Choreographed exercises and culture

On the way back from the Imperial Palace, Kelly and I followed very loud music to an elementary school. About 50 kids were in the courtyard, presumably in gym class or recess, participating in choreographed stretching to music. They were all laying down on the ground, which appeared to be dirt, and it was probably about 90 degrees in the sun.  I was impressed that all the kids were doing it, and they were very flexible.
DSC00492_

After a quick lunch, Kelly and I realized we were running a bit late for the afternoon/evening activities, resulting in an even quicker shower and change of clothes. The four of us headed off to learn about the important traditions of Japanese culture at a tea ceremony and a cultural show in the Gion district. These two activities are the first times we have been somewhere with a higher tourist to Japanese ratio, but I guess that is to be expected with English activities educating guests about Japanese culture.
DSC03834

Highlight of the evening: Kelly saw a real Geisha! Like we had read, she was moving fast to get somewhere and was definitely not stopping for any photos.

P.S. Happy Birthday Kris!!

One thought on “Choreographed exercises and culture

  1. Thanks for the birthday wishes! Got the card & yes Ryan – I have mastered the ring tone on my phone; ) loving your adventures – living vicariously thru you on this trip! Can’t wait to find out where we go from here!

Leave a Reply to Kris nett Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>