council. The rip was fast-paced, accomplishing more than may thought was possible and generating a non-stop flow of learning experiences.
The group stayed at the former Olympic Village in Tokyo, which was close to many of the major business centers in the city. The tour will involve visits to Japanese and US companies, as well as meetings with Japanese ministries officials and United States government agencies. The tour exposed participants to a wide range of business and cultural experiences, in turn leading to a greater understanding of business practices in Japan, as well as the social and cultural factors that impact how Japanese corporations operate. Students received economic briefings on Japan from US Department of Commerce officers, and presentations on business opportunities in Japan from representatives of the Missouri Trade Development Office and the Japan External Trade Organization. Company visits included Nissan, Canon, Sony and Nippon Express.
On the cultural side, the group enjoyed participating in a traditional tea ceremony, followed by a Kaiseki bento (traditional boxed supper) with UM-St Louis living and working in Japan. The weekends were filled with visits to the Asakusa district and Sosenji temple for the annual Sanja Maturi festival as wella s day trips to Kamakura and Nikko, both UN World Cultural Heritage sites. In between all of this, the faculty found time to carry out lectures on Japanese business and society and the students found time to complete written assignments and make new friends – in Japan and among themselves.