Elderly tourists bring back unique holiday memories

By: YUKA ORII 
Asahi Shimbun, July 20, 2002

A country tour spurs friendship between young and old.

`The energy the children gave me will keep me going for the rest of my life. This was better than any luxury trip.'SUMIKO ADACHI

When retirees from the city visit elementary schools in the countryside, everybody wins. The senior citizens get to relive childhood memories and the kids get to hear interesting stories and learn things they would otherwise never know.

That's why a tour organized by Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and East Japan Railway Co. has proved so popular. The companies were looking for a tour to attract the older generation with something other than music when SME official Tadao Tsukamoto visited Iwasaki Shinden Elementary School in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, at the suggestion of an acquaintance.

Seventeen students study at the school, located about 20 minutes' drive from the nearest city in the middle of a farming village whose population is shrinking. When Tsukamoto showed up unannounced and explained his idea of a tour, the school staff welcomed the suggestion.

``Small schools provide little stimulation so it's hard to nurture a sense of competition and hunger among the students,'' principal Kutsuko Hoshi explained.

Many residents were uncomfortable with the idea of strangers storming into the quiet village, which rarely saw unfamiliar faces. Hoshi tried to gain their understanding by insisting that encounters with strangers were important for the children. In the end, all 88 households in the village agreed to accept the tour, and the village's homemakers decided to welcome the visitors with a lavish meal of local dishes.

In late May, 16 tourists between the ages of 61 and 78 left their homes in the Tokyo metropolitan area and elsewhere to visit the village for a two-night stay. The tourists were a bit nervous at first, but when they got off the bus and saw local children put on a traditional play, they immediately felt at home.

An ``entrance ceremony'' was held for the tourists the first day. The following day, they taught the students anything that they felt would be appreciated.

Minoru Tabata, 65, a former high school teacher from Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, who taught the children how to make a miniature kite, said, ``The sight of the older kids teaching the younger students reminded me so much of my childhood.''

The students loved it, too, shouting ``Wow!'' as Tabata tugged on the handmade kite.

Sumiko Adachi, 61, from Ageo, Saitama Prefecture, talked about her hobby of rock climbing using equipment she had brought with her. The pupils hung on her every word.

``The energy the children gave me will keep me going for the rest of my life,'' Adachi said. ``This was better than any luxury trip.''

After two days, the children had become so close to their new friends that they walked hand in hand with them and asked them for piggyback rides. The tour coordinators also learned from this inaugural trip, discovering that while the visitors' wartime stories left a strong impression on the older children, they were too difficult for the younger pupils to understand.

``At first, I was afraid of people coming here for sightseeing, but when I saw the children's faces light up with enthusiasm, I felt happy about cooperating,'' said Takashi Wada, 56, who coordinated the residents' efforts. ``Some residents want to visit the seniors in the city after they've visited a few more times and we all feel more comfortable with one another.''

One participant suggested a reunion in five years.

``Who knows if we'll still be alive?'' another joked.

But the participants are already starting to organize such an event.

``The tour enables dialogue between metropolitan areas and rural areas, as well as intergenerational exchange,'' said Atsushi Aoki, managing director of Sodaterukai, an organization that has been coordinating children's homestay programs in rural areas for 34 years. ``A two-day trip won't change the world, but this should be the start of something new. It'll help tourists realize the joys of being part of a local community instead of being treated as a guest.''

He also suggested that the children visit the Tokyo metropolitan area. To reap the full benefits of this kind of exchange, it is important to carry on a two-way relationship, he said.