All posts by Thomas Greve

Ueda City Theme – Food & Society


July 1st was quite a scrumptious day for both mind and body. In the morning, a local farmer, equipped with samples of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and cherries, lectured the class on the farmer’s market of Ueda City. The delicious assortment of organic produce complemented the informative speech perfectly. The taste of the vegetables and fruits turns out to be rather dependent on the type of soil.

Even though his entire speech was in Japanese, it was fairly easy to recognize the passion the man had for his work. His life mission is to make organic, all natural crops a viable option for both the farmer and the consumer. The benefits of foodstuffs without the taint of chemicals such as pesticides cannot be denied but often times the price is much higher than the non-organic variety. To offset some of the cost, a farmer’s market was established in Ueda. A group of over 200 local farmers are able to sell their fresh goods there each day. With the large amount of possible sellers, the price goes down accordingly. Although, the competition is fierce in the farmer’s market, farming organically becomes feasible due to the huge numbers of consumers.

The visit to the actual market provided our taste buds with even more delights. After donning some colorful aprons and head bands, the World Campus — Japan participants were taught how to make oyaki, a traditional dumpling of the area. There were two types of dumplings, one filled with a sweet bean paste and the other with some type of pickled vegetable and both were mouth-watering good. The dumplings are cooked each day and packaged to sell right in the kitchen of the farmer’s market. As such, the store does not only sell organic produce but also fresh baked goods, such as breads, cookies, and dumplings.

A society cannot exist without a reliable food supply but in recent years, reliable foods are just not good enough. There is a conscious move towards healthier and more organic foods. In Ueda City, we learned that the high demand for natural foods is being met by the local farmer’s market.

(Guang Yeung, USA)

A First Impression of Japan:


Since I came off the plane, people in Japan have been so wonderful to me. The locals have showed me where to go and how to get there even though communication has been difficult at times. I have come to realize how helpful the Japanese people really are. If you are in trouble or lost, they will find a way to help you regardless of any language barriers.

So far I have made many friends and I’m certain we will remain in contact long after this tour is over. I have also become really close with my host family, the Omori clan. They are the nicest people in the world. They remind me of my own family in the United States, always happy and joking around. They said that my roommate and I are a part of the family now, so we can ask and have anything we want. There are so kind!

One unforgettable memory that I have in this new world so far was visiting a forest filled with fireflies. They only light up for a short amount of time before they disappear. There was a pleasant summer breeze that only enhanced the serene atmosphere of that evening. It was such a beautiful moment in such a strange land.

However, the most touching experience so far for me in Japan was at a mentally handicapped facility in Ueda City. We played games with the patients, including with a small softball, soccer, and a number of other traditional Japanese games. I even tried walking on bamboo sticks, which is a lot more difficult than it looks. They gave us handmade origami to show their respect and happiness towards us. It was truly a moving and rewarding experience for all of us.

It’s only the beginning with so much more to come this summer!

(Egan Gibson – Thompson, USA)

The Third World Campus – Japan Program Begins! And Starts with a Courtesy Visit to the Mayor of Ueda City, Nagano:


The mission of World Campus International is in many aspects to interact with Japanese communities in order to obtain a better understanding of Japanese culture, norms and values. And my first interaction with a Japanese community really made it clear to me about how excited the people are in sharing their traditions, working methods, and ways of thinking with us. They were also really eager to hear about our preconceptions of Japan.

On our first courtesy visit, we went to visit the mayor of Ueda City. Yuki, a staff member, acted as the translator, as Japanese was the spoken language during the visit. The tone was friendly and polite but also formal. The mayor and his staff had prepared a nice PowerPoint introduction, telling us some facts about Ueda City; geographic placement, attractions, and number of inhabitants. With 160.000 residents, Ueda City is the third largest city in Nagano and it is known for combining industry, academics, and technology in a harmonious matter. Furthermore, this city has many sister towns around the world including Broomfield, Colorado and Davos Town in Switzerland.

I really noticed how the entire city takes pride in their nature; especially their minerals and fireflies. Regarding the fireflies, the locals actually have a yearly festival, showing their attraction to the rest of the country. In fact, the mayor invited us to partake in the upcoming ceremony.

Finally, we received memorial gifts from the mayor, which included an elegant cloth towel. We also gave the mayor letters written by politicians and businessmen from our home countries.

(Christian Damgaard, Denmark)