Project Report : Miyagi

Our team took photos in the central part of the city of Shiogama and on Katsurajima and Nonojima, two of the four Urato islands. The islands are a part of an area known as Matsushima, considered to be one of the three most scenic spots in Japan. Though the other teams were jealous that we were heading north, where they’d assumed it would be cooler than the rest of Japan, our photo shoots every day took us out into heat of over 30 degrees Celsius.

The four team members clicked as soon as they met, but they hadn’t expected to bond before the program began. Sao and Alice had some apprehensions based on negative interactions they’d previously had with Koreans. Boram and Kyungju applied to the program out of their love for Japan, but as their friends in Korea did not have positive impressions of Japan, they were worried about how they would get along with Japanese. The four chose “encounters with people” as their theme.

Their final presentation was a delightful piece of work that exuded the joy of meeting each other and the people of Shiogama, and the richness and kindness of those they encountered. Looking back, perhaps the team could have captured more of the unique flavor of the place, or further pursued the passion behind their message and photos, but everyone really did a great job in the amount of time they had.

Being in a new place, the team members were at times overwhelmed both physically and mentally. It was teamwork and the kindness and generosity of the people we met in Shiogama that made it possible for everyone to make it to the finish line. Thank you very much!

(Mori Ryosuke, Miyagi Team Guide)