Top: The youth ambassadors visited children at an orphanage. Bottom: The cultural aspect of the tour included a tea ceremony.

Four participants of the inaugural Nikkei Youth Cultural Heritage Program (NYCHP) departed for Japan on July 3 to attend Japanese language classes, stay with two host families, tour Kobe, Himeji and Nara, practice the art of karate and the tea ceremony, and enjoy the savory taste of Kobe beef.

After they became quite comfortable living and studying abroad, they returned to the Bay Area on Aug. 5. They recently shared their thoughts on the trip.

“Before our arrival in Japan I had no idea what to expect,” wrote Michael Oguro, a Cal Poly Pomona student. “But I found it reassuring how much my first host family’s house felt like my home in Sacramento; it all seemed so familiar to me.”

A joint effort of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC) in San Francisco and the Kobe YMCA Language Program, NYCHP is designed for Nikkei youth to gain a better understanding of their ancestral and cultural background while discovering Japan in a unique and exciting way.

Participants are able to immerse themselves in the culture through Japanese language and writing classes, introductory classes in traditional Japanese art forms, and late afternoon and Saturday excursions exploring different parts of the Kansai region, all while using and practicing their language skills on a daily basis with their host families.

Though he is in the beginning level of Japanese, Oguro wrote that having grown up with Japanese values, he does not feel like a complete foreigner: “Being in Japan has helped me to see where our values and traditions come from, and why we Japanese Americans do a lot of those things we do at home, like taking our shoes off when we go inside.”

Hillary Nakano had a similar experience and was happy to share Japanese American culture with her host families, who were “surprised to see photos of me doing Bon Odori in full kimono, and to hear of all the Japanese foods my family cooks on Oshogatsu.”

Jamie Kozono, a student at UCLA, wrote in an e-mail during her break from Japanese language class, “The trip has been a blast thus far.” One of the highlights she discussed was visiting an orphanage, Nagata Kodomo Home:

“We made uchiwas (round fans) with the kids there, and it seemed like they were also having a blast. That’s an amazing thing about arts and crafts, a common language isn’t needed to appreciate and connect with others, although it certainly helps.

“We then made complete fools of ourselves dancing to the Black Eyed Peas song, but in the end we did the dance twice ... sort of. The children loved it. Then they did a dance for us and it was just a dance party after that. The time there was way too short.”

The fourth youth ambassador was Christopher Palacios.

After completing their intensive language study at Kobe YMCA and saying farewell to their friends and host families, the four embarked on a post-trip tour to Hiroshima and Tokyo.

For more information or to apply for the 2009 program, visit www.jcccnc.org or call Lori Matoba at (415) 567-5505, ext. 226.

NYCHP was made possible by Japan Airlines and the Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation, who took nearly $2,000 off each student’s expenses. In addition, the JCCCNC awarded each a $500 scholarship.