[mappress mapid=”47″] Today we took the Shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo. In Tokyo we stayed at a fantastic hotel in Oimachi called New Hankyu Ours Inn. We have stayed here in previous years – it is very convenient and central (as well as being affordable) and is a good alternative to homestay in Tokyo as host […]
Day 13 – Kansai Gaidai, Osaka
[mappress mapid=”46″] Today was a quiet day but it started with some difficulty as rousing the entire group from their hotel rooms in time to get the taxis and meet our train proved rather challenging after the birthday celebrations of the previous evening. Someone refused to get up, somebody else lost their room key, someone else had […]
Day 12 – Hiroshima
[mappress mapid=”44″] Today was a huge day for the group. We got up early and travelled by taxi to the studios of the Hiroshima Telecasting Corporation for a screen test and soundcheck prior to a live broadcast of the group singing Christmas carols. Thanks to the support of the (recently retired) chairperson of the TV studio, the […]
Day 11 – Hiroshima
[mappress mapid=”42″] On Monday our Fukuoka hosts dropped us at the train station and we travelled by Shinkansen to Hiroshima where we were met by our hosts from Hiroshima Prefectural University. Our first stop in Hiroshima was the Peace Park – a memorial to the terrible events of August 6th, 1945 when an atomic bomb was dropped on the city of […]
Day 10 – Fukuoka
[mappress mapid=”41″] Today we said goodbye to our hosts in Miyazaki and travelled back to Fukuoka for a shared performance organised by Miyoko Yamazaki, a long time supporter of the group in Japan and a wonderful musician and conductor. Miyoko helped organise concerts for Isabella a cappella in 2013, in 2011 and also in previous tours. We performed at the […]
Day 9 – Miyazaki
[mappress mapid=”40″] Today was a rest day – aside from a brief rehearsal after lunch we didn’t have any place to be or anything to do until a late afternoon soundcheck. Some of the group members enjoyed the beautiful onsen at the hotel. Others slept for a great deal of the day after a late night the previous evening […]
Day 8 – Miyazaki
[mappress mapid=”39″] Today we travelled again via bullet train (Shinkansen) from Fukuoka all the way to Kagoshima-Chūō, the southern terminus of the Kyushu Shinkansen. From there we took another train to Miyazaki, a city on the east coast of Kyushu. We were met on arrival in Miyazaki by Mrs Miharu, the principal of a local Miyazaki kindergarten and a kind host […]
Day 7 – Fukuoka
[mappress mapid=”36″] We got up bright and early and caught local rail from Takarazuka to Shin-Ōsaka and then transferred to the marvellous “Sakura” Shinkansen that connects Osaka in Honshu to the southernmost part of Kyushu. We were met at Hakata (the main Shinkansen station in the city of Fukuoka) by our hosts Mr and Mrs Inoue who […]
Day 6 – Katano City
[mappress mapid=”37″] Today was one of the biggest days of the tour, with an early start, lots of train travel and 6 performances! We started bright and early from Takarazuka. After an hour or so of local rail we were met by long term Isabella a cappella supporter Mr Nishimura who whisked us directly from the station to a kindergarten […]
Day 5 – Miki and Takarazuka
[mappress mapid=”34″]Following our homestay accommodation in Takatori, we were fortunate to be introduced to some of the local council, including the mayor of Takatori, before heading on our way to Miki, Hyogo. In Miki, Hyogo (close to Takarazuka) we performed for residents at a nursing home that is a regular destination on the Isabella a cappella […]